As a result of these battles, many shipwrecks are located southeast of the island; the bay is known as Ironbottom Sound.

It is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northeast of Cape Esperance, the northern tip of Guadalcanal.

According to the World Organization of Volcanic Observatories (WOVO), the volcano is active every 100 to 300 years.

[5] The first recorded sighting of Savo Island by European explorers was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in April 1568.

More precisely the sighting was due to a local exploration voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine, commanded by maestre de campo Pedro de Ortega Valencia and having Hernán Gallego as pilot.