The Sulawesi Sea has another name - the Celebes Sea. Few people know about it in our country, but it is a very attractive place for tourists.
Map location
We begin our acquaintance with this reservoir by determining where the Sulawesi Sea is located.
It is located between several islands in the Malay Archipelago, i.e., in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is washed by the shores of islands such as Kalimantan (Borneo), Mindanao and the island of Sulawesi of the same name .
Geographically, the waters of Sulawesi belong to Indonesia. The area of the water is approximately 453 thousand square kilometers.
Sea Sulawesi. Reservoir description
The average depth of the sea is more than one and a half thousand meters, the maximum figure is 6220 meters, which is by no means small. In terms of temperature and climate, the described reservoir is almost identical to the neighboring sea, which is called Sulu.
On the seabed there is a large accumulation of silty sediments of hemipelagic silt of bluish color, in which there is a significant admixture of materials of volcanic origin.
As for the coastal zone, i.e., shallow water, there is a lot of sand, pebbles and shell rock. Sand on the shore of white, for the most part, is of coral origin, i.e., limestone. The farther from the coast, the darker the sand becomes, since its composition increases the amount of volcanic impurities. In this regard, the water near the coastline is crystal clear, and the sand is dazzlingly white. The farther from the coast, the darker the water.
Sea Sulawesi. Animal world
The sea has a huge number of coral reefs and atolls, where a myriad of diverse representatives of flora and fauna is concentrated. Only off the coast of. Borneo are dense mangroves.
This region is deservedly considered one of the richest species of living creatures. Thousands and thousands of interesting animals and plants inhabit not only shallow water, but also the deep space.
Even very recent studies of the flora and fauna of these waters, aimed at finding new species of animals and plants, give stunning results. For example, in 2007, Filipino and American scientists discovered animals unknown to science, such as black jellyfish, a floating sea cucumber, and an orange prickly worm, like shrimp, in deep water. This creature has a dozen tentacles that grow from the head.
Such a rich and diverse world of living beings is not surprising for this place, because the Sulawesi Sea is one of the centers of the origin of life on Earth as a whole.
Among the most famous representatives of the animal world can be distinguished:
- sharks. Presented in a huge variety;
- mollusk cones. They have a beautiful sink, which is very valuable;
- mollusk nautilus. Outwardly, its shell is a bit like a snail.
Climatic and tourist conditions
The sea is located in the equatorial climatic zone, so the average water temperature in it varies from +26 to +29 degrees Celsius during the year.
It is interesting that the water level in the sea is slightly higher than the global ocean level. This is due to the strong sea current of Mindanao.
Sulawesi Sea is perfect for diving. Remember at least the world famous Fr. Bunaken, which is famous all over the planet for its bewitching sea gardens. Here you can observe thousands of species of marine coral fish, shellfish, starfish, etc.
In addition, in sea waters there is an incredible variety of different species of sea snakes, worms, crustaceans and all sorts of other representatives of flora and fauna. For a simple resident of Russia or any other European country, the inhabitants of the sea will be very exotic.
All this together creates simply incredibly attractive conditions for diving, so thousands of tourists from all over the world come here to dive and enjoy the sea beauties and riches.
Finally
The Sulawesi Sea is little known in Russia, and in the rest of the world not many people know about it. But such a little-known, on the contrary, adds a peculiar zest to this place, which has not yet been spoiled by crowds of visiting tourists.
Not only is the sea excessively rich in marine animals and plants, so the shores of the islands washed by it have fantastically picturesque beaches, and the azure waters and palm trees on the coast only complement this landscape, creating a simply fabulous, paradise look.
Sulawesi is one of the centers of a huge concentration of species of animals and plants, therefore its waters should be especially protected, however, in reality, the Indonesian government is not adequately addressing this issue.
Every year, more and more people in the world visit this unique sea as vacationers. In Russia, this tourist destination is still underdeveloped, but a general tendency to increase the interest of Russians in this sea is also observed. Moreover, there are all prerequisites for this. This direction has great development prospects and in the coming years can seriously compete with holidays in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.