Watubela archipelago
The Indonesian Watubela Islands ( Kepulauan indon. Watubela, also Matabello Islands, locally Wakate ) consist of the main islands Watubela, Kasiui ( Kesui, Kasui ) and Teor ( Tioor ) and four other small uninhabited islands. They belong to the Southern Moluccas.
Geography
The Watubela Islands lie to the west of New Guinea, in the outer Banda arc. Here they are located between the Gorom and Seram islands in the north and the Kei Islands in the south. To the east is the Ceram Sea, west of the Banda Sea. The Watubela Islands form the sub-district ( Kecamatan ) Wakate, of the government district ( kabupaten ) of Seram Timur Bagian ( Section East Seram ) is one ( Maluku Province ). Wakate divided into nine Desa ( " villages " ), and was formerly part of the sub-district Pulau Gorom.
The islands form a chain. All localities are in the coastal areas of the islands. The largest island is Kasiui with the places Gulir in the center on the West Coast, Utta (Utah, Utah, Eta ) on the north east coast and Tamher Timur ( Tamerlane Temeer ) on the south coast. Other villages on Kasiui are Tamher Barat ( Temeer Barat ) on the southwest coast, Kelangan ( Kalangan ) on the southeast coast and Amar sound ( Amarlaut ) between Kelangan and Utta. Gulir is a fishing port and is not a whole Desa. It belongs administratively to Tamher Barat. To the north lies Watubela, the eponymous island in the archipelago, with the places Ilili at the northern tip, Effa on the west coast and Lahema in the south and a little further north the island Ingar ( Ingei ). The southern island is the second largest island of Teor with the main town Wirmaf on the east coast and smaller hamlets, as Rumahlusi on the north coast and Ralatlumoi on the west coast. Between Teor and Kasiui is the small island Baam and east of it the island Kurkap. East of Teor also lies the island of uranium. Baam and uranium belong administratively to Teor, Kurkap for Desa Tamher Timur and Ingar for Desa Ilili. The total area of the islands is 55.6 km ².
To the islands are coral reefs and seagrass beds, which are characterized by a high biodiversity. There are also mangrove forests, scattered in small areas on the coast of Kasiui.
Population
Live on the islands 9251 inhabitants ( 2010). On Kasiui is the language spoken by the ethnic group Watubela Watubela ( Wesi ). The Watubela are predominantly Muslim, 25 % are Christians. On Teor Teor the language is spoken. Both indigenous languages belong to the Austronesian languages, with more Teor cure of the adjacent island of the same similar as the Watubela.