The Letti Islands () of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

are part of the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...

, in southwest

Maluku Province Maluku is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It comprises the central and southern regions of the Maluku Islands. The main city and capital of Maluku province is Ambon, Maluku, Ambon on the small Ambon Island. The land area is 62, ...

. (The spelling Leti Islands is also used sometimes.) They are also called the "Lemola" Archipelago, from the initial two letters of each of the three main islands, Letti,

Moa Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

and Lakor; each of the three islands now constitutes a separate administrative district (''kecamatan'') within the

Maluku Barat Daya Southwest Maluku Regency ( id, Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya) is a regency of Maluku Province, Indonesia. It comprises a number of islands and island groups in the south of the province, including (running from west to east) Lirang Island, Wetar Is ...

Regency (''Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya'') The islands cover in area and supported a population of 16,664 at the 2010 Census, which had increased to 26,870 at the 2020 Census. The most significant town is Pati, on Moa. Industries include the cultivation of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

s and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. Letti proper, the westernmost island, covers 243.5 km² and had a population of 8,060 in 2020. The island is a triangular mountain ridge, subtended by Koli Besar mountain in the east and the Rapat mountains in the west. Moa, the central and largest island, covers 959.68 km² and had a population of 16,294 in 2020. Tiakur is the administrative centre for the Regency; it has an area of 45,43 km² and had a population of 3,546 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. Lakor, the easternmost island, covers 303.32 km² and had a population of 2,516 in 2020. The Letti Islands are part of the

Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests The Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion includes several island groups in the southwestern Banda Sea, including the Tanimbar Islands, Kai Islands, and the Barat Daya Islands e ...

ecoregion.

Languages

The

Leti language Leti (or Letti) is an Austronesian language spoken on the island of Leti in Maluku. Although it shares much vocabulary with the neighboring Luang language, it is marginally mutually intelligible. Fewer than 1% of Leti speakers are literate i ...

, a member of the Austronesian languages group, is spoken on Letti islands.

Administration

The Letti Islands form the Letti, Lakor and Moa Lakor

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of the

Southwest Maluku Regency Southwest Maluku Regency ( id, Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Maluku (province), Maluku Province, Indonesia. It comprises a number of islands and island groups in the south of the province, including (running f ...

within

. The office of the district head (''camat'') of Letti is located in Serwaru, on the northern coast of Letti. The office of the camat of Moa Lakor is located in Weet on Moa. The office of the camat of Lakor is located in Wewawan on Lakor.

References

External links

Satellite imagery from Google Maps
Barat Daya Islands Archipelagoes of Indonesia Landforms of Maluku (province) Outer Banda Arc {{Maluku-geo-stub

Languages

Administration

See also

References

External links