Halmahera Sea

The Halmahera Sea (Indonesian: Laut Halmahera; Indonesian pronunciation: [ˌlaʊt̪̚ halmaˈhera]) is a regional sea 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 to the north, Halmahera to the west, Waigeo and Southwest Papua to the east, and the Seram Sea to the south. It covers about 95,000 km (about 37,000 miles) and its topography comprises a number of separate basins and ridges, the chief of which is the Halmahera Basin reaching a depth of 2,039 m.

On its western side, the Halmahera Sea includes three large gulfs or bays which cut deep into the coast of Halmahera island, turning the east coast of that island into four huge peninsulas. These three inlets comprise Wedi Bay (Teluk Wesi) in the south (between the southern and southeastern peninsulas), Buli Bay (Teluk Buli) in the centre (between the southeastern and northeastern peninsulas) and Kao Bay (Teluk Kao) in the north (between the northeastern and northern peninsulas). A notable fourth inlet is Galela Bay (Teluk Galela) further to the north, which projects into the coast of North Halmahera Regency.