In the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, the Banda Sea (Indonesia: Laut Banda) is a sea that is connected to the Pacific Ocean but surrounded by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera and Ceram Seas. It occupies a total of 470,000 square km (180,000 square miles) and opens up to the seas of Flores (west), Savu (southwest), Timor (south), Arafura (southeast), and Ceram and Molucca (north). It is 1000 km (600 mi) east to west, and 500 km (300 mi ) north to south, roughly. In eastern Indonesia, the Banda Sea is a wide expanse of water. The remote area includes the Banda Islands, Seram, Ambon, Wetar, Kai, and Aru Islands, which are the best explored by liveaboard.
(Banda Sea)
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) characterizes the Banda Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indians Archipelago. The Banda Sea is partitioned into two bowls isolated by an edge that is conquered in places by coral reefs. The North Banda Basin is 19,000 feet (5,800 meters) deep, while the South Banda Basin is 17,700 feet (5,400 meters) deep. Sulawesi to the west, Buru, Ambon Island, Seram, Aru Islands, Barat Daya Islands, Tanimbar Islands, Kai Islands, and Timor-Leste are the islands bordering the Banda Sea. At some 24,409 feet (7,440 meters), a volcanic ridge further separates the southern South Banda Basin from the Weber Basin, the deepest in the sea.
While the edges of the sea are dangerous to navigation, the center of the sea is reasonably open with several small rocky islands. The Banda Islands have island groups within the sea. The active volcano, Mount Api, rises from 14,800 feet (4,500 meters) above sea level from the floor of the southern basin to 2,200 feet (670 meters). The clear waters surrounding several islands provide beautiful coral reefs with a perfect habitat. The Banda arc is known for its 180 ° curvature and is widely accepted in Timor to be the result of a collision between a volcanic arc and the continental margin of Australia.
It is possible to embark on once-in-a-lifetime voyages across the Banda Sea from September through to December and also between April and May each year, visiting the famous ‘Spice Islands’ to explore diving nirvana in the ‘Ring of Fire.’ Divers are blessed to receive a blast of marine life on the immaculate reefs, just as steep drop-offs, immense schools of fish, plenty of pelagic animal varieties, seamounts, and critters in abundance. Appreciate a remarkable plunge at Gunung Api well of lava where ocean snakes flourish, and unimaginable pelagic experiences at the Lucipara atolls, where five seamounts ascend over a mile from the sea depths, and which are additionally home to green turtle settling locales.
(Coastline, Banda Islands, Banda Sea, western Pacific Ocean.)
Due to the confluence of three tectonic plates-the Eurasian, Pacific and Indo-Australian plates-earthquakes are very frequent in the region. Weber Deep, the lowest point of the sea, is an exposed oceanic fault and the deepest for each basin in the world, more than 7.2 kilometers (4.5 mi) deep. Other than the chance of Hammerhead sharks, guests or voyagers will discover immaculate coral reefs, a one of a kind nearby sailor in Alor, huge loads of ocean winds in Manuk, and a visit to at least one of the towns in the Spice Islands. The Banda Sea is a marine ecoregion, as characterized by the World Wildlife Fund. It is essential for the Coral Triangle district, which has the best variety of coral reef species in the more extensive Indo-Pacific.
This was the only location on Earth where the spices nutmeg and mace could be found until the middle of the 19th century, making them a vital center for the spice trade. While remote, the Banda and Kai Islands are visited by tourists for snorkeling and for their unspoiled beaches. Including one or both blue and pygmy blue whales and Omura’s whales, numerous cetacean species have been reported.
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