Sangihe Islands

The Sangihe Islands or Sangir Islands ( Kepulauan Sangihe Indonesian ) are a group of about 50 mountainous and volcanic islands in northern Indonesia, northeast of Sulawesi on the border of Celebes Sea and Molukkensee, about halfway between Sulawesi and Mindanao in the Philippines.

They form the Sangihe Talaud Archipelago together with the Talaud Islands. The islands cover a total land area of 1056 km ². Many of these islands are among the most volcanically active islands of Indonesia and have fertile soil and mountains.

The main islands are Sangihe Besar, Siau, Tahulandang and Biaro. The island of Sangihe Besar is 45 km long and 15 km wide. The highest elevation on the Sangihe Islands is the Awu 1320 m high volcano on Sangihe Besar. An outbreak has claimed the lives of 2 March 1856 6000 people. South of Mount Awu is located on the west coast of the port city of Tahuna, the largest city in the Sangihe Islands. Another port city is Tabukang. Between Sangihe Besar and Siau is the underwater volcanic Banua Wuhu, who was last active in 1919. The southernmost volcano of the island chain is located on the homonymous island Ruang.

The economy is the cultivation and weaving of Manila. Other important sectors include fishing, shipping and tourism. The Sangihe Islands are considered popular destination for scuba divers. Most of the approximately 240,000 inhabitants (as of 2005) are Christians.

The islands came under Dutch control in 1677 and were to handover to Indonesia in 1945 a part of the Dutch reign Menado. You are now managed from Manado as part of the province of North Sulawesi ( Sulawesi Utara ). They form two administrative districts ( kabupaten ): The actual Sangiheinseln ( Kepulauan Sangihe ) in the north and the island of Siau, also Sitaroinseln ( Kepulauan Siau Tagulandang Biaro ) in the south.