Banda Islands
The Banda Islands () are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about south of Seram Island and about east of Java (island), Java, and constitute an administrative district (''kecamatan'') within the Central Maluku Regency in the Indonesian province of Maluku (Indonesian province), Maluku. The islands rise out of deep ocean and have a total land area of approximately ; with associated maritime area this reaches . They had a population of 18,544 at the 2010 Census and 20,924 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 21,902. Until the mid-19th century the Banda Islands were the world's only source of the spices nutmeg and mace (spice), mace, produced from the nutmeg tree. The islands are also popular destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling. The main town and administrative centre is Banda Neira, located on the island of the same name. Geography There are seven inhabited islands and several that are uninhabited. The inhabite ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fort Belgica
Fort Belgica is a 17th-century fort in Banda Neira, Banda Islands, the Moluccas, Maluku Islands (the Moluccas), Indonesia; administratively in Central Maluku Regency, Maluku (province), Maluku. The fort acted as a fortification system for the islands of Banda which was the only place in the world during that period where nutmeg was produced. History Before Fort Belgica, there was a 16th-century Portuguese fort standing on a hill in Banda Neira. On September 4, 1611, Pieter Both, the first Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, instructed the construction of a new fort to fortify the hill which dominated the original Dutch fortress, Fort Nassau, Banda Islands, Fort Nassau. This fort was to be named either ''Belgica'' or ''Nederland'', and it became Fort Belgica. Fort Belgica was a modest square fort on top of a hill. In 1662, Jan Pieterszoon Coen ordered the renovation of the original fort, so it was replaced with a more solid redoubt that could accommodate 40 men. By the mid- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Java (island)
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, projected to rise to 158 million at mid 2025, Java is the world's List of islands by population, most populous island, home to approximately 55.7% of the Demographics of Indonesia, Indonesian population (only approximately 44.3% of Indonesian population live outside Java). Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, is on Java's northwestern coast. Many of the best known events in Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the History of Indonesia, Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia's e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation (largely undefined at this point). Ecoregions are also known as "ecozones" ("ecological zones"), although that term may also refer to biogeographic realms. Three caveats are appropriate for all bio-geographic mapping approaches. Firstly, no single bio-geographic fram ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Banda Sea Islands Moist Deciduous Forests
The Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion includes several island groups in the southwestern Banda Sea, including the Tanimbar Islands, Kai Islands, and the Barat Daya Islands except for Wetar. Geography The islands in the ecoregion are part of Wallacea, a group of indonesian islands which lie between the Australian and Asian continents but were never part of either continent.Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment.'' Washington, DC: Island Press. The islands consist of two concentric island arcs. The Inner Banda Arc is made up of young, active volcanic islands, including the Banda Islands, Serua Island, Nila Island, Teun Island, Damar Island, and Romang Island. The Outer Banda Arc is made up of oceanic sediments, principally coralline limestone, together with some older metamorphic rocks which accrete ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, largest, and average area per state and territory, smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located almost entirely on Manhattan Island near the southern tip of the state, Manhattan constitutes the center of the Northeast megalopolis and the urban core of the New York metropolitan area. Manhattan serves as New York City's Economy of New York City, economic and Government of New York City, administrative center and has been described as the cultural, financial, Media in New York City, media, and show business, entertainment capital of the world. Present-day Manhattan was originally part of Lenape territory. European settlement began with the establishment of a trading post by Dutch colonization of the Americas, D ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Banda Besar
Banda Besar (English pronunciation: ; 'Great Banda', ), historically also known as Lonthoir (alternatively spelt Lonthor or Lontor; not to be confused with the village of Lonthoir on the same island), is the largest of the Banda Islands in Indonesia. It is administered as part of Banda District, Central Maluku Regency, Maluku Province. Geography Banda Besar is the largest of the Banda Islands and one of the three central Banda Islands, the others being Banda Neira and Banda Api at and , respectively, to the north. Banda Besar is located on the south side of a submerged caldera with a diameter of around seven kilometers, inside which the islands of Banda Neira and Banda Api are located. A ridge runs along the length of the island with a maximum height of . The largest settlements are Lonthoir, Selamon and Waer. There are two partially ruined Dutch forts on the island: Benteng Hollandia in Lonthoir and Benteng Concordia in Waer. History Nutmeg is grown on the island and trad ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the structural integrity of such a chamber, greatly diminishing its capacity to support its own roof and any substrate or rock resting above. The ground surface then collapses into the emptied or partially emptied magma chamber, leaving a large depression at the surface (from one to dozens of kilometers in diameter). Although sometimes described as a Volcanic crater, crater, the feature is actually a type of sinkhole, as it is formed through subsidence and collapse rather than an explosion or impact. Compared to the thousands of volcanic eruptions that occur over the course of a century, the formation of a caldera is a rare event, occurring only a few times within a given window of 100 years. Only eight caldera-forming collapses are known to have ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Snorkeling
Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing the ambient air through a shaped tube called a Snorkel (swimming), snorkel, usually with swimming goggles or a diving mask, and swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn. The snorkel may be an independent item or integrated with the mask. The use of this equipment allows the snorkeler to observe the underwater environment for extended periods with relatively little effort, and to breathe while face-down at the surface. Snorkeling is a popular recreational activity, particularly at tropics, tropical resort locations. It provides the opportunity to observe marine biology#Lifeforms, underwater life in a natural setting without the complicated equipment and training required for scuba diving. It appeals to all ages because of ho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scuba Diving
Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scuba'' is an Acronym#Normal case and acronyms, acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus" and was coined by Christian J. Lambertsen in a patent submitted in 1952. Scuba divers carry their own source of breathing gas, affording them greater independence and movement than surface-supplied divers, and more time underwater than freedivers. Although the use of compressed air is common, other gas blends are also used. Open-circuit scuba systems discharge the breathing gas into the environment as it is exhaled and consist of one or more diving cylinders containing breathing gas at high pressure which is supplied to the diver at ambient pressure through a diving regulator. They may include additional cylinders for range extension, de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mace (spice)
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, and mace, from the seed covering. It is also a commercial source of nutmeg essential oil and nutmeg butter. Maluku's Banda Islands are the main producer of nutmeg and mace, and the true nutmeg tree is native to the islands. Nutmeg and mace, commonly used as food spices, have been traditionally employed for their psychoactive and aphrodisiac effects, though clinical evidence is lacking. High doses can cause serious toxic effects including acute psychosis, with risks heightened during pregnancy and with psychiatric conditions. Conifers of the genus ''Torreya'', commonly known as the nutmeg yews, have edible seeds of similar appearance, but are not closely related to ''M. fragrans'', and are not used as a spice. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |