Makassar Strait is a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

between the islands of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

and

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

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 ...

. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the

Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...

. To the northeast, it forms the Sangkulirang Bay south of the

Mangkalihat Peninsula Cape Mangkalihat, also known as Cape Sangkulirang, is a cape in eastern Borneo. It is located in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, in the regencies of Berau and East Kutai. The cape, as part of the Sangkulirang-Mangkalihat Karst, is n ...

. The strait is an important regional shipping route in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. The

Mahakam River The Mahakam River (Indonesian: ''Sungai Mahakam'') is third longest and volume discharge river in Borneo after Kapuas River and Barito River, it is located in Kalimantan, Indonesia. It flows from the district of Long Apari in the highlands of ...

and

Karangan River Karangan or Karanagan or Kerengan ( fa, كرنگان) may refer to: * Karangan, East Azerbaijan * Karangan, Razavi Khorasan * Karangan, administrative division of Kulim district in the state of Kedah, Malaysia * Karangan River, which forms the Sa ...

of Borneo empty into the strait. Ports along the strait include Balikpapan and

Bontang Bontang is a city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo in Indonesia, in the province of East Kalimantan. It occupies an area of , and the population was 140,787 at the 2010 census, and 178,917 at the 2020 census. It is also the third m ...

in Borneo, and

Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...

, Palu, and

Parepare Parepare is a city (''kota'') in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, located on the southwest coast of Sulawesi, about north of the provincial capital of Makassar. A port town, it is one of the major population centers of the Bugis people. The city had ...

in Sulawesi. The city of Samarinda is 48 km (30 mi) from the strait, along the Mahakam.

Extent

The

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

(IHO) defines the Makassar Strait as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:

The channel between the East coast of
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
and the West coast of Celebes [
Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
], is bounded: ''On the North.'' By a line joining Mangkalihat Peninsula, Tanjong Mangkalihat, Borneo () and Stroomen Kaap (Tolitoli Regency, Cape Binar), Celebes (). ''On the South.'' By a line from the Southwestern extreme of Celebes (), through the Southern point of Tana Keke, to the Southern extreme of Laoet () thence up the West coast of that island to Tanjong Kiwi and thence across to Tanjong Petang, Borneo () at the Southern end of Laoet Strait.

Gallery

File:Pulau Beras Basah.jpg, Beras Basah Island in Makassar Strait, administrative part of

. File:USS Midway (CV-41) carrier battle group underway in Makassar Strait on 28 September 1985 (6408112).jpeg, USS ''Midway'' (CV-41) and other warships in Makassar Strait, 28 September 1985. File:MV. QAL Ranger (2005-11-14).jpg, Offshore oil rig in Makassar Strait, 2005. File:Pulau Aur (Kalimantan Selatan).jpg, Aur island, administrative part of South Kalimantan. File:65 Indonesians saved from tragedy by U.S. Marines, Sailors 150610-M-ST621-142.jpg, KM Arista ship sunk in Makassar Strait, 10 June 2015.

References

Landforms of Sulawesi Straits of Indonesia Bodies of water of the Celebes Sea Landforms of South Sulawesi Landforms of Central Sulawesi Landforms of East Kalimantan Landforms of Kalimantan {{Indonesia-geo-stub

Extent

Gallery

See also

References