The Sunda Islands (Indonesian : Kepulauan Sunda; Tetun: Illa Sunda) are a group of islands in the Malay Archipelago. [1] [2] They consist of the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
The Sunda Islands (Indonesian : Kepulauan Sunda; Tetun: Illa Sunda) are a group of islands in the Malay Archipelago. [1] [2] They consist of the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
The term "Sunda" has been traced back to ancient times. According to Koesoemadinata, Professor Emeritus of Geology at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), the name "Sunda" originates from the Sanskrit word "Cuddha," meaning white. Reinout Willem van Bemmelen, another geologist, noted that during the Pleistocene era, there was a large volcano named Mount Sunda located north of Bandung in West Java. Its eruption covered the surrounding area with white volcanic ash, giving rise to the name "Sunda."
The use of the term "Sunda" to refer to the Indonesian region dates back to the claims of Claudius Ptolemaeus in 150 AD. These claims served as a reference for the Portuguese when they arrived in Indonesia in 1500 AD and explored the Sunda kingdom in West Java. They categorized the region into Greater Sunda (Sunda Besar) for the larger western islands and Lesser Sunda (Sunda Kecil) for the smaller eastern islands.
Since then, the term "Sunda" has been widely adopted in earth sciences (geology-geography) as a reference for the Indonesian region, surpassing the usage of "Indonesia" in this field. The terms Greater Sunda and Lesser Sunda are commonly used in geological-geographical literature. According to Koesoemadinata, even today, in earth sciences, "Sunda Islands" is more recognized than "Indonesia Islands."
"Sunda" also denotes continental shelves or landmasses. Indonesia itself has two shelves: the Sunda Shelf in the west and the Sahul/Arafuru Shelf in the east. Other terms associated with "Sunda" include the Sunda Island Arc or the arc of Sunda Islands, Sunda Fold or tectonic folding in the Natuna Sea, the Sunda Trench, and Sundaland. [3]
The Sunda Islands are divided among five countries: Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. The majority of these islands fall under the jurisdiction of Indonesia. Borneo is split among Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Timor is split between East Timor and Indonesia. Sebatik is split between Indonesia and Malaysia.
Borneo is the third-largest island in the world, with an area of 748,168 km2 (288,869 sq mi). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda Islands, located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.
Indonesia is an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia and Oceania, lying between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is located in a strategic location astride or along major sea lanes connecting East Asia, South Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. Indonesia's various regional cultures have been shaped—although not specifically determined—by centuries of complex interactions with its physical environment.
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. The original definition by the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions included Papuasia, but this was split off in its 2001 version.
The Malay Archipelago is the archipelago between Mainland Southeast Asia and Australia, and is also called Insulindia or the Indo-Australian Archipelago. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, later based on the distribution of Austronesian languages. It has also been called the "Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies" over time. The name is controversial in Indonesia due to its ethnic connotations and colonial undertones, which can overshadow the country's diverse cultures.
Nusantara is the Indonesian name of Maritime Southeast Asia. It is an Old Javanese term that literally means "outer islands". In Indonesia, it is generally taken to mean the Indonesian Archipelago. Outside of Indonesia, the term has been adopted to refer to the Malay Archipelago.
Sundaland is a biogeographical region of Southeast Asia corresponding to a larger landmass that was exposed throughout the last 2.6 million years during periods when sea levels were lower. It includes Bali, Borneo, Java, and Sumatra in Indonesia, and their surrounding small islands, as well as the Malay Peninsula on the Asian mainland.
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 the Sunda Shelf to the west, and the Sahul Shelf including Australia and New Guinea to the south and east. The total land area of Wallacea is 347,000 km2 (134,000 sq mi).
Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor.
Sunda may refer to:
Geologically, the Sunda Shelf is a south-eastern extension of the continental shelf of Mainland Southeast Asia. Major landmasses on the shelf include Bali, Borneo, Java, Madura, and Sumatra, as well as their surrounding smaller islands. It covers an area of approximately 1.85 million km2. Sea depths over the shelf rarely exceed 50 metres and extensive areas are less than 20 metres resulting in strong bottom friction and strong tidal friction. Steep undersea gradients separate the Sunda Shelf from the Philippines, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
The Sunda Plate is a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere on which the majority of Southeast Asia is located.
Geologically, the Sahul Shelf is a part of the continental shelf of the Australian continent, lying off the northwest coast of mainland Australia.
The Indonesian archipelago is a vast and diverse collection of over 17,000 to 18,000 islands located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is the world's largest archipelago, with five main islands—Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and New Guinea. The Indonesian archipelago is known for its rich biodiversity, unique wildlife, and varied ecosystems, ranging from tropical rainforests to active volcanoes. The archipelago boasts a diverse cultural heritage, with thousands of ethnic groups and languages. Its strategic location and natural resources have made it a historically significant trade hub and a key player in regional and global affairs. Historically, the Indonesian archipelago was influenced by various cultures and empires, including Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and European colonial powers, before gaining independence in 1945 as the state of "Indonesia".
Prehistoric Indonesia is a prehistoric period in the Indonesian archipelago that spanned from the Pleistocene period to about the 4th century CE when the Kutai people produced the earliest known stone inscriptions in Indonesia. Unlike the clear distinction between prehistoric and historical periods in Europe and the Middle East, the division is muddled in Indonesia. This is mostly because Indonesia's geographical conditions as a vast archipelago caused some parts — especially the interiors of distant islands — to be virtually isolated from the rest of the world. West Java and coastal Eastern Borneo, for example, began their historical periods in the early 4th century, but megalithic culture still flourished and script was unknown in the rest of Indonesia, including in Nias and Toraja. The Papuans on the Indonesian part of New Guinea island lived virtually in the Stone Age until their first contacts with modern world in the early 20th century. Even today living megalithic traditions still can be found on the island of Sumba and Nias.
Indonesia is the common and official name to refer to the Republic of Indonesia or Indonesian archipelago; however, other names, such as Nusantara and East Indies are also known. Some names are considered obsolete and confined to certain periods of history, while some might be more geographically specific or general.
The Banda Arc is a dual chain of islands in eastern Indonesia that is around 2,300 km long. It is the result of the collision of a continent and an intra-oceanic island arc.
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'.
The Greater Sunda Islands are four tropical islands situated within the Indonesian Archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean. The islands, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra, are internationally recognised for their ecological diversity and rich culture. Together with the Lesser Sunda Islands to their southeast, they comprise the archipelago known as the Sunda Islands.
The Australasian Mediterranean Sea is a mediterranean sea located in the area between Southeast Asia and Australasia. It connects the Indian and Pacific oceans. It has a maximum depth of 7,440 m and a surface area of 9.08 mil. km².
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