Watubela archipelago

Last updated
Watubela archipelago
Maluku Islands en.png
Watubela archipelago in the east of Maluku Islands
ID Watubela.PNG
Watubela archipelago (red) in eastern Indonesia
Geography
Location Southeast Asia
Archipelago Maluku Islands
Major islandsWatubela, Kesui, Teor, Bam, Uta
Administration
Province Maluku
Additional information
Time zone

Watubela is an archipelago in the Maluku Islands, east of Ceram and north of Kai Islands, southeast of the Gorong archipelago, and southwest of the Bomberai Peninsula of Papua, Indonesia. It includes the islands of Watubela itself, Kesui (also called Kasiui) and Teor (also called Tio'or). [1] The total land area is 60.99 km2, of which Watubela and Kesui together cover 37.58 km2 and Teor covers 23.41 km2.

The islands now form two separate districts (kecamatan) within the East Seram Regency of Maluku. Kesui Watubela District (also called Wakate District) includes Watubela and Kesui Islands, with a number of smaller islands; it had 9,623 inhabitants as at mid 2022. Teor District consists of the island of the same name, together with Bama Island to its south, linked by an attenuated natural causeway; it had 3,303 inhabitants as at mid 2022. [2]

The English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace described the islands, which he called the Matabello Islands, in chapter 25 of his 1869 book The Malay Archipelago . [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacan Islands</span> Archipelago in Indonesia

The Bacan Islands, formerly also known as the Bachans, Bachians, and Batchians, are a group of islands in the Moluccas in Indonesia. They are mountainous and forested, lying south of Ternate and southwest of Halmahera. The islands are administered by the South Halmahera Regency of North Maluku Province. They formerly constituted the Sultanate of Bacan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malay Archipelago</span> Archipelago between mainland Southeast Asia and Australia

The Malay Archipelago also called Nusantara Archipelago, Insulindia or the Indo-Australian Archipelago is the archipelago between Mainland Southeast Asia and Australia. It has also been called the "Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", and other names over time. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, later based on the distribution of Austronesian languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seram Island</span> Main island of Maluku Province, Indonesia

Seram is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent islands, such as Saparua, Haruku, Nusa Laut and the Banda Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halmahera</span> Island of the Maluku Islands in Indonesia

Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aru Islands Regency</span> Archipelago and regency of Indonesia

The Aru Islands Regency is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of 6,426.77 km2 (2,481.39 sq mi). At the 2011 Census the Regency had a population of 84,138; the 2020 Census produced a total of 102,237, and the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 108,834. Some sources regard the archipelago as part of Asia, while others regard it as part of Melanesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallacea</span> Biogeographical region

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maluku (province)</span> Province of Indonesia

Maluku is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the central and southern regions of the Maluku Islands. The largest city and capital of Maluku province is Ambon on the small Ambon Island. It is directly adjacent to North Maluku, Southwest Papua, and West Papua in the north, Central Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi in the west, Banda Sea, Australia, East Timor and East Nusa Tenggara in the south and Arafura Sea, Central Papua and South Papua in the east. The land area is 57803.81 km2, and the total population of this province at the 2010 census was 1,533,506 people, rising to 1,848,923 at the 2020 census, the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,908,753. Maluku is located in Eastern Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tidore</span> City in Maluku Islands, Indonesia

Tidore is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island of Tidore together with a large part of Halmahera Island to its east. In the pre-colonial era, the Sultanate of Tidore was a major regional political and economic power, and a fierce rival of nearby Ternate, just to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babar Islands</span> Island group in Maluku Province, Indonesia

The Babar Islands(Indonesian: Kepulauan Babar) are located in Maluku Province, Indonesia between latitudes 7 degrees 31 minutes South to 8 degrees 13 minutes South and from longitudes 129 degrees 30 minutes East to 130 degrees 05 minutes East. The group now constitutes five districts (kecamatan) within the Maluku Barat Daya Regency of Maluku province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obi Islands</span> Group of islands in North Maluku, Indonesia

The Obi Islands are a group of 42 islands in the Indonesian province of North Maluku, north of Buru and Ceram, and south of Halmahera. With a total area of 3,048.08 km2, they had a population of 41,455 at the 2010 Census and 50,760 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2022 was 52,588.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alifuru people</span> Broad term for peoples of Southeast Asia

Alfur, Alfurs, Alfuros, Alfures, Aliforoes, Alifuru or Horaforas people is a broad term recorded at the time of the Portuguese seaborne empire to refer all the non-Muslim, non-Christian peoples living in inaccessible areas of the interior in the eastern portion of Maritime Southeast Asia, mainly from the Arafura Sea area.

The Sula Islands Regency is one of the regencies in North Maluku province of Indonesia. It was originally formed on 25 February 2003, when it encompassed the three large islands comprising the Sula Archipelago, together with minor adjacent islands. However, the largest and most westerly of the three, Taliabu, was split off from the Sula Islands Regency on 14 December 2012 to form a separate regency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elegant imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird

The elegant imperial pigeon, also known as blue-tailed imperial-pigeon, is a large pigeon, with upperparts mainly dark blue-green in colour with an iridescent sheen. Head, neck and underparts are mostly pale grey, with red-brown undertail coverts.

<i>The Malay Archipelago</i> 1869 natural history book by Alfred Russel Wallace

The Malay Archipelago is a book by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace which chronicles his scientific exploration, during the eight-year period 1854 to 1862, of the southern portion of the Malay Archipelago including Malaysia, Singapore, the islands of Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies, and the island of New Guinea. It was published in two volumes in 1869, delayed by Wallace's ill health and the work needed to describe the many specimens he brought home. The book went through ten editions in the nineteenth century; it has been reprinted many times since, and has been translated into at least twelve languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common paradise kingfisher</span> Species of bird

The common paradise kingfisher, also known as the Galatea paradise kingfisher and the racquet-tailed kingfisher, is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests of the Maluku Islands and New Guinea. Like all paradise kingfishers, it has a red bill and colourful plumage. The species is common and the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorong archipelago</span> Islands in Indonesia

The Goromarchipelago is a group of islands situated between the Watubela archipelago and Ceram in the Maluku Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultanate of Bacan</span> State in Southeast Asia (c.1322-1965)

The Sultanate of Bacan was a state in Maluku Islands, present-day Indonesia that arose with the expansion of the spice trade in late medieval times. It mainly consisted of the Bacan Islands but had periodical influence in Ceram and the Papuan Islands. It fell under the colonial influence of Portugal in the 16th century and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) after 1609. Bacan was one of the four kingdoms of Maluku together with Ternate, Tidore and Jailolo, but tended to be overshadowed by Ternate. After the independence of Indonesia in 1949, the governing functions of the sultan were gradually replaced by a modern administrative structure. However, the sultanate has been revived as a cultural entity in present times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Seram Regency</span> Regency in Maluku, Indonesia

East Seram Regency is a regency of Maluku (province), in Indonesia. It is mainly located on the island of Seram, but also includes smaller islands to the southeast comprising the Gorom and Watubela archipelagoes. The regency covers a land area of 5,779.12 km2, and had a population of 99,065 at the 2010 Census and 137,972 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 138,580. The principal town lies at Bula, on Seram Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayoa</span> Island in Maluku, Indonesia

Kayoa, or in the native language Pulau Urimatiti, is a group of 66 islands, part of the Maluku Islands. It is located in South Halmahera Regency, part of North Maluku Province of Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalulis</span> Keelless boat from East Indonesia

Kalulis is a type of traditional boat from eastern Indonesia. It is mainly built in Kei islands, Southeast direction from Seram. It is mainly used for interinsular transport, but they are unsuitable for long haul voyages between Moluccas, Sulawesi, and Java. It is also known as perahu kalulis, ang kalulis, kalulus, and kulis.

References

  1. servinghistory.com
  2. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023.
  3. Wallace, Alfred Russel (1869). "25: Ceram, Goram, and the Matabello Islands". The Malay Archipelago: The land of the orang-utan, and the bird of paradise. A narrative of travel, with sketches of man and nature (1 ed.). Macmillan.

4°35′44″S131°41′55″E / 4.59556°S 131.69861°E / -4.59556; 131.69861