in the Maluku Islands
of Indonesia
, technically part of the Pacific Ocean
but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera
and Ceram Sea
s. It is about 1000 km (600 mi) east to west, and about 500 km (300 mi) north to south.
Extent
The International Hydrographic Organization(IHO) defines the Banda Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago
. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North The Southern limits of the Molukka SeaMolucca SeaThe Molucca Sea is located in the western Pacific Ocean, within the country of Indonesia. The region is rich in coral and has many diving sites.-Location:...
and the Western and Southern limits of the Ceram SeaCeram SeaThe Ceram Sea or Seram Sea is one of several small seas between the scattered islands of Indonesia. It is a section of the Pacific Ocean with an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometers located between Buru and Seram, which are two of the islands once called the South Moluccas...
.
On the East. From Tg Borang, the Northern point of Noehoe Tjoet
[ Kai BesarKai BesarKai Besar is one of the Kai Islands which are part of the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. Its area is 550 km². The other main island in the Kai Islands group is Kai Kecil . The northern tip is called Tanjung Borang, and southern tip called Tanjung Weduar....] , through this island to its Southern point, thence a line to the Northeast point of Fordata, through this island and across to the Northeast point of Larat, Tanimbar IslandsTanimbar IslandsThe Tanimbar Islands, also called Timor Laut, are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia, including Fordata, Larat, Maru, Molu, Nuswotar, Selaru, Selu, Seira, Wotap, Wuliaru and Yamdena.-Geography:...
(7°06′S 131°55′E), down the East coast of Jamdena[ YamdenaYamdenaYamdena is the largest of the Tanimbar Islands in the Maluku Province of Indonesia. Saumlaki is the chief town, located on the south end of the island....] Island to its Southern point, thence through Anggarmasa to the North point of Selaroe and through this island to Tg Aro Oesoe its Southern point (8°21′S 130°45′E).
On the South. A line from Tanjong Aro Oesoe, through Sermata to Tanjong Njadora the Southeast point of Lakov (8°16′S 128°14′E) along the South coasts of Lakov, Moa and Leti Islands to Tanjong Toet Pateh, the West point of Leti, thence a line to Tanjong Sewirawa the Eastern extremity of Timor
TimorTimor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
and along the North coast as far as longitude 125° East125th meridian eastThe meridian 125° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
.
On the West. From a point on the North coast of Timor in 125° East up this meridian to Alor Island, thence round the East point and along the North coasts of the Alor, Pantar
PantarPantar is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor. To the east is the island of Alor and other small islands in the archipelago; to the west is the Alor Strait, which separates it from the Solor Archipelago. To the south is the Ombai Strait, and 72 km away,...
, LomblenLembataLembata is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands, formerly known as Lomblen island, is the largest island of the Solor Archipelago, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. It forms part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. The length of the island is about 80 km from the Southwest to the...
and AdoenaraAdonaraAdonara is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, located east of the larger island of Flores in the Solor Archipelago. To the east lies Lembata, formerly known as Lomblen. It is the highest of the islands of the archipelago, reaching an altitude of 1,659 metres, and it has an area of...
Islands and thence across the Northern end of Flores Strait to Tanjong Serbete the Eastern extreme of FloresFloresFlores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
, thence a line from its Northern point (8°04′S 122°52′E) to Kalaotoa Island (7°24′S 121°52′E) and through the chain of islands lying between it and the South point of Pulo SalayarSelayar IslandSelayar Island is the main island of the Selayar Islands . It lies off the coast of Cape Bira of South Sulawesi Province. The Selayar Straits separate it from the mainland of Sulawesi. Its main city is Benteng, towns Bonelohe, Padang, Barangbarang, over 50 miles long and very narrow; area, 248 mi²...
, through this island and across the Strait to Tanjong Lassa, CelebesSulawesiSulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
(5°37′S 120°28′E), thence along the Southern limit of the Gulf of BoniGulf of BoniThe Gulf of Boni is a large inlet in the south of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. To the west lies Sulawesi's South Peninsula, and to the east is the island's South-east Peninsula...
and up the East coast of Celebes to Tanjong Botok (1°04′S 123°19′E).
Islands
Islands bordering the Banda Sea include Sulawesito the west, Buru
, Ambon Island
, Ceram
, Aru Islands
, Barat Daya Islands
, to the Tanimbar Islands
, the Kai Islands
and Timor
in the East. Although the borders of the sea are hazardous to navigation
, with many small rocky islands, the middle of the sea is relatively open. Island groups within the sea include the Banda Islands
. A number of islands in the Banda Sea are active volcanoes including Gunung Api and Manuk in the Banda Islands.
Plate tectonic activities in Banda Sea
The Banda Sea occupies the main portion of the Banda Sea Plate. The southern margin of the sea consists of island arc
s above subduction zones. To the east of the Sunda Trench is the Timor Trough
which lies south of Timor
, the Tanimbar Trough south of the Tanimbar Islands
and the Aru Trough east of the Aru Islands
. These trenches are the subduction zone of the Indo-Australian plate
beneath the Banda Sea Plate, where the Indo-Australian Plate moves nothwards. Fore-arc sediments progressively carried northwards by the Indo-Australian Plate have been folded and faulted forming Timor island. To the northeast lies Seram Island
which overlies the subduction of the Bird's Head Plate
of West Irian.
Earthquakes
Earthquakes are very frequent in the area, due to the confluence of three tectonic plates - Eurasian, Pacific and Indo-Australian plates.- 1938 Banda Sea earthquake1938 Banda Sea earthquakeThe 1938 Banda Sea earthquake occurred in the Banda Sea region on February 1, 1938, and was the ninth largest earthquake in the 20th century. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.5 on the Moment magnitude scale, and intensities as high as VII . It generated Tsunamis of up to 1.5 metres, but no human...
- 2005 Banda Sea earthquake
- 2006 Banda Sea earthquake2006 Banda Sea earthquakeThe 2006 Banda Sea earthquake was an earthquake that occurred in the Banda Sea region, at 16:58 on January 27, 2006, with a magnitude of 7.6Mw. The location was 200 km south of Ambon Island, and 445 km north east of Dili, East Timor...
- 2009 Banda Sea earthquake
Ecology
The Banda Islands, Tanimbar Islands, Kai Islands and other smaller islands in the Banda Sea have been designated as the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests ecoregion, the eastern end of the Wallacea
biogeographical region containing a mixture of plant and animal species from both Asia
and Australasia
. These islands are covered in mostly intact rain forest and home to a number of endemic plants and animals including twenty-one birds, a very high number for this small ecoregion. There are only twenty-two mammals on these islands including three endemics, the rare Dusky Pademelon
(Thylogale brunii) and Tomb Bat (Taphozous achates
), and an endangered mouse-eared bat
, the Kei Myotis
(Myotis stalkeri). The birdlife is threatened by egg collectors and even more by cats and rodents that have been introduced to the islands. Yamdena
in the Tanimbar Islands is an example of a large and fairly unspoilt habitat and is a protected area. The base for visiting these islands is by plane or ship from Ambon Island
to the north, the largest of the Maluku Islands
. The Banda and Kei Islands, although remote are visited by tourists for snorkelling and for their unspoilt beaches.
Further reading
- Ponder, H. W. (1944) In Javanese waters; some sidelights on a few of the countless lovely, little known islands scattered over the Banda sea & some glimpses of their strange & stormy history London, Seeley, Service & Co. ltd.
- Patrick D. Nunn(1994) Oceanic Islands Oxford, Great Britain, Blackwell