Sulawesi Sea
by Staff EditorA haven for divers for the abundance of diverse marine life found there, the Sulawesi Sea is a marine experience like no other.
Located in the western Pacific Ocean, its beautiful tapestry of corals, crinoids and basket stars, as well as its wealth of whales, dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, eagle rays, barracuda, marlin and other reef and pelagic species make for a breathtaking vision unparalleled in any other body of water on earth.
The strong ocean currents, along with deep-sea trenches and active volcanic islands make for a complex oceanography and result in the Sulawesi being home to about ¾ of the world's species of reef-building corals, some of the most diverse on earth.
Also known as the Celebes, Sulawesi Island and Sea provide the link to an island chain in Indonesia that covers a 3000-mile area between Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. It is by far the vastest archipelago nation in the world with 18 000 islands, only a fraction of which are inhabited by man.
It was formed from a piece of ancient ocean basin dating back 42 million years. By 20 million years ago, crustal movement pushed the basin toward Indonesia and the Philippines and the debris launched from the volcanoes located there settled in the waters. By 10 million years ago, Sulawesi was inundated with continental debris including coal and the basin was docked against Eurasia.
Today it is bordered to the north by the Sulu Archipelago, the Sulu Sea and the Mindanao Islands of the Philippines, to the east by the Sangi Islands, to the south by Sulawesi and to the west by Borneo. Mainland Sulawesi is home to 3600 miles of coastline surrounded by a ring of 110 islands. Ninety-eight percent of the mammals found on Sulawesi are known to exist only on Sulawesi.
The Sulawesi Sea can reach depths of 6200m and has a total area of 280 000 square kilometers.
