Geologically, the Sunda Shelf (/ˈsʌndə/) is a south-eastern extension of the continental shelf of Mainland Southeast Asia. Major landmasses on the shelf include the Indonesian islands of Bali, Borneo, Java, Madura, and Sumatra, as well as their surrounding smaller islands. It covers an area of approximately 1.85 million km. Sea depths over the shelf rarely exceed 50 metres and extensive areas are less than 20 metres resulting in strong bottom friction and strong tidal friction. Steep undersea gradients separate the Sunda Shelf from the Philippines, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands (not including Bali).
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Sunda Shelf in the context of Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Sunda Kecil, Tetum: Illá Sunda ki'ik sirá, Balinese: ᬓᬧᬸᬮᭀᬯᬦ᭄ᬲᬸᬦ᭄ᬤᬘᬾᬦᬶᬓ᭄, romanized: Kapuloan Sunda cénik), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali province which is west of the Wallace Line and is within the Sunda Shelf. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west, they make up the Sunda Islands. The islands are part of a volcanic arc, the Sunda Arc, formed by subduction along the Sunda Trench in the Java Sea. In 1930 the population was 3,460,059; today over 17 million people live on the islands. Etymologically, Nusa Tenggara means "Southeast Islands" from the words of nusa which means 'island' from Old Javanese language and tenggara means 'southeast'.
The main Lesser Sunda Islands are, from west to east: Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Savu, Rote, Timor, Atauro, Alor archipelago, Barat Daya Islands, and Tanimbar Islands. Apart from the eastern half of Timor island and Atauro island which constitute the nation of Timor Leste, all the other islands are part of Indonesia.
In this Dossier
Sunda Shelf in the context of Sahul Shelf
9°36′S 131°42′E / 9.6°S 131.7°E
Geologically, the Sahul Shelf (/səˈhuːl/) is a part of the continental shelf of the Australian continent, lying off the northwest coast of mainland Australia.
Sunda Shelf in the context of Java Sea
The Java Sea (Indonesian: Laut Jawa, Javanese: 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 northwest links it to the South China Sea. Although generally considered to be a part of the western Pacific Ocean, the Java Sea is occasionally considered to be a part of the Indian Ocean.
Sunda Shelf in the context of Natuna Sea
The Natuna Sea (Indonesian: Laut Natuna) is an extensive shallow sea located around the Natuna Regency, extending south of the Riau Islands, east of the Lingga Regency and west of Borneo, to the Bangka Belitung Islands. The islands of the Badas and Tambelan Archipelago are located at its center. Mostly located within Indonesian territorial waters, it is the southernmost portion of the South China Sea, and geologically part of Sunda Shelf. It communicates with the Java Sea to its southeast via the Karimata and Gaspar Strait east and west of Belitung, and with the Strait of Malacca to the west via the Berhala and Singapore Strait.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), in its Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition (1953), does not list a Natuna Sea. Instead, the area encompassed by the Natuna Sea is considered the southern portion of the South China Sea. The 1986 draft of the IHO's Limits of Oceans and Seas proposed the Natuna Sea, which extends south from the Natuna and Anambas Islands to the Belitung Islands.
Sunda Shelf in the context of Wallacea
Wallacea /wɒˈleɪsiə/ is a biogeographical designation for a group of mainly Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australian continental shelves. Wallacea includes Sulawesi, the largest island in the group, as well as Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, and Timor. The islands of Wallacea lie between the Sunda Shelf (the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java) to the west, and the Sahul Shelf, including Australia, New Guinea, and Maluku islands to the south and east. The total land area of Wallacea is 347,000 km (134,000 sq mi).
Sunda Shelf in the context of Biodiversity of Borneo
The island of Borneo is located on the Sunda Shelf, which is an extensive region in Southeast Asia of immense importance in terms of biodiversity, biogeography and phylogeography of fauna and flora that had attracted Alfred Russel Wallace and other biologists from all over the world.
The previous climatic oscillation and sea level changes leading to contraction and expansion of the tropical rain contributed to the extinction and genetic divergence of species in the region. Harrison (1958) was the first to discover of intermittent human habitation about 49,000 years ago in the Niah Cave National Park. Baker et al.(2007) unravelled the complexities of the late Pleistocene to Holocene habitation of the Niah Cave.