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29-655: The Molucca Sea borders the Banda Sea to the south and the Celebes Sea to the west. To the north is Philippine Sea and to the east is Halmahera Sea . 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 northern border the sea, though the Molucca Sea Plate ,

58-648: A 7.3 magnitude earthquake deep beneath the Celebes Sea , which the USGS attributed to the “ deep reverse faulting within the inclined seismic zone defining the deep limit of the Molucca Sea microplate beneath the Celebes Sea Basin. ” The geologic characteristics displayed on the surrounding islands provide insight regarding the complex plate movement of the divergent double subducting plate. Detached ophiolitic series and thick melanges are overlain by forearc deposits; subduction-driven east–west shortening of

87-784: A line to the Northern point of Halmahera and down its West coast to Tanjong Libolo, its Southern extreme. On the South. A line from the Southern extreme of Halmahera to the North point of Bisa (Setile) Island, thence to the Northern extreme of Obi Major , through this island to Tanjong Ake Lamo, its Southwestern point, thence to Tanjong Dehekolano, the Eastern extremity of the Soela [ Sula ] Islands, along their Northern coasts to Tanjong Marikasoe,

116-843: A mix of plant and animal species from both tropical Asia (the Indomalayan realm ) and the Australasian realm which includes Australia and New Guinea. The islands are divided among several terrestrial ecoregions . The northern islands of Sulawesi , Buru , and Seram constitute separate tropical moist forest ecoregions. The islands south of the Banda Sea are among the driest in Indonesia, and are home to tropical dry forests . The Timor and Wetar deciduous forests ecoregion includes Timor and Wetar. The Lesser Sunda Islands from Alor through Flores and Sumbawa to Lombok constitute

145-559: Is a marine ecoregion , as defined by the World Wildlife Fund . It is part of the Coral Triangle region, which has the greatest diversity of coral reef species in the broader Indo-Pacific . The islands surrounding the Banda Sea are part of Wallacea , a biogeographical region that contains the islands lying between Asia and Australia which haven't been joined to either continent. The islands of Wallacea are home to

174-680: Is bordered by the Indonesian Islands of Celebes ( Sulawesi ) to the west, Halmahera to the east, and the Sula Islands to the south. The Molucca Sea borders the Banda Sea to the south and the Celebes Sea to the west. To the north is the Philippine Sea and to the east is the Halmahera Sea . Situated south of Mindanao , the Molucca Sea is a narrow basin underlined by a north‐south ophiolitic ridge, which uplifts

203-400: Is by plane or ship from Ambon Island to the north. The Banda and Kai Islands, although remote, are visited by tourists for snorkelling and for their unspoilt beaches. Various cetacean species have been recorded including either or both blue and pygmy blue whales and Omura's whales . Australasian realm Molucca Sea Plate Located in the western Pacific Ocean near Indonesia,

232-611: The Lesser Sundas deciduous forests ecoregion. The Tanimbar Islands, Kai Islands, and Barat Daya Islands (except for Wetar) in the southeastern Banda Sea form the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests ecoregion . These islands are covered in mostly-intact rain forest, and home to a number of endemic plants and animals including twenty-one bird species, a very high number for this small ecoregion. There are only twenty-two native mammals on these islands, including

261-658: The Molucca Sea plate has been classified by scientists as a fully subducted microplate that is part of the Molucca Sea Collision Complex . The Molucca Sea plate represents the only known example of divergent double subduction (DDS), which describes the subduction on both sides of a single oceanic plate. The Molucca Sea plate is one of many tectonic features that compose the Molucca Sea Collision Complex, which refers to

290-604: The Pacific Ocean , but surrounded by hundreds of islands, including Timor , as well as the Halmahera and Ceram Seas . It is about 1000 km (600 mi) east to west, and about 500 km (300 mi) north to south. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Banda Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago . The IHO defines its limits as follows: On

319-566: The Sangihe and Halmahera volcanic arcs . The force exerted by the thick overlying collision complex of the Halmahera and Sangihe plates effectively depressed the crust of the Molucca Sea plate. The plate itself features an asymmetrical morphology, configured in an inverted U-shape. The arc-arc collision zone of the Molucca Sea plate is characterized as a thick, low velocity layer, which is highly variable in density. The variable in density of

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348-594: The Banda Sea are active volcanoes including Gunung Api and Manuk in the Banda Islands. The Banda arc is famous for its 180° curvature and is, in Timor, generally agreed to be the product of a collision between a volcanic arc and the Australian continental margin. The Banda Sea occupies the main portion of the Banda Sea plate . The southern margin of the sea consists of island arcs above subduction zones. To

377-608: The Banda Sea include Sulawesi to the west, Buru , Ambon , Seram to the north, the Aru Islands , Tanimbar Islands , and Kai Islands to the east, and the Barat Daya Islands and Timor to the south. Although the borders of the sea are hazardous to navigation , with many small rocky islands, the middle of the sea is relatively open. Island groups within the sea include the Banda Islands . Some islands in

406-629: The East coast of Jamdena [ Yamdena ] Island to its Southern point, thence through Anggarmasa to the North point of Selaroe and through this island to Tg Aro Oesoe its Southern point ( 8°21′S 130°45′E  /  8.350°S 130.750°E  / -8.350; 130.750 ). On the South. A line from Tanjong Aro Oesoe, through Sermata to Tanjong Njadora the Southeast point of Lakov [Lakor, sic ] ( 8°16′S 128°14′E  /  8.267°S 128.233°E  / -8.267; 128.233 ) along

435-480: The Molucca Sea plate led to different subduction velocities on the two sides. Divergent Double Subduction may facilitate various tectonic processes, including closure of ocean basins, accretion and amalgamation of volcanic arcs, and growth of continents. Historically, the Molucca Sea plate has experienced hundreds of earthquakes ranging in magnitude. The most recent large earthquake occurred in January 2017 when

464-792: The North The Southern limits of the Molukka Sea [ sic ] and the Western and Southern limits of the Ceram Sea . On the East. From Tg Borang, the Northern point of Noehoe Tjoet [ Kai Besar ], through this island to its Southern point, thence a line to the Northeast point of Fordata, through this island and across to the Northeast point of Larat, Tanimbar Islands ( 7°06′S 131°55′E  /  7.100°S 131.917°E  / -7.100; 131.917 ), down

493-400: The Northern end of Flores Strait to Tanjong Serbete the Eastern extreme of Flores , thence a line from its Northern point ( 8°04′S 122°52′E  /  8.067°S 122.867°E  / -8.067; 122.867 ) to Kalaotoa Island ( 7°24′S 121°52′E  /  7.400°S 121.867°E  / -7.400; 121.867 ) and through the chain of islands lying between it and

522-567: The South coasts of Lakov [Lakor], Moa and Leti Islands to Tanjong Toet Pateh, the West point of Leti, thence a line to Tanjong Sewirawa the Eastern extremity of Timor and along the North coast as far as longitude 125° East . On the West. From a point on the North coast of Timor in 125° East up this meridian to Alor Island , thence round the East point and along the North coasts of the Alor, Pantar , Lomblen and Adoenara Islands and thence across

551-537: The South point of Pulo Salayar , through this island and across the Strait to Tanjong Lassa, Celebes ( 5°37′S 120°28′E  /  5.617°S 120.467°E  / -5.617; 120.467 ), thence along the Southern limit of the Gulf of Boni and up the East coast of Celebes to Tanjong Botok ( 1°04′S 123°19′E  /  1.067°S 123.317°E  / -1.067; 123.317 ). Islands bordering

580-530: The Southern extreme of the Talaud Group , through these islands to their Northeastern extreme ( 4°29′N 126°52′E  /  4.483°N 126.867°E  / 4.483; 126.867 ) and thence a line to Tanjong Sopi, the Northern point of Morotai Island . On the East. By the West coast of Morotai from Tanjong Sopi as far south as Wajaboela ( 2°17′N 128°12′E  /  2.283°N 128.200°E  / 2.283; 128.200 ), thence

609-511: The Western extreme, thence a line to the Southeast point of Banggai Island ( 1°43′S 123°36′E  /  1.717°S 123.600°E  / -1.717; 123.600 ). On the West. The East coasts of Banggai and Peleng Islands to North Bangkalan ( 1°10′S 123°18′E  /  1.167°S 123.300°E  / -1.167; 123.300 ) thence a line to Tg. Botok (Celebes) ( 1°04′S 123°19′E  /  1.067°S 123.317°E  / -1.067; 123.317 ) round

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638-498: The central region of the basin. While the scientific community has not come to a consensus as to when the Molucca Sea plate became fully subducted, the dominant theory is that the Molucca Sea plate has been completely subducted beneath the overriding Halmahera and Sangihe plates . When actively subducting, the crustal collision of the Molucca Sea plate was formed by surface intersection of "oppositely dipping Benioff zones ” (also known as divergent double subduction) which results in

667-538: The coast to Tg. Pasir Pandjang ( 0°39′S 123°25′E  /  0.650°S 123.417°E  / -0.650; 123.417 ) and across to Tg. Tombalilatoe ( 0°18′24″N 123°20′44″E  /  0.30667°N 123.34556°E  / 0.30667; 123.34556 ) 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

696-903: The east of the Sunda Trench is the Timor Trough which lies south of Timor , the Tanimbar Trough south of the Tanimbar Islands and the Aru Trough east of the Aru Islands . These trenches are the subduction zone of the Indo-Australian plate beneath the Banda Sea plate, where the Indo-Australian plate moves northwards. Fore-arc sediments progressively carried northwards by the Indo-Australian plate have been folded and faulted forming Timor island. To

725-478: The northeast lies Seram Island which overlies the subduction of the Bird's Head plate of West Papua . The deepest point of the sea, Weber Deep , is an exposed oceanic fault and the world's deepest forearc basin, with depth more than 7.2 kilometres (4.5 miles). Earthquakes are very frequent in the area, due to the confluence of three tectonic plates – Eurasian, Pacific and Indo-Australian plates. The Banda Sea

754-500: The rare dusky pademelon (Thylogale brunii) and Indonesian tomb bat ( Taphozous achates ), and the endangered endemic Kei myotis bat (Myotis stalkeri) . The birdlife is threatened by egg collectors and even more by cats and rodents that have been introduced to the islands. Yamdena in the Tanimbar Islands is an example of a large and fairly unspoilt habitat and is a protected area. The base for visiting these islands

783-484: The spice islands that can only be accessed through the Molucca Sea. January 6, 2019, measuring 7.0, with no tsunamis resulting. The sea is a very seismically active area due to the Molucca Sea Plate . Banda Sea The Banda Sea ( Indonesian : Laut Banda , Portuguese : Mar de Banda , Tetum : Tasi Banda ) is one of four seas that surround the Maluku Islands of Indonesia , connected to

812-571: The tectonic plate named after the sea, extends further north. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the "Molukka Sea" [ sic ] as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago . The IHO defines its limits as follows: On the North. By a line from the Northeast extreme of Celebes [ Sulawesi ] through the Siau Islands to the South point of Sangi ( 3°21′N 125°37′E  /  3.350°N 125.617°E  / 3.350; 125.617 ) thence to

841-410: The tectonic relationship of the Sangihe plate , Halmahera plate , and the Molucca Sea plate, in addition to the volcanic Halmahera and Sangihe Arcs. The southeast moving Sangihe plate is situated along the western boundary of the Molucca Sea plate. The northwest moving Halmahera plate is situated along the eastern boundary of the Molucca Sea plate. In the western Pacific Ocean , the Molucca Sea

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