The Sangihe Islands – – are a group of island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

s constitute 2 regencies in northern Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, the Sangihe Islands Regency

Sangihe Islands Regency

Sangihe Islands Regency is a regency of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The principal town lies at Tahuna....

 & Sitaro Islands Regency

Sitaro Islands Regency

Sitaro Islands Regency is a regency located in Sangihe Islands, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The regency was formed basing on Law Number 15 Year 2007 from January 2, 2007 . The regency's area is 275,96 km² and total population is 64,987 people. Most of the population are fishers and farmers...

. They are located northeast of Sulawesi

Sulawesi

Sulawesi 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...

 between the Celebes Sea

Celebes Sea

The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...

 and the Molucca Sea

Molucca Sea

The 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:...

, roughly halfway between Sulawesi and Mindanao

Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...

, in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

; the Sangihes form the eastern limit of the Celebes Sea. The islands combine to total 813 sq kilometers, with many of the islands being actively volcanic

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

 with fertile soil and mountains.

The main islands of the group are, north to south, Sangir Besar (or Sangir Island), Siau (or Siao), Tahulandang, and Biaro. The largest island is Sangir Besar and contains an active volcano, Mount Awu

Mount Awu

Mount Awu is the largest volcano in the Sangihe chain. Powerful eruptions occurred in 1711, 1812, 1856, 1892 and 1966 with devastating pyroclastic flows and lahars that have resulted in more than 8,000 fatalities altogether. A 4.5 km wide of crater is found at the summit and a deep valley...

 (1829 meters). Tahuna

Tahuna

Tahuna is the Māori word for beach. It is the name of several places:*Tahuna, Indonesia, a town in Sulawesi, Indonesia*Tahuna, Otago, a suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand**Tahuna Normal Intermediate School, an intermediate school in Dunedin...

 is the chief town and port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

, also hosting the islands' sole airport, Naha Airport

Naha Airport (Indonesia)

Naha Airport is an airport in Tahuna, Sangir Islands, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The airport is connected to Manado by weekly Trigana Air Service flights....

.

The area came under Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 control in 1677, and became part of Indonesia when it declared independence from the Netherlands in 1945.

The Sangir language

Sangir language

Sangirese, also known as Sangihé, Sangi, Sangih, and Sangil, is an Austronesian language spoken on the islands linking northern Sulawesi, Indonesia, with Mindanao, Philippines....

 is spoken in the islands; this Austronesian language is also spoken in some islands in the Philippines, and on the extreme northern tip of Sulawesi.

The Sangihe

Sangihe Plate

Sangihe Plate has recently been postulated to be a microplate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone of eastern Indonesia.-Regional tectonics:...

 tectonic plate is named after the island arc and is very active.

The population for this island group is about 250,000.