area 280 000 km²/110 000 sq mi. Sea of SE Asia, bounded by islands of Indonesia (W and S), Malaysia (NW), and the Philippines (NE); maximum depth 5090 m/16 700 ft; fishing, local trade.
The Celebes Sea (or the Sulawesi Sea) of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Borneo. The sea opens southwest through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea.
The Celebes Sea is a piece of an ancient ocean basin that formed 42 million years ago in a setting far from any land mass. By 10 million years ago the Celebes Sea was inundated with continental debris, including coal, which was shed from a rapidly growing young mountain on Borneo and the basin had docked against Eurasia.
The border between the Celebes and the Sulu Sea is at the Sibutu-Basilan Ridge. Strong ocean currents, deep sea trenches and sea mounts, combined with active volcanic islands, result in complex oceanographic features.
Celebes Sea pirates
The Celebes Sea has somewhat attained an international notoriety for its pirates who prey not only on small time fishermen but also giant container ships.
Marine life
The Celebes Sea is home to a wide variety of fish and aquatic creatures. The tropical setting and warm clear waters permit it to harbor about 580 of the world's 793 species of reef-building corals, which grow as some of the most bio-diverse coral reefs in the world, and an impressive array of marine life, including whales and dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, eagle rays, barracuda, marlin and other reef and pelagic species.
In addition to high abundance of fish caught in the Celebes sea, this sea also yields other aquatic products like sea tang.
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