The Togian (or Togean) Islands are an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
of 56
islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
and many offshore islets, situated in the
Gulf of Tomini
The Gulf of Tomini ( id, Teluk Tomini), also known as the Bay of Tomini, is the equatorial gulf which separates the Minahassa Peninsula, Minahassa (Northern) and East Peninsula, Sulawesi, East Peninsulas of the island of Sulawesi (Celebes) in In ...
, off the coast of
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 for ...
, in
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 ...
. The largest islands are
Batudaka,
Togean,
Talatako and
Una-Una
Una-Una ( Indonesian: Pulau Una-Una) is an Indonesian island, part of the Togian Islands in the Gulf of Tomini.
Una-Una is a small volcanic island created by the Colo volcano. Its vegetation primarily consists of coconut trees.
Most of the is ...
. There are 59 villages on the islands, with one settled by the
Bajau people
The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exony ...
, more commonly known as the sea gypsies.
Administration
The islands are a part of the
Tojo Una-Una Regency
Tojo Una-Una Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The administrative centre is at Ampana town, on the Sulawesi 'mainland'. While the Regency includes a considerable area on the eastern peninsula of Sulawesi, it also includes the To ...
within
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 for ...
Province. At the time of the 2010 Census, the Archipelago was divided into four
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 ...
(''kecamatan''). Subsequent to 2010, two additional districts have been created - Batudaka and Talatako. These are tabulated below with their areas and their 2010 and 2020 Census populations, together with the official estimate as at mid 2021. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (rural ''desa'' and urban ''kelurahan'') in each district, and its post code.
Notes: (a) The 2010 Census population of Batudaka district is included in the figure for Una-Una district, from which it was cut out.
(b) The 2010 Census population of Talatako district is included in the figure for Walea Kepulauan district, from which it was cut out.
Geology and ecology
Formed by volcanic activity, the islands are covered by rainforest and surrounded by coral reef formations, which provide habitat and breeding areas for
hawksbill turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...
,
green turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. It is the only species
In biology, a spec ...
and the
dugong
The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...
. The
Tonkean macaque
The Tonkean black macaque or Tonkean macaque (''Macaca tonkeana'') is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to central Sulawesi and the nearby Togian Islands in Indonesia. It is threatened by habitat loss. Widespread ...
is found in the islands' forests. The animals
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the islands include the
Togian babirusa
The Togian babirusa (''Babyrousa togeanensis''), also known as the Malenge babirusa, is the largest species of babirusa. It is endemic to the Togian Islands of Indonesia, but was considered a subspecies of '' Babyrousa babyrussa'' until 2002. Co ...
and the
Togian hawk-owl
The Togian boobook or Togian hawk-owl (''Ninox burhani'') is an owl (Strigidae) described as new to science in 2004. The bird is currently known only from three islands in the Togian group, an archipelago in the Gulf of Tomini off the coast of Su ...
, which is discovered in 1999. The
Togian white-eye
The Togian white-eye (''Zosterops somadikartai'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae.
It is found in the Togian Islands of Indonesia, where it is endemic. The species was first spotted by University of Indonesia researcher Mochamad ...
, another endemic bird species, was described in 2008. Non-venomous
jellyfish
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...
are also found in Togian Islands, the unique one is jellyfish with little red spots.
National Park
On 2004, the government established a part of Togean Islands as a National Park consists of 292,000 hectares of sea water (includes 132,000 hectares of coral reef which is the largest in
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 ...
), 70,000 hectares of land and 10,659 hectares reservation of forests and mangroves.
See also
*
Kepulauan Togean National Park
Kepulauan Togean National Park is a largely marine national park, including the Togian Islands, near Sulawesi island of Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Ind ...
References
External links
Togean Islandswebsite for a general source of informations about the Togean Islands
*
Informative and rare trip report
Archipelagoes of Indonesia
Islands of Sulawesi
Landforms of Central Sulawesi
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