Sape Strait | |
---|---|
Selat Sape (Indonesian) | |
Coordinates | 8°39′00″S119°18′00″E / 8.65000°S 119.30000°E |
Type | strait |
Basin countries | Indonesia |
References | Selat Sape: Indonesia National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD, USA |
The Sape Strait (Indonesian : Selat Sape) or Sapie Strait [1] is a strait connecting the Flores Sea to the Sumba Strait. It separates the islands of Sumbawa and Komodo. It joins the Indonesian provinces of West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.
The Sape Strait is known for rough seas, shoals [2] and strong currents, as well as spectacular marine life. The waters of the strait are enjoying growing popularity among diving enthusiasts. [3]
Part of the Sape water area is included in the Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The volcanic islands in the Strait include:
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. Including Komodo and Rinca islands off its west coast, the land area is 14,731.67 km2, and the population was 1,878,875 in the 2020 Census ; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 1,962,405. The largest towns are Maumere and Ende. The name Flores is of Portuguese origin, meaning "Flowers".
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. Along with Lombok, it forms the province of West Nusa Tenggara, but there have been plans by the Indonesian government to split the island off into a separate province. Traditionally, the island is known as the source of sappanwood, as well as honey and sandalwood. Its savanna-like climate and vast grasslands are used to breed horses and cattle, as well as to hunt deer.
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 end of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain that runs through southeastern Indonesia, which from the west include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores.
East Nusa Tenggara is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the north. It consists of more than 500 islands, with the largest ones being Sumba, Flores, and the western part of Timor; the latter shares a land border with the separate nation of East Timor. The province is subdivided into twenty-one regencies and the regency-level city of Kupang, which is the capital and largest city.
West Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the exception of Bali which is its own province. The area of this province is 19,675.89 km2 (7,596.90 sq mi) which consists of two main islands, namely Lombok Island and Sumbawa Island as well as several other small islands. The two largest islands in this province are the smaller but much more populated Lombok in the west and the much larger in area but much less densely populated Sumbawa island in the east. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest city of the province. It shares maritime borders with Bali to the west and East Nusa Tenggara to the east.
Komodo National Park is a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 smaller ones, with a total area of 1,733 km2. The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. Later it was dedicated to protecting other species, including marine species. In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve. It is considered one of the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots.
The Savu Sea is a small sea within Indonesia named for the island of Savu (Sawu) on its southern boundary. It is bounded by Savu and Raijua to the south, the islands of Rote and Timor to the east, Flores and the Alor archipelago to the north/northwest, and the island of Sumba to the west/northwest. Between these islands, it flows into the Indian Ocean to the south and west, the Flores Sea to the north, and the Banda Sea to the northeast.
Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that comprise the Republic of Indonesia. It is particularly notable as the habitat of the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth, which is named after the island. Komodo Island has a surface area of 291 square kilometres, and had a human population of about 1,800 in 2020.
Rinca is a small island near Komodo and Flores island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, within the West Manggarai Regency. It is one of the three largest islands included in Komodo National Park. The island is famous for Komodo dragons, giant lizards that can measure up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) long. Rinca is also populated with many other species such as wild pigs, buffalos and many birds.
Sumba Strait is a strait in Indonesia.
West Manggarai Regency is one of the eight regencies which comprise the island of Flores, located in the province of East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia. The Regency was created on 25 February 2003 by the separation off of the western districts from Manggarai Regency. It covers a land area of 3,141.47 km2, and had a population of 221,703 at the 2010 census, rising to 251,689 at the 2015 Intermediate census and to 256,317 at the 2020 census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 276,349. The regency's capital is the town of Labuan Bajo.
Bima Regency is a regency of the Indonesian Province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is located on the island of Sumbawa and the capital is Woha. The Regency covers an area of 4,389.40 km2, and had a population of 438,522 at the 2010 Census and 514,105 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 535,530. It administratively excludes but geographically completely surrounds Bima City on the landward side.
Woha is a town and administrative district which serves as the capital of the Bima Regency, on the eastern part of the island of Sumbawa, in the Indonesian province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is connected by provincial road to the towns of Bima and Sape.
East Lombok Regency is a regency of the Indonesian Province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is located on the island of Lombok, of which it comprises the eastern third ; the administrative capital is the town of Selong. The Regency covers an area of 1,605.55 km2 and had a population of 1,105,582 at the 2010 Census and 1,325,240 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,404,343.
The Alas Strait is a strait that separates Lombok and Sumbawa, two islands of Indonesia in West Nusa Tenggara province.
The Lesser Sundas deciduous forests is a tropical dry forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion includes the islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, and Alor, along with the many adjacent smaller islands.
Labuan Bajo is a fishing town located at the western end of the large island of Flores in the East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. It is in Komodo district. It is the capital of the West Manggarai Regency, one of the eight regencies of Flores.
Waworada Bay or Waworada Gulf is a slender bay facing the Indian Ocean on Sumbawa Island, in the Bima Regency of the Indonesian Province of West Nusa Tenggara.
The Lesser Sunda Islands, now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands, are an archipelago in Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali province which is west of the Wallace Line and is within the Sunda Shelf. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands. The islands are part of a volcanic arc, the Sunda Arc, formed by subduction along the Sunda Trench in the Java Sea. In 1930 the population was 3,460,059; today slightly over 15.5 million people live on the islands. Etymologically, Nusa Tenggara means "Southeast Islands" from the words of nusa which means 'island' from Old Javanese language and tenggara means 'southeast'.
Padar, also known as Pada, is a small island located between the islands of Komodo and Rinca within Komodo archipelago, which is part of the West Manggarai Regency in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is the third-largest island in Komodo National Park.