CORAL SEA ISLANDS

officially Coral Sea Islands Territory group of islands situated east of Queensland, Australia, in the South Pacific. Spread over a sea area of about 400,000 square miles (1,035,995 square km), the islands comprise only a few square kilometres of actual land area. They are scattered coral reefs and sand cays with large populations of seabirds. In 1770 Captain James Cook explored parts of the region, and in the late 1800s guano was collected from the islands. Some of the better-known islands are Cato Island, Chilcott Islet in the Coringa group, the Willis group, and Bird Islet and West Islet forming part of Wreck Reef. Other formations include Herald Beacon Islet (part of Mellish Reef), Frederick Reef, Pocklington Reef, Bougainville Reef, and Lihou Reef. The most recently acquired of Australia's external territories, the islands were declared to be Australian territory in 1969 by the Coral Sea Islands Act. There is a manned weather station in the Willis group; otherwise the islands are uninhabited.