1.
Run (island)
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Run is one of the smallest islands of the Banda Islands, which are a part of Moluccas, Indonesia. It is about 3 kilometres long and less than 1 kilometre wide, according to historian John Keay, Run is comparable in its significance in the history of the English overseas possessions as Runnymede is to British constitutional history. On December 25,1616, Captain Nathaniel Courthope reached Run to defend it against the claims of the Dutch East India Company, a contract with the inhabitants was signed, accepting James I of England as sovereign of the island. After four years of siege by the Dutch and the death of Nathaniel Courthope in an attack in 1620, according to the Treaty of Westminster ending the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652–1654, Run should have been returned to England. In return Run was formally abandoned to the Dutch, there are, however, still nutmeg trees growing on Run today. Banda Neira Bencoolen Presidency 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty Dotschkal, Janna
2.
Body of water
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A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planets surface. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, a body of water does not have to be still or contained, Rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water. Most are naturally occurring geographical features, but some are artificial, there are types that can be either. For example, most reservoirs are created by engineering dams, similarly, most harbors are naturally occurring bays, but some harbors have been created through construction. Bodies of water that are navigable are known as waterways, some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans. The term body of water can also refer to a reservoir of water held by a plant, note that there are some geographical features involving water that are not bodies of water, for example waterfalls, geysers and rapids. Arm of the sea - also sea arm, used to describe a sea loch, arroyo - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. Artificial lake or artificial pond - see reservoir or impoundment, barachois - a lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar. Bay - an area of water bordered by land on three sides, similar to, but smaller than a gulf, bayou - a slow-moving stream or a marshy lake. Bight - a large and often only slightly receding bay, or a bend in any geographical feature, billabong - see Oxbow lake, a pond or still body of water created when a river changes course and some water becomes trapped. Boil - see Seep Brook - a small stream, canal - an artificial waterway, usually connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Channel - the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean consisting of a bed. See also stream bed and strait, earth scientists generally use the term to describe a circular or round inlet with a narrow entrance, though colloquially the term is sometimes used to describe any sheltered bay. Basin - a region of land where water from rain or snowmelt drains downhill into another body of water, such as a river, lake, creek - an inlet of the sea, narrower than a cove. Delta - the location where a river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, distributary or distributary channel - a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Draw - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, fjord - a submergent landform which has occurred due to glacial activity. Glacier - a large collection of ice or a river that moves slowly down a mountain. Glacial Pothole - see Kettle Gulf - a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on three sides, similar to, but larger than a bay, headland - an area of water bordered by land on three sides
3.
Sea
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A sea is a large body of salt water that is surrounded in whole or in part by land. More broadly, the sea is the system of Earths salty. The sea moderates Earths climate and has important roles in the cycle, carbon cycle. Although the sea has been traveled and explored since prehistory, the scientific study of the sea—oceanography—dates broadly to the British Challenger expedition of the 1870s. Owing to the present state of continental drift, the Northern Hemisphere is now equally divided between land and sea but the South is overwhelmingly oceanic. Salinity in the ocean is generally in a narrow band around 3. 5% by mass, although this can vary in more landlocked waters, near the mouths of large rivers. About 85% of the solids in the sea are sodium chloride. Deep-sea currents are produced by differences in salinity and temperature, surface currents are formed by the friction of waves produced by the wind and by tides, the changes in local sea level produced by the gravity of the Moon and Sun. The direction of all of these is governed by surface and submarine land masses, former changes in sea levels have left continental shelves, shallow areas in the sea close to land. The most diverse areas surround great tropical coral reefs, whaling in the deep sea was once common but whales dwindling numbers prompted international conservation efforts and finally a moratorium on most commercial hunting. Life may have started there and aquatic microbial mats are generally credited with the oxygenation of Earths atmosphere, the sea is an essential aspect of human trade, travel, mineral extraction, and power generation. It is the scene of activities including swimming, diving, surfing. However, population growth, industrialization, and intensive farming have all contributed to marine pollution. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is being absorbed in increasing amounts, lowering its pH in a known as ocean acidification. The shared nature of the sea has made overfishing an increasing problem, both senses of sea date to Old English, the larger sense has required a definite article since Early Middle English. Seas are generally larger than lakes and contain salt water, while the defining elements of size and being bounded are generally used, there is no formally accepted technical definition of sea among oceanographers. In international law, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that all the ocean is the sea. Earth is the known planet with seas of liquid water on its surface, although Mars possesses ice caps
4.
Discharge (hydrology)
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In hydrology, discharge is the volume rate of water flow that is transported through a given cross-sectional area. It includes any suspended solids, dissolved chemicals, or biologic material in addition to the water itself, GH Dury and MJ Bradshaw are two hydrologists who devised the models showing the relationship between discharge and other variables in a river. The units that are used to express discharge include m³/s, ft³/s and/or acre-feet per day. For example, the discharge of the Rhine river in Europe is 2,200 cubic metres per second or 190,000,000 cubic metres per day. A commonly applied methodology for measuring, and estimating, the discharge of a river is based on a form of the continuity equation. In storm hydrology, an important consideration is the streams discharge hydrograph, the stream rises to a peak flow after each precipitation event, then falls in a slow recession. Because the peak flow also corresponds to the water level reached during the event. The amount of precipitation correlates to the volume of water that flows out of the river. The relationship between the discharge in the stream at a given cross-section and the level of the stream is described by a rating curve, average velocities and the cross-sectional area of the stream are measured for a given stream level. The velocity and the give the discharge for that level. After measurements are made for different levels, a rating table or rating curve may be developed. Once rated, the discharge in the stream may be determined by measuring the level, if a continuous level-recording device is located at a rated cross-section, the streams discharge may be continuously determined. Larger flows can transport more sediment and larger particles downstream than smaller flows due to their greater force, larger flows can also erode stream banks and damage public infrastructure
5.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
6.
Timor Sea
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The Timor Sea is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the west of Australia. The sea contains a number of reefs, uninhabited islands and significant hydrocarbon reserves, International disputes emerged after the reserves were discovered resulting in the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty. The Timor Sea was hit by the worst oil spill for 25 years in 2009 and it is possible that Australias first inhabitants crossed the Timor Sea from Indonesia at a time when sea levels were lower. The waters to the east are known as the Arafura Sea, the Timor Sea is adjacent to three substantial inlets on the north Australian coast, the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Beagle Gulf and the Van Diemen Gulf. The Australian city of Darwin is the large city to adjoin the sea. The small town of Wyndham is located on the west arm of Cambridge Gulf, Rivers that enter the Timor Sea from the Northern Territory include Fish River, King River, Dry River, Victoria River and the Alligator Rivers. Rivers in the Kimberley region that flow into the Timor Sea include the Ord River, Forrest River, Pentecost River, the sea is about 480 km wide, covering an area of about 610,000 km². Its deepest point is the Timor Trough, located in the part of the sea. The remainder of the sea is shallower, much of it averaging less than 200 m deep, as it overlies the Sahul Shelf. The Big Bank Shoals is an area on the seabed between the continental shelf and the Timor Trough where a number of submerged banks are located. The ecosystem of the shoals is significantly different to the waters surrounding them. In May 2010, it was announced that a crater about 50 km wide has been discovered on the seabed of the Timor Sea, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the Timor Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows, On the North The Southeastern limit of the Savu Sea the Southeastern coast of Timor, the Western of the Arafura Sea. The North coast of Australia from Cape Don to Cape Londonderry, a line from Cape Londonderry to the Southwest point of Roti Island. Many tropical storms and cyclones originate or pass through the Timor Sea, in February 2005, Tropical Cyclone Vivienne disrupted oil and gas production facilities in the area, and the next month, Severe Tropical Cyclone Willy interrupted production. A number of significant islands are located in the sea, notably Melville Island, part of the Tiwi Islands, off Australia and it is thought that early humans reached Australia by island-hopping across the Timor Sea. Scott and Seringapatam Reefs formed in the area and to the west on the same platform is the Rowley Shoals. The Timor Current is a current that runs south-west in the Timor Sea between the Indonesia archipelago and Australia
7.
Molucca Sea
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The Molucca Sea has a total surface area of 77,000 square miles. The Molucca Sea is rich in coral and has many diving sites due to the deepness of its waters, the deepness of the water explains the reasoning behind dividing the sea into three zones, which functions to transport water from the Pacific Ocean to the shallower seas surrounding it. The deepest hollow in the Molucca Sea is the 15, 780-foot Batjan basin, the Molucca Sea borders the Banda Sea to the south and the Celebes Sea to the north. The islands bordering the Molucca Sea include Halmahera to the north east, Buru and Ceram in the centre, and Sulawesi to the west. The Talaud Islands to the north are considered to be the border the sea, though the Molucca Sea Plate. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Molukka Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago, the IHO defines its limits as follows, On the North. By the West coast of Morotai from Tanjong Sopi as far south as Wajaboela, thence a line to the Northern point of Halmahera and down its West coast to Tanjong Libolo, the East coasts of Banggai and Peleng Islands to North Bangkalan thence a line to Tg. Botok round the coast to Tg, pasir Pandjang and across to Tg. Tombalilatoe on the opposite coast, thence up the East coast to Tg, poeisan, the Northeastern extreme of Celebes. The Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Spanish Empires fought each other for control of the islands that can only be accessed through the Molucca Sea. The sea is a seismically active area due to the Molucca Sea Plate. Strait of Malacca, which is west of Singapore
8.
Ceram Sea
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The 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 called the South Moluccas. These islands are the habitat of plants long coveted for their use as spices, such as nutmeg, cloves, and black peppercorns. The Ceram Sea is also the habitat of species of tropical goby. Like many other small Indonesian seas, the Ceram Sea is rocky, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the Ceram Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows, On the North, a line from Karufa, New Guinea, to the Southeastern extreme of pulau Adi, thence to tanjung Borang, the Northern point of pulau Nuhuyut. A line from Tanjung Palpetu to Tanjung Waka, the Southern point of pulau Sanana, through this island to its Northern point, wang, James C. F. Handbook on Ocean Politics and Law
9.
Maluku Islands
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The Maluku Islands or the Moluccas are an archipelago within Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone, geographically they are located east of Sulawesi, west of New Guinea, and north and east of Timor. The islands were also the core of the Spice Islands known to the Chinese and Europeans. The name was due to the nutmeg, mace and cloves that were originally found there. The Maluku Islands formed a province from Indonesian independence until 1999. A new province, North Maluku, incorporates the area between Morotai and Sula, with the arc of islands from Buru and Seram to Wetar remaining within the existing Maluku Province, North Maluku is predominantly Muslim, and its capital is Sofifi on Halmahera island. Maluku province has a larger Christian population, and its capital is Ambon, though originally Melanesian, many island populations, especially in the Banda Islands, were exterminated in the 17th century during the spice wars. A second influx of Austronesian immigrants began in the twentieth century under the Dutch. Between 1999 and 2002, conflict between Muslims and Christians killed thousands and displaced half a million people, the name Maluku is thought to have been derived from the term used by Arab traders for the region, Jazirat al-Muluk. The Maluku Islands were a single province from Indonesian independence until 1999 when they were split into North Maluku and Maluku, North Maluku province includes Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, Halmahera Morotai, the Obi Islands, and the Sula Islands. Evidence of increasingly long-distance trading relationships and of more frequent occupation of many islands, onyx beads and segments of silver plate used as currency on the Indian subcontinent around 200BC have been unearthed on some of the islands. Arab merchants began to arrive in the 14th century, bringing Islam, peaceful conversion to Islam occurred in many islands, especially in the centres of trade, while aboriginal animism persisted in the hinterlands and more isolated islands. Archaeological evidence here relies largely on the occurrence of pigs teeth, the Portuguese had conquered the city state of Malacca in the early 16th century and their influence was most strongly felt in Maluku and other parts of eastern Indonesia. On the return trip, Francisco Serrão was shipwrecked at Hitu island in 1512, there he established ties with the local ruler who was impressed with his martial skills. The spice trade soon revived but the Portuguese would not be able to fully monopolize nor disrupt this trade, both Serrão and Ferdinand Magellan, however, perished before they could meet one another. The Portuguese first landed in Ambon in 1513, but it became the new centre for their activities in Maluku following the expulsion from Ternate. European power in the region was weak and Ternate became an expanding, fiercely Islamic and anti-European state under the rule of Sultan Baab Ullah and his son Sultan Said. By the 1560s there were 10,000 Catholics in the area, mostly on Ambon, the Pela Gandong community relationship system is between various Christian and Muslim villages throughout the regions
10.
Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde
11.
Halmahera Sea
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Halmahera Sea is a regional sea located in the central eastern part of the Australasian Mediterranean Sea. It is centered at about 1°S and 129°E and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the north, Halmahera to the west, Waigeo and Irian Jaya to the east, and the Seram Sea to the south. It covers about 95,000 km and its topography comprises a number of basins and ridges. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Halmahera Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago, the IHO defines its limits as follows, On the North A line from Wajaboela to Tg. Djodjefa, the Northern point of Halmahera, menonket its Southwest point, and thence to Tg. The Northern limit of Ceram Sea between Obi Major and New Guinea, the Southern limit of Molukka Sea between Halmahera and Obi Major. Halmahera Sea entry on the Glossary of Physical Oceanography
12.
International Hydrographic Organization
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The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing hydrography. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the seas, oceans. It does this through the setting of standards, the co-ordination of the endeavours of the worlds national hydrographic offices. The IHO enjoys observer status at the United Nations where it is the competent authority on hydrographic surveying. When referring to hydrography and nautical charting in Conventions and similar Instruments, it is the IHO standards, the IHO was established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau. The present name was adopted in 1970 as part of a new international Convention on the IHO adopted by the member nations. The former name International Hydrographic Bureau was retained to describe the IHO secretariat until 8 November 2016, there were substantial differences in hydrographic procedures charts, and publications. In 1889, an International Maritime Conference was held at Washington, D. C. similar proposals were made at the sessions of the International Congress of Navigation held at Saint Petersburg in 1908 and the International Maritime Conference held at Saint Petersburg in 1912. In 1919 the hydrographers of Great Britain and France cooperated in taking the steps to convene an international conference of hydrographers. London was selected as the most suitable place for this conference, and on 24 July 1919 and this is still the major purpose of the IHO. As a result of the conference, a permanent organization was formed, the IHB, now the IHO, began its activities in 1921 with 18 nations as members. The Principality of Monaco was selected as the seat of the organization as a result of the offer of Albert I, the IHO develops hydrographic and nautical charting standards. These standards are adopted and used by its 86 member countries and others in their surveys, nautical charts. Much has been done in the field of standardisation since the Bureau was founded, the IHO has encouraged the formation of Regional Hydrographic Commissions. Each RHC coordinates the national surveying and charting activities of countries within each region, the 15 RHCs plus the IHO Hydrographic Commission on Antarctica effectively cover the world. The IHO, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, directs the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans programme, in 2010 the IHO introduced a new, contemporary hydrographic geospatial standard for modelling marine data and information, known as S-100. S-100 and any dependent product specifications are underpinned by an on-line registry accessible via the IHO website, S-100 is aligned with the ISO19100 series of geographic standards, thereby making it fully compatible with contemporary geospatial data standards. Because S-100 is based on ISO19100, it can be used by other providers for their maritime-related data
13.
Tanimbar Islands
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The Indonesian phrase timur laut means northeast. Geographically, the northeast islands are part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. The Aru Islands and Kai Islands lie to the northeast, and Babar Island, the islands separate the Banda Sea and the Arafura Sea. The total land area of the Islands is 5440 km², the largest of the group is Yamdena. Yamdena Island has a range of forested hills along its eastern coast. Saumlaki is the town, located on the south end of Yamdena. Other islands include Larat, Selaru, and Wuliaru, the population was 105,394 at the 2010 Census, of whom about 73% are Christian, and the remainder Muslim or unknown. The tiny island of Tanimbarkei is not part of Tanimbar, but of the Kai Islands, the Tanimbar Islands are part of the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests ecoregion. The Tanimbar Islands were part of the Dutch East Indies, during World War II the Dutch sent a detachment of thirteen men to the town of Saumlaki in the Tanimbar Islands in July 1942. Japanese ships entered the bay at Saumlaki on 30 July and small boats were used to get to the jetty, the Japanese filed in ranks on the jetty and wanted to march in close order into Saumlaki. The garrison opened fire at range with their two light machine guns. The Japanese retreated to their boats leaving several dead on the jetty, on 31 July an Australian contingent arriving at the jetty at Saumlaki in order to support the Dutch garrison was fired on from the shore, and the commander on board was killed. Next, the garrison came under gunfire, which inflicted some casualties. Seven survivors withdrew and boarded a ship and escaped to Australia. Important products are copra, tortoiseshell, and trepang, forgotten Campaign, The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942
14.
Yamdena
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Yamdena is the largest of the Tanimbar Islands in the Maluku Province of Indonesia. Saumlaki is the town, located on the south end of the island. The island has a range of forested hills along its eastern coast, the forests are inhabited by wild Water Buffalo. The Yamdena language is spoken on and around the island, christianity is the main religion, but ancestor worship is still practised. Handicrafts on the island include woodcarving, fine goldwork, Ikat weaving, in 1987 a new species of Bush Warbler was recorded on the island. Megalith, In the village of Sangliat Dol there is a stone stairway that leads from the beach to a boat shaped stone platform. There are several similar ones but less preserved sites on the island which originally represented the boats on which the ancient ancestors arrived on the island. Saumlaki is linked by air and sea to Langgur-Tual in the Kei Islands, Yamdena Wordlist at the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
15.
Leti Islands
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The Leti Islands of Indonesia are part of the Maluku Islands, in southwest Maluku Province. The main islands are Moa, Leti and Lakor, the islands cover 750 square kilometres in area and support a population of 16,664 at the 2010 Census. The most significant town is Pati, on Moa, industries include the cultivation of rice, coconut palms and tobacco, animal husbandry, and fishing. Leti proper, the westernmost island, has a population of 7,526, the island is a triangular mountain ridge, subtended by Koli Besar mountain in the east and the Rapat mountains in the west. The Leti language, a member of the Austronesian languages group, is spoken on Leti, the Leti Islands form the Leti Moa Lakor and Moa Lakor districts of the Southwest Maluku Regency within Maluku Province. The office of the head of Leti Moa Lakor is located in Serwaru. The office of the camat of Moa Lakor is located in Weet on Moa, Islands of Indonesia Maluku Islands Maluku van Engelenhoven, Aone. Leti, a language of Southwest Maluku
16.
Timor
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Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the states of East Timor, on the eastern part, and Indonesia, on the western part. The Indonesian part, also known as West Timor, constitutes part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, within West Timor lies an exclave of East Timor called Oecusse District. The island covers an area of 30,777 square kilometres, the name is a variant of timur, Malay for east, it is so called because it lies at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Anthropologists identify eleven distinct ethno-linguistic groups in Timor, the largest are the Atoni of western Timor, and the Tetum of central and eastern Timor. Most indigenous Timorese languages belong to the Timor–Babar branch of the Austronesian languages spoken throughout the Indonesian archipelago, the non-Austronesian languages are thought to be related to languages spoken on Halmahera and in Western New Guinea. Some are so mixed it is difficult to tell which family they descend from, the official languages of East Timor are Tetum and Portuguese, while in West Timor it is Indonesian. Indonesian is also spoken and understood in East Timor. Islam and Animism make up most of the remainder at about 5% each across the island, Timor is located north of Australia, and is one of the easternmost Sunda Islands. Timor is the island of the Outer Banda Arc, which has been upthrust by collision with the Australian continent. Timor has older geology and lacks the volcanic nature of the northern Lesser Sunda Islands, the orientation of the main axis of the island also differs from its neighbors. These features have been explained as the result of being on the edge of the Indo-Australian Plate as it meets the Eurasian Plate. The climate includes a dry season with hot winds blowing over from Australia. Rivers on the island include the Southern and Northern Laclo Rivers in East Timor, the largest towns on the island are the provincial capital of Kupang in West Timor, Indonesia and the Portuguese colonial towns of Dili the capital, and Baucau in East Timor. Poor roads make transport to inland areas difficult, in East Timor especially, East Timor is a poor country, with health issues including malaria and dengue fever. Sources of revenue include gas and oil in the Timor Sea, coffee growing, the natural vegetation was tropical dry broadleaf forests with an undergrowth of shrubs and grasses supporting a rich wildlife. However much of the original forest has been cleared for farming, especially on the coasts of Timor, apart from one large block in the centre of Timor only patches remain. This ecoregion is part of the Wallacea area with a mixture of plants and animals of Asian and Australasian origin, it lies in the part of Wallacea
17.
Alor Island
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Alor is the largest island in the Alor Archipelago and is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia. It is located at the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands that runs through southeastern Indonesia, which from the west include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores. To the east of the island across the Ombai Strait lie the islands of Wetar and Atauro, to the south, across the Strait of Alor, lies the western part of Timor. To the north lies the Banda Sea, to the west lies Pantar and the other islands of the Alor archipelago, and further yet the rest of the Sunda Islands. Alor Island, as well as the rest of its archipelago, is part of East Nusa Tenggara province, Alor has an area of about 2800 km², making it the largest island of the Alor archipelago. Kalabahi is the town on the island of Alor, with a metropolitan population of about 60,000. The variety of goods obtainable in Kalabahi is surprising considering its size, the 2010 census population of the island is 145,299 out of 190,000 in the regency. Alor is of volcanic origin and has rugged terrain. The region near Kalabahi is the flat area. This may be why the Dutch chose the location as the capital, on 12 November 2004, an earthquake occurred, killing 34 people, and injuring 400. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII, the islands infrastructure is only weakly built. The inhabitants practice mainly subsistence agriculture, the government seeks to change this with the help of international organizations. In the villages, vanilla, tamarind, almonds and other nuts are cultivated, in the forests sandalwood is cut down for trade. The latest geological explorations have discovered valuable resources such as gypsum, kaolin, petroleum, natural gas, tin, gold, alors snorkelling and diving may promise an increase in tourism in the future. Depletion of the fisheries has however damaged the reefs in recent years. Over 168,000 people live on Alor, three-fourths are Protestants, the rest are either Muslims or in a few villages Roman Catholics. Animistic rites and traditions are still strongly practiced, more than 15 different indigenous languages are spoken on Alor, the majority of them classified as Papuan or non-Austronesian. These include Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Woisika, Kelon, in addition, Alorese is a Malayo-Polynesian language which is spoken along the coast of the western and southern Birds Head of Alor Island and in places on surrounding islands
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Pantar
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Pantar is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor. To the east is the island of Alor and other islands in the archipelago, to the west is the Alor Strait. To the south is the Ombai Strait, and 72 kilometres away, to the north is the Banda Sea. The island is about 50 kilometres north-to-south, and varies from 11 to 29 kilometres in east-west width and it has an area of 728 square kilometres. The main towns on the island are Baranusa and Kabir, administratively, the island is part of the Alor Regency. The island consists of two geographic zones. The eastern zone is dominated by a range of verdant hills which drop steeply to the coast of the Alor Strait, the western zone is relatively flat, consisting of a plain which gently slopes to the west from the 900-metre active volcano, Mt. Sirung. The western zone is characteristically drier and much less populated than the eastern zone. Owing to its low elevation, the entire island is drier than neighboring Alor. The dry season is long, interspersed with heavy rainfall during the rainy season, the economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture and fishing. The most common crops are rice, corn, and cassava, crops are harvested annually in April and stored for consumption throughout the dry season. Excess production is traded for fish or to help support school children studying in the district capital of Kalabahi. Recently, commercial production of seaweed has been promoted along the north coast, a limited craft industry focused on ikat weaving is centered in Baranusa. Tourism remains underdeveloped, though a small resort was recently established on the northeast coast. Access to the island is by water only, there is no airstrip on Pantar, small wooden power boats ply the route between Alor and Pantar daily, serving numerous communities. The state-run ferry serves Baranusa weekly between Kalabahi and Larantuka, Pantar is part of Alor Regency, comprising five districts, and has 39,896 residents at the 2010 Census. Within this administration lie some small islets to the west, Pantar is referred to with the term Galiao, which is known in the Alor archipelago. The precise location of the Majapahit dependency within Pantar is a subject of discussion, at least 9 different languages are spoken on Pantar
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Lembata
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Lembata is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands, formerly known as Lomblen island, it is the largest island of the Solor Archipelago, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. It forms a separate regency of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, the length of the island is about 80 km from the southwest to the northeast and the width is about 30 km from the west to the east. It rises to a height of 1,533 metres, to the west lie the other islands in the archipelago, most notably Solor and Adonara, and then the larger island of Flores. To the east is the Alor Strait, which separates this archipelago from the Alor Archipelago. To the south across the Savu Sea lies the island of Timor, while to the north the western branch of the Banda Sea separates it from Buton and the other islands of Southeast Sulawesi. Ships frequently connect the towns and surrounding islands, but the only bigger harbour exists at Lewoleba in the north of the island. From Lewoleba there are connections to Larantuka, Flores. Like the other Lesser Sunda Islands, and indeed much of Indonesia and it has three volcanoes, Ililabalekan, Iliwerung, and Lewotolo. The south part of Lembata was the site of the state of Labala, the people of Lembata are, like many other inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia, famous for their handmade ikat weavings. The national language, Indonesian, is known by people of all ages. The most widespread of these is probably Lamaholot, Lamaholot is spoken as a native language on Eastern Flores and Western Solor, and is itself divided into ten or more sublanguages. It is spoken by 150.000 or more people in the region, on the South coast of Lembata, the village of Lamalera is known for its whale hunting. Lamalera and Lamakera are the last two remaining Indonesian whaling communities, the two species were the first to be found in Lamalera Sea, but similar types have been found near Bali before. The fish were found in seas with good coral reefs, although traces of bombing had been found around the coral reefs in the Lamalera Sea
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Adonara
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Adonara 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 and it is the highest of the islands of the archipelago, reaching an altitude of 1,659 metres, and it has an area of 497 km2. It is in the East Nusa Tenggara province, local history on Adonara is documented from the sixteenth century, when Portuguese traders and missionaries established a post on the nearby island of Solor. By that time Adonara and the islands were ritually divided between a population of coastal dwellers known as Paji, and a population mainly settling the mountainous inland called Demon. The Paji were susceptible to Islam, while the Demon tended to fall under Portuguese influence, the Paji areas on Adonara contained three principalities, namely Adonara proper, and Terong and Lamahala. Together with two principalities on Solor, Lohayong and Lamakera, they constituted a league called Watan Lema, the Watan Lema allied with the Dutch East India Company in 1613, confirmed in 1646. The Adonara principalities had frequent feuds with the Portuguese in Larantuka on Flores, the Demon areas stood under the suzerainty of the principality of Larantuka, which in turn was under Portuguese rule until 1859, when it was ceded to the Netherlands. The principalities of Larantuka and Adonara were abolished by the Indonesian government in 1962, some post-independence local officials trace their roots to past rulers, called raja, of Adonara. These include, Foramma, c.1650 Boli I, c, 1671-1684 Eke 1684-1688 Gogok, c.1702 Wuring, 1688–1719 Boli II, 1719-after 1756 unknown rulers Jou, c.1815 Lakabella Jou, c.1832 Begu, d. It can be reached by airplane from Jakarta to Kupang, then by ferry to Larantuka, the administrative centre of Adonara is the town of Waiwerang. P. Arndt, Demon und Padzi, die feindlichen Brüder des Solor-Archipelags, robert H. Barnes, Lamakera, Solor, Ethnohistory of a Muslim Whaling Village of Eastern Indonesia, Anthropos 90. Arend de Roever, De jacht op sandelhout, De VOC en de tweedeling van Timor in de zeventiende eeuw
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Flores
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Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. The population was 1,831,000 in the 2010 census, the name Flores is derived from the Portuguese for flowers. Flores is located east of Sumbawa and Komodo and west of Lembata, to the south, across the Sumba Strait, is Sumba island and to the north, beyond the Flores Sea, is Sulawesi. Unlike most islands in the Indonesian archipelago, the name Flores was given by the Portuguese, from Cabo de Flores and this part of the island, originally called Kopondai, was so named by the Portuguese because of the flowering Delonix regia trees found there. The original name of Flores was Nipa, referring to the serpent, Portuguese traders and missionaries came to Flores in the 16th century, mainly to Larantuka and Sikka. Their influence is still discernible in Sikkas language, culture and religion, the first Portuguese visit took place in 1511, through the expedition of António de Abreu and his vice-captain Francisco Serrão, en route through the Sunda islands. The Dominican order was important in this island, as well as in the neighbouring islands of Timor and Solor. When in 1613 the Dutch attacked the Fortress of Solor, the population of this fort, led by the Dominicans, moved to the town of Larantuka. This population was mixed, of Portuguese and local islanders descent and Larantuqueiros, Topasses or, as Dutch knew them, the Larantuqueiros or Topasses became the dominant sandalwood trading people of the region for the next 200 years. This group used Portuguese as the language for worship, Malay as the language of trade and their Language is Portuguese, and the religion they have, is Romish. They seem in Words to acknowledge the King of Portugal for their Sovereign and they speak indifferently the Malayan and their own native Languages, as well as Portuguese. In 1846, Dutch and Portuguese initiated negotiations towards delimiting the territories, lima Lopes did so without the consent of Lisbon and was dismissed in disgrace, but his agreement was not rescinded and in 1854 Portugal ceded all its historical claims on Flores. After this, Flores became part of the territory of Dutch East Indies, during World War II a Japanese invasion force landed at Reo on 14 May 1942 and occupied Flores. After the war Flores became part of independent Indonesia, on 12 December 1992, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred, killing 2,500 people in and around Maumere, including islands off the North coast. Flores is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province, Flores has 39. 1% of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial population as of 2010, and the most Indonesians of all islands in the province. Kelimutu National Park is the national park designated on Flores to protect endangered species. The Flores giant rat is endemic to the island. These giant rodents are considered examples of island gigantism, Flores was also the habitat of several extinct dwarf forms of the proboscidean Stegodon, the most recent disappearing approximately 12,000 years ago and the diminutive Homo floresiensis
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Sulawesi
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Sulawesi, formerly known as Celebes, is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the worlds eleventh-largest island, within Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger populations. The landmass of Sulawesi includes four peninsulas, the northern Minahasa Peninsula, the East Peninsula, the South Peninsula, the Strait of Makassar runs along the western side of the island and separates the island from Borneo. The name Sulawesi possibly comes from the words sula and besi, the term sula also means tines, horn or spikes, derived from Sanskrit, as trishula refer to trident. Thus sulawesi means iron spikes, which suggested that the island was also a producer of iron edged weapons, the name came into common use in English following Indonesian independence. The name Celebes was originally given to the island by Portuguese explorers and it is widely considered a Portuguese rendering of the native name Sulawesi. Sulawesi is the worlds eleventh-largest island, covering an area of 174,600 km2, the central part of the island is ruggedly mountainous, such that the islands peninsulas have traditionally been remote from each other, with better connections by sea than by road. The three bays that divide Sulawesis peninsulas are, from north to south, the Tomini, the Tolo and these separate the Minahassa or Northern Peninsula, the East Peninsula, the Southeast Peninsula and the South Peninsula. The Strait of Makassar runs along the side of the island. The island is surrounded by Borneo to the west, by the Philippines to the north, by Maluku to the east, the Selayar Islands make up a peninsula stretching southwards from Southwest Sulawesi into the Flores Sea are administratively part of Sulawesi. All the above-mentioned islands, and many smaller ones, are part of Sulawesis six provinces. The island slopes up from the shores of the seas surrounding the island to a high, mostly non-volcanic. Active volcanoes are found in the northern Minahassa Peninsula, stretching north to the Sangihe Islands, the northern peninsula contains several active volcanoes such as Mount Lokon, Mount Awu, Soputan and Karangetang. Because of its several tectonic origin, faults scar the land, as a result, Sulawesi, in contrast to most of the other islands in the biogeographical region of Wallacea, is not truly oceanic, but a composite island at the centre of the Asia-Australia collision zone. Parts of the island were attached to either the Asian or Australian continental margin. In the west, the opening of the Makassar Strait separated West Sulawesi from Sundaland in the Eocene c.45 Mya. Before October 2014, the settlement of South Sulawesi by modern humans had been dated to c.30,000 BC on the basis of dates obtained from rock shelters in Maros. Initial settlement was probably around the mouth of the Sadan river, on the northwest coast of the peninsula, although the south coast has also been suggested
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Gulf of Boni
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The Gulf of Boni, also known as the Bay of Boni, Bone Bay, and the Bone Gulf, is the gulf which divides the South and Southeast Peninsulas of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It opens on the south into the Flores Sea, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the Gulf of Boni as being one of the divisions of the East Indian Archipelago. It is defined as the north of the line from Tg. Lassa, Celebes, to the North point of Kabaena and thence up this meridian to the coast of Celebes, Gulf of Tomini and of Tolo Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd ed. International Hydrographic Organization,1953
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Buru
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Buru is the third largest island within Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon, the island belongs to Maluku province and includes the Buru and South Buru regencies. Their administrative centers, Namlea and Namrole, respectively, have ports, there is a military airport at Namlea which supports civilian cargo transportation. About a third of the population is indigenous, mostly Buru, the rest of population are immigrants from Java and nearby Maluku Islands. The religious affiliation is evenly split between Christianity and Sunni Islam, with remnants of traditional beliefs. While local languages and dialects are spoken within communities, the national Indonesian language is used among the communities. Most of the island is covered with forests rich in tropical flora, from the present 179 bird and 25 mammal species, about 14 are found either on Buru only or also on a few nearby islands, the most notable being the wild pig Buru babirusa. There is little industry on the island, and most population is engaged in growing rice, maize, sweet potato, beans, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, clove, other significant activities are animal farming and fishing. The island was first mentioned around 1365, between 1658 and 1942, it was colonised by the Dutch East India Company and then by the Crown of the Netherlands. The Dutch administration relocated many local villages to the newly built capital at Kayeli Bay for working at clove plantations. It also promoted the hierarchy among the people with selected loyal rajas placed above the heads of the local clans. The island was occupied by the Japanese forces between 1942 and 1945 and in 1950 became part of independent Indonesia, during former president Suhartos New Order administration in the 1960s–1970s, Buru was the site of a prison used to hold thousands of political prisoners. While held at Buru, writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer wrote most of his novels, Buru island lies between two seas of the Pacific Ocean – Seram Sea on the north and Banda Sea to the south and west. To the east, it is separated by the Manipa Strait from Seram Island, with an area of 9,505 km2, Buru is the third largest among the Maluku Islands after Halmahera and Seram. Buru is shaped like an oval, elongated from west to east, the maximum length is about 130 km from east to west and 90 km from north to south. The coastline is smooth, with the only indentation being Kayeli Bay located on the eastern coast, the bay also has a smooth, oval shape. It extends into the island to 8–12 km and has a width of 17 km, the width decreases to 9 km at the mouth. At the northern part of the mouth stands Namlea, the largest town of the island, the highest point on the island is the peak of Mount Kapalatmada
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Ambon Island
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Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of 775 km2 and is mountainous, well watered, Ambon Island consists of two territories. The main city and seaport is Ambon, which is also the capital of Maluku province, Ambon Island lies off the southwest coast of the much larger Seram island. It is on the side of the Banda Sea, part of a chain of volcanic islands that encircle the sea. It is 51 kilometres long and is of irregular shape. The southeastern and smaller portion, a peninsula is united to the northern by a neck of land. Ambon city is on the northwest of Leitimor, facing Hitoe, the highest mountains, Wawani at 1,100 metres and Salahutu at 1,225 metres, have hot springs and solfataras. They are volcanoes, and the mountains of the neighboring Lease Islands are extinct volcanoes, granite and serpentine rocks predominate, but the shores of Amboina Bay are of chalk and contain stalactite caves. Wild areas of Ambon Island are covered by tropical rainforest, part of the Seram rain forests ecoregion, as a result of this isolation, Ambon has few indigenous mammals, birds are more abundant. The insect diversity of the island, however, is rich, seashells are obtained in great numbers and variety. The population of the island, including a tiny sparsely populated island to the north, is just below 441,000 in the 2010 Census, the average temperature is 27 °C, rarely falling below 22 °C. Rainfall can be heavy, especially after the monsoons. The wet season coincides with the period of the west monsoon, cassava and sago are the chief crops, which also include breadfruit, sugarcane, coffee, cocoa, pepper and cotton. In addition to these, hunting and fishing supplement the local diet, nutmeg and cloves were once the dominant export crops but are now produced in limited quantities. Amboina wood, obtained from the tree and highly valued for ornamental woodwork, is now mostly grown on Seram. The main employers in Ambon Island are the Gubernatorial Office, the Mayoral Office, Raiders 733, the whole economy of Ambon Island is starting to shift out of the Old Towne toward Passo, which is the newly appointed central business district of the island region. The economy of Ambon Island was recently boosted by the investment made by Ciputra Group in creating a new satellite city in Lateri, Kotamadya Ambon, Maluku. Furthermore, the new international standard shopping center, Ambon City Center, the Ambonese are of mixed Malay-Papuan origin
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Seram Island
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Seram is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Islands historical importance. It is located just north of smaller Ambon Island, Seram is traversed by a central mountain range, the highest point of which, Mount Binaiya, is covered with dense rain forests. Its remarkably complex geology is because of its location at the meeting of several tectonic microplates, Seram actually falls on its own microplate, which has been twisted around by 80° in the last 8 million years by the relatively faster movement of the Papua microplate. Meanwhile, along with the push of the Australian Plate. On the island are important karst areas, in the mountains near Sawai is the cave Hatu Saka, currently the deepest cave in Indonesia. In Taniwell district, on the north coast, is the underground river Sapalewa, Seram Island is remarkable for its high degree of localised bird endemism. The mammals found on Seram include Asian species as well as Australasian marsupials, the montane area of Seram supports the greatest number of endemic mammals of any island in the region. It harbors 38 mammal species and includes nine species that are endemic or near endemic and these include the Seram bandicoot, Moluccan flying fox, Seram flying-fox, Manusela mosaic-tailed rat, spiny Ceram rat and the Ceram rat, all considered threatened. Saltwater crocodiles exist within some of the rivers, including the Salawai River. In the eastern part of the island, Manusela National Park has been established in 1997, most central Moluccans consider Seram to be their original ancestral home and it is still known colloquially as Nusa Ina. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Seram was generally within the sphere of influence of Ternate, the expedition of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão sighted and explored the entire southern coast of Seram in early 1512, for the first time for Europeans. Portuguese missionaries were there in the 16th century. Dutch trading posts were opened in the early 17th century, in the 1780s, Seram provided a key base of support for Prince Nuku of Tidores long-running rebellion against Dutch rule. From 1954 until 1962 the islands mountain terrain was the scene of a guerilla struggle against Indonesian rule by the counter revolutionary Republic of South Moluccas movement led by Soumokil. Seram includes three of the regencies within the province of Maluku, West Seram, capital at Dataran Hunipopu, had a population of 140,657, and Eastern Seram, capital at Dataran Hunimoa, had a population of 78,336. The Central Maluku Regency, with its capital at Masohi, includes the part of Ceram. Seram has been associated with the animism of the indigenous Alfur. Today, however, most of the population of Seram today is either Muslim or Christian due to conversion and immigration
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Aru Islands
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The Aru Islands are a group of about ninety-five low-lying islands in the Maluku province of eastern Indonesia. They also form a regency of Maluku province, with an area of 6,269 square kilometres. The regency is divided into seven districts, tabulated below with their 2010 Census population, the islands are the easternmost in Maluku province, and are located in the Arafura Sea southwest of New Guinea and north of Australia. The total area of the islands is 8,563 km2, the largest island is Tanahbesar, Dobo, the chief port of the islands, is on Wamar, just off Tanahbesar. Other main islands are Kola, Kobroor, Maikoor, and Trangan, the main islands rise to low hills, and are separated by meandering channels. Geologically, the group is part of the Australian continent, along with New Guinea, Tanimbar, Tasmania, Aru is covered by a mix of tropical moist broadleaf forests, savanna, and mangroves. The Islands lie on the Australia-New Guinea continental shelf, and were connected to Australia, the flora and fauna of Aru are part of the Australasia ecozone, and closely related to that of New Guinea. Aru is part, together with much of western New Guinea, pearl farming provides a major source of income for the islands. Other export products include sago, coconuts, tobacco, mother of pearl, trepang, tortoiseshell, in November 2011, the Government of Indonesia awarded two oil-and-gas production-sharing contracts about two hundred kilometres west of the Aru Islands to BP. The two adjacent offshore exploration PSCs, West Aru I and II, cover an area of about 16,400 square kilometres with water ranging from 200 metres and 2,500 metres. BP plans to acquire seismic data over the two blocks, the Aru Islands have a long history as a part of extensive trading networks throughout what is now eastern Indonesia. Precolonial links were especially strong to the Banda Islands, and Bugis, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra sighted the islands on 12 June 1528, when trying to return from Tidore to New Spain. In 1857 the famous naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace visited the islands and his visit later made him realise, that the Aru islands must have been connected by a landbridge to mainland New Guinea during the ice age. In the nineteenth century, Dobo, Arus largest town, temporarily became an important regional trading center, serving as a point for Dutch, Makasarese, Chinese. The period from the 1880s to 1917 saw a backlash against this outside influence, the islands had a population of 83,977 at the 2010 Census. Most indigenous islanders are of mixed Malay and Papuan descent, fourteen languages - Barakai, Batuley, Dobel, Karey, Koba, Kola, Kompane, Lola, Lorang, Manombai, Mariri, East Tarangan, West Tarangan, and Ujir - are indigenous to Aru. They belong to the Central Malayo-Polynesian languages, and are related to the languages of Maluku, Nusa Tenggara. Ambonese Malay is also spoken on Wamar, all are members of the Austronesian language family
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Barat Daya Islands
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The Barat Daya Islands are a group of islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The Indonesian phrase barat daya means south-west, among others, Wetar Liran Kisar Romang Damar These islands are located off the eastern end of East Timor. Wetar is the largest island in the group, to the west, the Ombai Strait separates Wetar from Alor Island, part of East Nusa Tenggara. The Wetar Strait separates Wetar from Timor to the south, even though included in the Indonesian Maluku province political division, the southwestern islands are geographically part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Rainfall is limited with a dry season between October and December when some of the islands appear as dry savannah, the Barat Daya Islands, together with Timor, the Leti Islands, and Alor, are designated as the Timor and Wetar deciduous forests ecoregion. Most of the islands are barren, infertile and minimally forested, the islands of Wallacea have never been linked by land to either Asia or Australia, and as a result have few mammals and a mix of flora and fauna from both continents. The islands are part of the Inner Banda Arc, an island arc created by the collision of the Indo-Australian Plate. Romang and Damar are volcanic, Wetar consists mostly of oceanic crust that was pushed to the surface by the colliding plates, unlike much of the rest of the Maluku Islands, the Barat Daya Islands did not participate in the inter-island trade over the centuries. Damar was the only island to have produced spice. Too remote from the centre of the Malukan spice trade, the Dutch destroyed the trees on Babar. Bugis and Makarassarese annually sailed to coral-rich Luang to purchase reef products such as trepang, Islands of Indonesia Maluku Islands Maluku
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Kai Islands
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The Kai Islands of Indonesia are a group of islands located in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands in Maluku Province. The Malakus have also known as the Spice Islands due to regionally specific plants such as nutmeg, mace. Though originally Melanesian, many islanders were exterminated in the 17th century during the spice wars, a second influx of Austronesian immigrants began in the early twentieth century under the Dutch and continued in the Indonesian era. The islands consist of the Southeast Maluku Regency within the Maluku Province, the Regency is sub-divided into six districts. Though geographically within the Kai Islands, the city of Tual is the capital of the Southeast Maluku Regency of Indonesia, as a result, the Kai Islands have few native mammals and are a part of the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests ecoregion. Kai Besar in particular is mountainous and densely forested, Kai is also famous for the beauty of its beaches, notably in Pasir Panjang. Inhabitants called the islands Nuhu Evav or Tanat Evav, but they were known as Kei to people from neighboring islands. The islands are located on the edge of the Banda Sea, south of the Birds Head Peninsula of New Guinea, west of the Aru and Tayandu Islands, and northeast of the Tanimbar Islands. The islands are located in an area near the equator where there is little change in the weather throughout the year. The year round temperature is usually around 30 °C, with the lowest temperatures reaching 18 °C, there is a dry season that lasts from April to September, during which rain is scarce. Local history holds that ancestors of contemporary Kai islanders came from Bali, the village of Ohoi-Ewur on Kai Kecil or Nuhuroa island was the arrival point for the Balinese royal family and their army. They stayed in the village with local residents, as a result, Ohoi-ewur became a seat of government, where the local law – Red Blood and Balinese Spear – was developed at the initiative of the royal princess D it Sakmas. Evidence for these include an inheritance and a harbor named Bal Sorbay on Kai Kecil which is, presumably. The tiny island of Tanimbarkei is not part of Tanimbar, as the name might suggest but is, in fact and it is inhabited by fewer than 1000 very traditional people. Half of the population call themselves Hindus, but in fact are more or less practicing ancestor worship, after the 1999 clashes between the Muslim and Christian populations in Ambon, similar inter-communal clashes also swept through Kai, but quickly calmed down. All of the islands depend on 22 ratshcaap, or traditional local leaders called Rat or Raja, the official language in the Kai Islands is Bahasa Indonesian, although local languages also exist between regions. Three Austronesian languages are spoken on the Kai Islands, Keiese is the most widely spoken, in 207 villages on Kai Kecil, Kai Besar, kurese is spoken on Kur Island and nearby Kaimeer, where Kai is used as a lingua franca. Bandanese is spoken in the villages of Banda-Eli and Banda-Elat on the west, Banda speakers originally came from the Banda Islands, but the language is no longer spoken there
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Navigation
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Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. The field of navigation includes four categories, land navigation, marine navigation, aeronautic navigation. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks, all navigational techniques involve locating the navigators position compared to known locations or patterns. Navigation, in a sense, can refer to any skill or study that involves the determination of position and direction. In this sense, navigation includes orienteering and pedestrian navigation, for information about different navigation strategies that people use, visit human navigation. In the European medieval period, navigation was considered part of the set of seven mechanical arts, early Pacific Polynesians used the motion of stars, weather, the position of certain wildlife species, or the size of waves to find the path from one island to another. Maritime navigation using scientific instruments such as the mariners astrolabe first occurred in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages, the perfecting of this navigation instrument is attributed to Portuguese navigators during early Portuguese discoveries in the Age of Discovery. Open-seas navigation using the astrolabe and the compass started during the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, the Portuguese began systematically exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa from 1418, under the sponsorship of Prince Henry. In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias reached the Indian Ocean by this route, in 1492 the Spanish monarchs funded Christopher Columbuss expedition to sail west to reach the Indies by crossing the Atlantic, which resulted in the Discovery of America. In 1498, a Portuguese expedition commanded by Vasco da Gama reached India by sailing around Africa, soon, the Portuguese sailed further eastward, to the Spice Islands in 1512, landing in China one year later. The fleet of seven ships sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Southern Spain in 1519, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, some ships were lost, but the remaining fleet continued across the Pacific making a number of discoveries including Guam and the Philippines. By then, only two galleons were left from the original seven, the Victoria led by Elcano sailed across the Indian Ocean and north along the coast of Africa, to finally arrive in Spain in 1522, three years after its departure. The Trinidad sailed east from the Philippines, trying to find a path back to the Americas. He arrived in Acapulco on October 8,1565, the term stems from 1530s, from Latin navigationem, from navigatus, pp. of navigare to sail, sail over, go by sea, steer a ship, from navis ship and the root of agere to drive. Roughly, the latitude of a place on Earth is its angular distance north or south of the equator, latitude is usually expressed in degrees ranging from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the North and South poles. The height of Polaris in degrees above the horizon is the latitude of the observer, similar to latitude, the longitude of a place on Earth is the angular distance east or west of the prime meridian or Greenwich meridian. Longitude is usually expressed in degrees ranging from 0° at the Greenwich meridian to 180° east and west, sydney, for example, has a longitude of about 151° east. New York City has a longitude of 74° west, for most of history, mariners struggled to determine longitude
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Banda Islands
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The main town and administrative centre is Bandanaira, located on the island of the same name. They rise out of 4-to-6-kilometre deep ocean and have a land area of approximately 180 square kilometres. They have a population of about 15,000, until the mid-19th century the Banda Islands were the worlds only source of the spices nutmeg and mace, produced from the nutmeg tree. The islands are popular destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling. The first documented presence in the Banda Islands comes from a rockshelter site on Pulau Ay that was in use at least 8000 years ago. Before the arrival of Europeans, Banda had a form of government led by orang kaya. Banda was the only source of nutmeg and mace, spices used as flavourings, medicines. They were sold by Arab traders to the Venetians for exorbitant prices, the traders did not divulge the exact location of their source and no European was able to deduce their location. The first written accounts of Banda are in Suma Oriental, a written by the Portuguese apothecary Tomé Pires who was based in Malacca from 1512 to 1515. On his first visit, he interviewed the Portuguese and the far more knowledgeable Malay sailors in Malacca and he estimated the early sixteenth century population to be 2500–3000. In exchange, Banda predominantly received rice and cloth, namely light cotton batik from Java, calicoes from India, in 1603, an average quality sarong-sized cloth traded for eighteen kilograms of nutmeg. Some of these textiles were then on-sold, ending up in Halmahera, coarser ikat from the Lesser Sundas was traded for sago from the Kei Islands, Aru and Seram. In August 1511 on behalf of the king of Portugal, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca, which at the time was the hub of Asian trade. In November of that year, after having secured Malacca and learning of the Bandas location, Malay pilots, either recruited or forcibly conscripted, guided them via Java, the Lesser Sundas and Ambon to Banda, arriving in early 1512. DAbreu sailed through Ambon and Seram while his second in command Francisco Serrão went ahead towards the Maluku islands, was shipwrecked and ended up in Ternate. Distracted by hostilities elsewhere in the archipelago, such as Ambon and Ternate, the Portuguese did not return until 1529, a Portuguese trader Captain Garcia Henriques landed troops in the Bandas. Five of the Banda islands were within gunshot of each other, the Bandanese were, however, hostile to such a plan, and their warlike antics were both costly and tiresome to Garcia whose men were attacked when they attempted to build a fort. From then on, the Portuguese were infrequent visitors to the islands preferring to buy their nutmeg from traders in Malacca, maintaining their independence, the Bandanese never allowed the Portuguese to build a fort or a permanent post in the islands
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Banda Sea Plate
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The Banda Sea Plate is a minor tectonic plate underlying the Banda Sea in southeast Asia. This plate also carries a portion of Sulawesi Island, the entire Seram Island, clockwise from the east it is bounded by the Birds Head Plate of western New Guinea, Australian Plate, Timor Plate, Sunda Plate, and the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. A small rift is located in the middle of Sulawesi, list of earthquakes in Indonesia Bird, P. An updated digital model of plate boundaries
33.
Island arc
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An island arc is a type of archipelago, often composed of a chain of volcanoes, with arc-shaped alignment, situated parallel and close to a boundary between two converging tectonic plates. Most of these island arcs are formed as one oceanic plate subducts another one and. For example, large parts of the Andes/Central American/Canadian mountain chain may be known as a volcanic arc, on the other hand, the Aegean or Hellenic arc in the Mediterranean area, composed of numerous islands such as Crete, is an island arc, but is not volcanic. Parallel to it is the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, which is the island arc of the same tectonic system. There is some debate about the usefulness of the distinction between island arcs and volcanic arcs, the term volcanic island arc is merely a sub-classification of island arc. Island arcs are tectonically created arc-shaped mountain belts that are partly below sea level, essentially, they represent a specific geographic-topographic situation in which a mountain belt is partly submerged in ocean. Many of these are composed of volcanoes, and can thus be classified as volcanic island arcs. This process, called flux melting, generates low-density calc-alkaline magma that rises to intrude. The resulting volcano chain has the shape of an arc parallel to the convergent plate boundary, on the subducting side of the island arc is a deep and narrow oceanic trench, which is the trace at the Earth’s surface of the boundary between the downgoing and overriding plates. This trench is created by the pull of the relatively dense subducting plate pulling the leading edge of the plate downward. Multiple earthquakes occur along this boundary with the seismic hypocenters located at increasing depth under the island arc. Ocean basins that are being reduced by subduction are called remnant oceans as they will slowly be shrunken out of existence and this process has happened repeatedly in the geological history of the Earth. Insular Islands Intermontane Islands Back-arc basin High island Volcanic arc
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Subduction
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Subduction is a geological process that takes place at convergent boundaries of tectonic plates where one plate moves under another and is forced or sinks due to gravity into the mantle. Regions where this occurs are known as subduction zones. Rates of subduction are typically in centimeters per year, with the rate of convergence being approximately two to eight centimeters per year along most plate boundaries. Plates include both oceanic crust and continental crust, stable subduction zones involve the oceanic lithosphere of one plate sliding beneath the continental or oceanic lithosphere of another plate due to the higher density of the oceanic lithosphere. That is, the lithosphere is always oceanic while the overriding lithosphere may or may not be oceanic. Subduction zones are sites that have a rate of volcanism, earthquakes. Subduction zones are sites of convective downwelling of Earths lithosphere, subduction zones exist at convergent plate boundaries where one plate of oceanic lithosphere converges with another plate. The descending slab, the plate, is over-ridden by the leading edge of the other plate. The slab sinks at an angle of approximately twenty-five to forty-five degrees to Earths surface and this sinking is driven by the temperature difference between the subducting oceanic lithosphere and the surrounding mantle asthenosphere, as the colder oceanic lithosphere is, on average, denser. At a depth of approximately 80–120 kilometers, the basalt of the oceanic crust is converted to a rock called eclogite. At that point, the density of the oceanic crust increases and provides additional negative buoyancy and it is at subduction zones that Earths lithosphere, oceanic crust, sedimentary layers and some trapped water are recycled into the deep mantle. Earth is so far the only planet where subduction is known to occur, subduction is the driving force behind plate tectonics, and without it, plate tectonics could not occur. Subduction zones dive down into the mantle beneath 55,000 kilometers of convergent plate margins, subduction zones burrow deeply but are imperfectly camouflaged, and geophysics and geochemistry can be used to study them. Not surprisingly, the shallowest portions of subduction zones are known best, subduction zones are strongly asymmetric for the first several hundred kilometers of their descent. They start to go down at oceanic trenches and their descents are marked by inclined zones of earthquakes that dip away from the trench beneath the volcanoes and extend down to the 660-kilometer discontinuity. Subduction zones are defined by the array of earthquakes known as the Wadati–Benioff zone after the two scientists who first identified this distinctive aspect. Subduction zone earthquakes occur at greater depths than elsewhere on Earth, such deep earthquakes may be driven by deep phase transformations, thermal runaway, the subducting basalt and sediment are normally rich in hydrous minerals and clays. Additionally, large quantities of water are introduced into cracks and fractures created as the slab bends downward
35.
Bird's Head Plate
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The Birds Head Plate is a minor tectonic plate incorporating the Birds Head Peninsula at the western end of the island of New Guinea. Hillis & Müller consider it to be moving in unison with the Pacific Plate, bird considers it to be unconnected to the Pacific Plate. The plate is separating from the Australian Plate and the small Maoke Plate along a divergent boundary to the southeast, convergent boundaries exist along the north between the Birds Head and the Caroline Plate, the Philippine Sea Plate, and the Halmahera Plate to the northwest. A transform boundary exists between the Birds Head and the Molucca Sea Collision Zone to the southwest, another convergent boundary exists between the Birds Head and the Banda Sea Plate to the south
36.
West Papua (province)
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West Papua is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two peninsulas of the island of New Guinea. Its capital is Manokwari, although the largest city is Sorong, and the 2010 census recorded a population of 760,855, the latest official estimate is 877,437. West Papua Province was created from the portion of Papua in February 2003, initially under the name of West Irian Jaya. The province covers the Birds Head and Bomberai peninsulas and the islands of Raja Ampat. With a population of 877,437 in 2014, it is the least populous province of Indonesia except for the newly created province of North Kalimantan, even after Indonesias independence in 1945, Papua and Irian Jaya were retained by the Dutch for various reasons. However, Indonesia claimed all of the territory of the former Dutch East Indies, including the Dutch New Guinea holdings and this vote was referred to as the Act of Free Choice. But, the vote was in fact conducted by consensus decision-making, or consensus of elders and this body was coerced into unanimously voting to remain part of Indonesia, the territory was named as the province of Irian Jaya, later Papua. The result of the vote was rejected by Papuan nationalists. The independence movement for West Papua has continued, primarily through peaceful protest and international pressure, West Papua was created from the western portion of Papua province in February 2003, initially under the name of Irian Jaya Barat, it was later renamed Papua Barat on 7 February 2007. In November 2004, an Indonesian court agreed that the split violated Papuas autonomy laws, however, the court ruled that because the new province had already been created, it should remain separate from Papua. The ruling also prohibited the creation of another proposed province, Central Irian Jaya, the split is in line with the general trend of provincial splits that is occurring in all parts of Indonesia in the post-Suharto era. The province changed its name to West Papua on 7 February 2007, in 2000 the areas now forming West Papua province consisted of three regencies – Manokwari, Sorong and Fakfak. By 2010 the province was divided into ten regencies and one autonomous city. Two new regencies have since created, all the existing regencies and city are listed below with their populations at the 2010 Census. * The areas and 2014 population of Arfak Mountains and South Manokwari Regencies are included in the figures for Manokwari Regency, the 2010 Census figures quoted above for all four of these regencies relate to their area as established in 2010. On 25 October 2013 the Indonesian House of Representatives began reviewing draft laws on the establishment of 57 prospective regencies/cities, poisoned Arrows, An investigative journey through the forbidden lands of West Papua
37.
USS George Washington (CVN-73)
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She was built by Newport News Shipbuilding and was commissioned on 4 July 1992. George Washington is 1,092 ft long,257 ft wide and 244 feet high, with a combat load, GW displaces almost 97,000 long tons and can accommodate 6,250 crewmembers. Her four distilling units can make 400,000 U. S. gallons of water a day. There are over 2,500 compartments on board requiring 2,520 refrigeration tons of air conditioning capacity, the warship uses two Mark II stockless anchors that weigh 30 tons each, with each link of the anchor chain weighing 360 pounds. It is currently equipped with two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts and two Sea Sparrow SAM launchers, one CIWS and one Sea Sparrow mount were removed to make way for two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers, installed during the 2005 Drydocking Planned Incremental Availability. Since then, all U. S. carriers have followed suit, general Washington had long been a proponent of a strong Navy. On 15 November 1781 he wrote, Without a decisive Naval force, and with it, everything honourable and decisive. These words are engraved on a plaque on the ships quarterdeck, the ship can reach speeds of over 30 knots and is powered by two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors that turn four 5-bladed screws of 66,220 pounds each. George Washington can travel more than 3,000,000 nautical miles before needing refueling, the contract for George Washington was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding on 27 December 1982. The keel was laid on 25 August 1986, the ship was christened on 21 July 1990 by First Lady Barbara Bush, and was commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk on 4 July 1992. In 1993, following a reorganization, the Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2 staff went aboard a new flagship. In 1994 the group was under the command of Rear Admiral Alexander Krekich, the group participated in the 2000 NATO Exercise Destined Glory, Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Deny Flight, Operation Southern Watch, and Operation Vigilant Resolve. After 2001 the group took part in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 1997 Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2, Rear Admiral Michael Mullen, led the group on deployment from George Washington. On 20 February Washington entered the Gulf of Aden, and a week later was conducting operations in the Persian Gulf, on 28 January 2005 the ship entered shipyard for Drydocking Planned Incremental Availability. Many ships systems were upgraded and maintenance was done to the hull, the ships four jet blast deflectors were removed and upgraded to handle the increased heat generated by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. One defensive Phalanx CIWS mount and one Sea Sparrow launcher were replaced by two Rolling Airframe Missile launchers, during the 11 months the ship was drydocked, the crew contributed 20,000 hours of volunteer community service to the city of Newport News, Virginia. The work was completed on schedule, and George Washington returned to her Norfolk home port on 17 December 2005, in an attempt to explain the carriers mission to the Japanese public, the U. S. Navy printed a manga about life aboard GW, titled CVN-73. GW and CVW-17 left Norfolk on 4 April for a scheduled deployment to operate as part of SOUTHCOMs Partnership of the Americas
38.
Ecoregion
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An ecoregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than an ecozone. All three of these are less or greater than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, the biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. Three caveats are appropriate for all bio-geographic mapping approaches, firstly, no single bio-geographic framework is optimal for all taxa. Ecoregions reflect the best compromise for as many taxa as possible, secondly, ecoregion boundaries rarely form abrupt edges, rather, ecotones and mosaic habitats bound them. Thirdly, most ecoregions contain habitats that differ from their assigned biome, biogeographic provinces may originate due to various barriers. Some physical, some climatic and some ocean chemical related, the history of the term is somewhat vague as it was used in many contexts, forest classifications, biome classifications, biogeographic classifications, etc. The concept of ecoregion of Bailey gives more importance to ecological criteria, while the WWF concept gives more importance to biogeography, there is significant, but not absolute, spatial correlation among these characteristics, making the delineation of ecoregions an imperfect science. Such transition zones are called ecotones, Ecoregions can be categorized using an algorithmic approach or a holistic, “weight-of-evidence” approach where the importance of various factors may vary. An example of the approach is Robert Bailey’s work for the U. S. The intended purpose of ecoregion delineation may affect the method used, according to WWF, the boundaries of an ecoregion approximate the original extent of the natural communities prior to any major recent disruptions or changes. WWF has identified 867 terrestrial ecoregions, and approximately 450 freshwater ecoregions across the Earth, the use of the term ecoregion is an outgrowth of a surge of interest in ecosystems and their functioning. In particular, there is awareness of issues relating to spatial scale in the study and it is widely recognized that interlinked ecosystems combine to form a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by WWF as priorities for conservation, Terrestrial ecoregions are land ecoregions, as distinct from freshwater and marine ecoregions. In this context, terrestrial is used to mean of land, WWF ecologists currently divide the land surface of the Earth into 8 major ecozones containing 867 smaller terrestrial ecoregions. The WWF effort is a synthesis of previous efforts to define. Many consider this classification to be decisive, and some propose these as stable borders for bioregional democracy initiatives. The eight terrestrial ecozones follow the major floral and faunal boundaries, identified by botanists and zoologists, ecozone boundaries generally follow continental boundaries, or major barriers to plant and animal distribution, like the Himalayas and the Sahara
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Wallacea
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Wallacea is a biogeographical designation for a group of mainly Indonesian islands separated by deep water straits from the Asian and Australian continental shelves. Wallacea includes Sulawesi, the largest island in the group, as well as Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Timor, Halmahera, Buru, Seram, and many smaller islands. The islands of Wallacea lie between Sundaland to the west, and Near Oceania including Australia and New Guinea to the south, the total land area of Wallacea is 347,000 km². During the ice ages, sea levels were lower, exposing the Sunda shelf that links the islands of Sundaland to one another and to Asia, and allowed Asian land animals to inhabit these islands. The islands of Wallacea have few mammals, land birds, or freshwater fish of continental origin. Many bird, reptile, and insect species were able to cross the straits. Wallaceas plants are predominantly of Asian origin, and botanists include Sundaland, Wallacea, consequently, Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands share many marsupial mammals, land birds, and freshwater fish that are not found in Wallacea. The line dividing Wallacea from Australia–New Guinea is called Lydekkers Line, the Philippines is usually considered a separate region from Wallacea. The Weber Line is the midpoint where Asian and Australian fauna and flora are approximately equally represented, although the distant ancestors of Wallaceas plants and animals may have been from Asia or Australia-New Guinea, Wallacea is home to many endemic species. There is extensive autochthonous speciation and proportionately large numbers of endemics, because many of the islands are separated from one another by deep water, there is tremendous species diversity among the islands as well. Fauna species include the endemic anoa of Sulawesi and the babirusa, maluku shows a degree of species similarity with Sulawesi but with fewer flora and fauna. Smaller mammals including primates are common, Seram is noted for its butterflies and birdlife including the Amboina king parrot. Wallacea was originally almost completely forested, mostly tropical moist broadleaf forests, the higher mountains are home to montane and subalpine forests, and mangroves are common in coastal areas. According to Conservation International, Wallacea is home to over 10,000 plant species, endemism is higher among terrestrial vertebrate species, of 1142 species found there, almost half are endemic. 45% of the region retains some sort of forest cover, and only 52,017 km², of Wallaceas total area of 347,000 km², about 20,000 km² are protected. Wallacea is home to 82 threatened and six critically endangered species of terrestrial vertebrates, an example of evidence for when Wallacea formed exists at the Bluff Downs fossil site in northern Australia. Remains of basaltic lava show past oceanic subduction as Australia ploughed north through the Pacific, at the site, one of the earliest Australian rodent fossils has been found. Australias rodents make up much of the placental mammal fauna and include various species from stick-nest rats, hopping mice
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Asia
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Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres, about 30% of Earths total land area and 8. 7% of the Earths total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia is notable for not only its large size and population. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, the western boundary with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains, China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 A. D. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination, the Silk Road became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hitherland while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties, the boundary between Asia and Africa is the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Suez Canal. This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia, the border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics. In Sweden, five years after Peters death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia, the Russians were enthusiastic about the concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg, the latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century, the border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, the border between Asia and the loosely defined region of Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several different geographic meanings since their inception. The chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the possessions of the various empires there. Lewis and Wigen assert, The narrowing of Southeast Asia to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process, Asia is larger and more culturally diverse than Europe. It does not exactly correspond to the borders of its various types of constituents. From the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system on the grounds there is no or is no substantial physical separation between them
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