Amboina island

Ambon

Ambon (left) and the Lease Islands
Ambon Location in Indonesia
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Coordinates	3°38′17″S 128°07′02″E / 3.63806°S 128.11722°E / -3.63806; 128.11722Coordinates: 3°38′17″S 128°07′02″E / 3.63806°S 128.11722°E / -3.63806; 128.11722
Archipelago	Maluku Islands
Area	803.9 km2 (310.4 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,225 m (4,019 ft)
Highest point	Salahutu
Administration
Indonesia
Province	Maluku
Largest settlement	Ambon
Demographics
Population	501,364 (2014)
Pop. density	623.66 /km2 (1,615.27 /sq mi)
Languages	Ambonese Indonesia
Ethnic groups	Ambonese
Additional information
Time zone	EIT (UTC+09:00)

Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of 775 km² (299 sq mi) and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories - the city of Ambon to the south and various districts (kecamatan) of the Central Maluku Regency to the north. The main city and seaport is Ambon (with a 2014 population of 368,987), which is also the capital of Maluku province, while those districts of Maluku Tengah Regency situated on Ambon Island had a 2014 population of 132,377. Ambon has an airport and is home to the Pattimura University and Open University (Universitas Terbuka), state universities, and a few private universities, which include Darussalam University (Universitas Darussalam, UNDAR) and Universitas Kristen Indonesia Maluku (UKIM).

Ambon Island lies off the southwest coast of the much larger Seram island. It is on the north side of the Banda Sea, part of a chain of volcanic islands that encircle the sea. It is 51 kilometres (32 miles) long and is of very irregular shape, being almost divided in two. The southeastern and smaller portion, a peninsula (called Leitimor) is united to the northern (called Hitoe) by a narrow neck of land. The bay thus formed cuts about 20km into the island with the airport on the northern shore and the city of Ambon on the southern side. The city of Ambon covers the entirety of Leitimor, with its centre on the northwest coast of Leitimor, facing Hitoe, and has a safe harbor on Amboina Bay.

The highest mountains, Wawani at 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) and Salahutu at 1,225 metres (4,019 feet), have hot springs and solfataras. They are volcanoes, and the mountains of the neighboring Lease Islands are extinct volcanoes. Granite and serpentine rocks predominate, but the shores of Amboina Bay are of chalk and contain stalactite caves.