Roncador Reef

Landsat image of Roncador Reef

Roncador Reef is a reef in the Solomon Islands, south of Ontong Java Atoll and north of Santa Isabel Island. Its coordinates are 6°13′S 159°22′E / 6.217°S 159.367°E.

It was first sighted by Europeans by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa on 1 February 1658, and charted as Bajos de la Candelaria (shoals of Our Lady of Candlemas in Spanish).^[1] 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).^[2]

References

1. Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Oxford 1960, p.148
2. Landin Carrasco, Amancio Mourelle de la Rúa, explorador del Pacífico Madrid, 1971, p.79.