Celebes Sea: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:59, 25 March 2005

Revision as of 04:07, 29 March 2005

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[[image:Maitumcoastal.jpg|right|thumb|Celebes Sea on its northern border. Coastal area of [[Maitum,_Sarangani]]]]

The '''Celebes Sea''' (or the '''Sulawesi Sea''') of the western [[Pacific Ocean]], is bordered on the north by the [[Sulu Archipelago]] and [[Sulu Sea ]] and [[Mindanao Island]] of the [[Philippines]], on the east by the [[Sangi Islands]] chain, on the south by [[Sulawesi]], and on the west by [[Borneo]]. The Sea is in the form of a huge basin, and plunges as deep as 6,200 m. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by 520 miles (837 km) east-west and has a total surface area of 110,000 square miles (280,000 square km). The sea opens southwest through the [[Makassar Strait]] into the [[Java Sea]].

The Celebes Sea is a piece of an ancient [[ocean basin]] that formed 42 million years ago in a setting far from any land mass. By 20 million years ago, crustal movement had pushed the Celebes basin close enough to the [[Indonesia]]n and Philippine [[volcano]]es to receive volcanic debris. By 10 million years ago the Celebes Sea was inundated with continental debris, including [[coal]], which was shed from a rapidly growing young mountain on Borneo and the basin had docked against Eurasia.