United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area southern areas of the widely separated Seventh Air Force and independent units scattered in the South Pacific Area during the Solomon Islands campaign. As the war progressed, Thirteenth Air Force units moved into the South West Pacific theatre and coordinated their activities with Fifth as part of the Far East Air Forces, a new Command. COOK ISLANDS ELLICE ISLANDS FIJI ISLANDS NEW CALEDONIA NEW HEBRIDES ISLANDS NEW ZEALAND NORFOLK ISLAND SOCIETY ISLANDS SOLOMON ISLANDS Bougainville Island Buka Island Guadalcanal Island New Georgia Islands Russell Islands TONGA ISLANDS United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area During World War
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