indonesian mountains and sea

Sulawesi is an island lies on three separate plates, the Banda Sea Plate, Molucca Sea Plate, and Sunda Plate. Seismic and volcanic activities are high on its northeastern part, evidenced by the formation of volcanoes in North Sulawesi and island arcs such as the Sangihe and Talaud Islands, southwest of the Philippine Trench. [10] [11] [12]
Indonesia is an archipelagic country extending about 5,120 kilometres (3,181 mi) from east to west and 1,760 kilometres (1,094 mi) from north to south. [2] According to a geospatial survey conducted between 2007 and 2010 by National Coordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping (Bakosurtanal), Indonesia has 13,466 islands. [3] While earlier survey conducted in 2002 by National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) stated Indonesia has 18,307 islands. According to the CIA World Factbook, there are 17,508 islands. [4] The discrepancy between the surveys is likely caused by the earlier different survey method including tidal islands, sandy cays and rocky reefs that surface during low tide and submerge during high tide. There are 8,844 named islands according to estimates made by the government of Indonesia, with 922 of those are permanently inhabited. [5] It comprises five main islands: Sumatra, Java, Borneo (known as Kalimantan in Indonesia), Sulawesi, and New Guinea; two major island groups (Nusa Tenggara and the Maluku Islands) and sixty smaller island groups. Four of the islands are shared with other countries: Borneo is shared with Malaysia and Brunei; Sebatik, located off the northeastern coast of Kalimantan, shared with Malaysia; Timor is shared with East Timor; and the newly divided provinces of Papua and West Papua share the island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea.

Credit Sebastián Hidalgo
Credit Roger Fenton/Royal Collection Trust/HM Queen Elizabeth II 2017

There are a vast number of straits and passages found around the islands of Indonesia. The Karimata Strait connects the South China Sea to the Java Sea. The Strait of Malacca, running between Sumatra and mainland Malaysia and connecting the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal, is one of the busiest waterways in the world. Most ships heading to the east coast of Asia from the west pass through this strait, as does most traffic from East Asia heading west. The Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra is also heavily traveled. The Great Channel separates the northernmost tip of Sumatra from India’s Nicobar Islands. Further east among the islands is the Makassar Strait between Borneo and Sulawesi. It connects the Sulawesi (Celebes) Sea in the north with the Java, Bali, and Flores Seas in the south.
Indonesia has a variety of forest types: rainforests in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua; monsoon forests in the Lesser Sunda Islands; coastal mangrove forests; and alpine forests in the mountains of Papua. Indonesia has been estimated to be the habitat of 12 percent of the world’s mammal species and 16 percent of the bird species, as well as 11 percent of plant species.

Indonesia, country located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is an archipelago that lies across the Equator and spans a distance equivalent to one-eighth of Earth’s circumference. Its islands can be grouped into the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra (Sumatera), Java (Jawa), the southern extent of Borneo (Kalimantan), and Celebes (Sulawesi); the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara) of Bali and a chain of islands that runs eastward through Timor; the Moluccas (Maluku) between Celebes and the island of New Guinea; and the western extent of New Guinea (generally known as Papua). The capital, Jakarta, is located near the northwestern coast of Java. In the early 21st century Indonesia was the most populous country in Southeast Asia and the fourth most populous in the world.
Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia, with a maximum dimension from east to west of about 3,200 miles (5,100 km) and an extent from north to south of 1,100 miles (1,800 km). It shares a border with Malaysia in the northern part of Borneo and with Papua New Guinea in the centre of New Guinea. Indonesia is composed of some 17,500 islands, of which more than 7,000 are uninhabited. Almost three-fourths of Indonesia’s area is embraced by Sumatra, Kalimantan, and western New Guinea; Celebes, Java, and the Moluccas account for most of the country’s remaining area.

There is a striking image in Rony Zakaria’s monochrome series Men, Mountains and the Sea where a shaft of light cuts across the center of a valley. Dark forms of mountains can be seen on the horizon, and a volcano lets out a gentle stream of smoke beneath a sky filled with stars. The image highlights the immensity and mystery of our planet.
Zakaria’s series, which he began in 2008, examines man’s connection with his environment in the photographer’s native land of Indonesia. Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is spread across 17,000 islands and is home to over 150 active volcanoes. In this land governed by the elements, the sea and mountains are regarded as sacred entities.

References:

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/moved-by-mountains-and-the-sea-in-indonesia/
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/geography/Indonesia-to-Mongolia/Indonesia.html
http://www.britannica.com/place/Indonesia
http://www.lensculture.com/articles/rony-zakaria-men-mountains-and-the-sea
http://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-david-hockney