The Halmahera Sea is a regional

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

located in the central eastern part of the Australasian Mediterranean Sea. It is centered at about 1°S and 129°E and is bordered by the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the north,

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

to the west, Waigeo and West Papua to the east, and the Seram Sea to the south. It covers about and its

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

comprises a number of separate

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

and ridges, the chief of which is the Halmahera Basin reaching a depth of 2039 m. Maluku Islands en

Extent

The

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

(IHO) defines the Halmahera Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:

''On the North'' A line from Wajaboela ( Morotai) to Tg. Djodjefa, the Northern point of
Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coa ...
. ''On the East.'' A line from Tg. Gorango, the Northeastern point of Morotai Island, through Sajang and Kawé Islands to the Western extremes of Waigeo and
Batanta Batanta is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. Its area is 479.52 km2 (including smaller offshore islands) and its highest point is 1184 m. The Pitt Strait (Indonesia), Pitt Strai ...
Islands across to the Northwest point of Samawati Island, down the coast to Tg. Menonket its Southwest point, and thence to Tg. Sele,
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
(). ''On the South.'' The Northern limit of Ceram Sea between Obi Major and New Guinea line from ... Obi Major ... Tanjong Seranmaloleo its Eastern extreme, thence through Tobalai, Kekek, Pisang and Kofiau Islands to Tanjong Sele (), the Western point of New Guinea">Kofiau"> line from ... Obi Major ... Tanjong Seranmaloleo its Eastern extreme, thence through Tobalai, Kekek, Pisang and Molukka Sea between Halmahera and Obi Major [A line from the Southern extreme of Halmahera to the North point of Bisa (Setile) Island, thence to the Northern extreme of Obi Major">Molucca Sea">Molukka Sea between Halmahera and Obi Major [A line from the Southern extreme of Halmahera to the North point of Bisa (Setile) Island, thence to the Northern extreme of Obi Major

References

External links

"Halmahera Sea" entry on the ''Glossary of Physical Oceanography''
Seas of Indonesia Landforms of Halmahera Landforms of North Maluku Landforms of Papua (province) Maluku Islands {{NMaluku-geo-stub