Ambelau
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 Ambelau
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | South East Asia |
| Coordinates | 3°52′S 127°12′E / 3.867°S 127.200°E |
| Archipelago | Greater Sunda Islands |
| Highest elevation | 608 m (1,995 ft) |
| Highest point | unnamed |
| Administration | |
| Largest settlement | Wailua |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 9600 (2009) |
Ambelau or Ambalau is a volcanic island in the Banda Sea within Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island forms an administrative unit (Indonesian: Kecamatan Ambelau) which belongs to the South Buru Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Buru Selatan) of Maluku province (Indonesian: Provinsi Maluku), Indonesia. The administrative center is Wailua, a settlement located at the south of the island . About half of the island's population is composed of indigenous Ambelau people who speak Ambelau language; the other half are mostly immigrants from the nearby Maluku Islands and Java.
The island is located in the Banda Sea at the southern entrance to the strait Manipa, about 20 km south-east of the larger island of Buru. It has a relatively smooth oval shape with a minor extension in the south-eastern part and the maximum diameter of about 10 km.
The island is of volcanic origin, and is composed of Cenozoic sedimentary rocks. The relief is mostly mountainous, with the highest points at 608 m (Mt. Baula) and 559 m (Mt. Nona) in the western area. The island rises vertically from the sea, and flat parts are found only on the southern and eastern coasts. Much of the territory, especially in mountainous areas, is covered with wet tropical forests. The island is located in a seismically active zone with frequent earthquakes; two significant recent earthquakes occurred in August 2006 and January 2016 when eight people were hurt and about 120 houses were damaged in two villages. Flora and fauna of the island are diverse and are similar to that of Buru. There are abundant coral reefs off the coast of Ambelau.
The island belongs to the Indonesian province of Maluku. Until 1999 the island belonged to the Central Maluku Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Maluku Tengah), then to the Buru Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Buru), in which it was isolated into a separate administrative unit (Kechamatan Ambelau). In 2008, when the South Buru Regency split up from the Buru Regency, the island became part of it, maintaining its kechamatan status. The island is divided into seven administrative units of lower rank, called village (Indonesian: desa) or settlement (Indonesian: kelurahan), namely Kampung Baru, Lumoy, Masawoy, Selasi, Siwar, Ulima and Elara.
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