History of the Pacific Islands was the first European to sail through the islands and sighted Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. European explorers did not return until two centuries later. In 1819 the island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–1876). The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British protectorate by Captain Gibson R.N., of HMS "Curacoa", between 9 and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered
Geology of the Pacific Ocean Geology of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean evolved in the Mesozoic from the Panthalassic Ocean, which had formed when Rodinia rifted apart around 750 Ma. The first ocean floor which is part of the current Pacific Plate began 160 Ma to the west of the central Pacific and subsequently developed into the largest oceanic plate on Earth. The tectonic plates continue to move today. The slowest spreading ridge is the Gakkel Ridge on the Arctic Ocean floor, which spreads at less than , while the fastest, the East Pacific Rise near Easter Island, has a spreading rate of over