Roncador Reef is a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, south of

Ontong Java Atoll Ontong Java Atoll or Luangiua (formerly Lord Howe Atoll, not to be confused with Lord Howe Island) is an atoll in the Solomon Islands, and one of the largest atolls on earth. It is inhabited by a Polynesian community of about people, who spe ...

and north of

Santa Isabel Island Santa Isabel (also known as Isabel, Ysabel and Mahaga) is the largest island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split ...

. This submerged reef forms a small geographic group together with

Nukumanu The Nukumanu Islands, formerly the Tasman Islands, is an atoll of Papua New Guinea, located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, 4 degrees south of the Equator. Description Comprising a ring of more than twenty islets on a reef surrounding a l ...

and Ontong Java, the two nearest atolls located further north.

History

This reef was first sighted by Europeans at the time of the Spanish expedition of

Álvaro de Mendaña Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists * Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwrit ...

and

Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (1532–1592) was a Spanish adventurer, author, historian, mathematician, and astronomer. He was named the governor of the Strait of Magellan by King Philip II of Spain, Philip II in 1580. His birthplace is not certain ...

on 1 February 1558. It was charted as ''Bajos de la Candelaria'' (shoals of Our Lady of

Candlemas Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday, Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of ...

in Spanish). Its sighting was also reported by Spanish naval officer Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa on 22 January 1781 on board of frigate ''La Princesa''. He charted this reef as ''Peregrino Roncador'' (Snoring Pilgrim in Spanish).Landin Carrasco, Amancio ''Mourelle de la Rúa, explorador del Pacífico'' Madrid, 1971, p.79.

References

Atolls of the Solomon Islands {{Solomons-geo-stub