Western Province is the largest of the provinces of the Solomon Islands. The area is renowned for its beautiful tropical islands, excellent diving and snorkelling, coral reefs and WWII wrecks, ecotourism lodges, and head-hunting shrines. The province contains many small lagoons and most of the country's tourist trade (outside of Honiara).
The provincial capital is Gizo, a town of around 3000. There are airports at Gizo, Munda, Seghe, Viru, Ramata, Gatokae, Ringgi Cove, Barakoma & Balalai.
The Western Province is considered the tourism mecca of the Solomon Islands, and is by far the most accommodating area, with multiple hotels and resorts, dive shops, ecotourism attractions restaurants, and boat tours.
Munda, the largest town on New Georgia island, has a landing strip built during WWII by the US and is listed as an emergency landing runway, capable of handling even jumbo jets.
The diving in the Western Province is pristine as tourists tend to visit nearby Fiji for diving rather than visiting the less developed Solomon Islands. Also, malaria is a concern in the Solomons, which keeps many tourists away. The result is spectacular dive conditions with untouched coral reefs. Munda, Uepi, and Gizo are considered some of the Western Province's best dive locations. The region supports some of the highest coral and fish diversity in the world.
The Western Province and nearby Choiseul Province were significantly affected by the 8.1 magnitude April 2 2007 earthquake, the associated Tsunami and the 100+ significant (in excess of magnitude 4.0) aftershocks. The official death toll was 52 with several thousand persons displaced, most of the displaced are expected to be living in temporary shelters for a minimum of between 6 to 9 months. The island of Ranongga to the west of Gizo was uplifted by around 2.5 - 3 metres resulting in the death of its fringing reef and also opening massive fissures in the island itself. Reefs around Munda and Uepi were largely unaffected by the tsunami and earthquake.
Most of the troubles that affect the country have had minimal impact in the Western Province, which saw no major violence during the revolution.
de:Western (Salomonen) es:Provincia Occidental (Islas Salomón) fr:Province occidentale (îles Salomon) gl:Occidental, Illas Salomón ja:西部州 (ソロモン諸島) nl:Western (Salomonseilanden) pl:Prowincja Zachodnia (Wyspy Salomona) ru:Западная провинция sv:Västprovinsen (Salomonöarna) zh:西部省 (所羅門群島)
Western Province United is a South African association football club based in Wynberg, Cape Town participating in the National First Division. After the liquidation of East London-based Bush Bucks in September 2006, Western Province United, known as Cape United during the 2005-06 season, took their place to become part of the First Division. The club was formerly known as FC Fortune and was set up in 1998 by Colin Gie and Quinton Fortune, a South African football player. In late 2007, businessman Dumisani Ndlovu, who previously owned Benoni Premier United, purchased WP United.
As of September 14 2009
In the South African PSL, only five non-South African nationals can be registered. Players with foreign and South African citizenship do not count as foreigners.
Western Province or West Province may refer to:
ca:Província Occidental de:Westprovinz es:Provincia Occidental fr:Province de l'Ouest it:Provincia Occidentale ja:西部州 pl:Prowincja Zachodnia pt:Província do Oeste sv:Västprovinsen tg:Вилояти Ғарбӣ zh:西部省