Waigeo in the context of "Batanta"

Raja Ampat (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˌrad͡ʒa ˈ(ʔ)ampat̪̚]), or the Four Kings, is an archipelago located off of the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula (on the island of New Guinea), Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. It comprises over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals around the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau.

The Raja Ampat archipelago is just south of the equator and forms part of the Coral Triangle, an area of Southeast Asian seas containing the richest marine biodiversity on earth. The Coral Triangle itself is an approximate area west-southwest of the Philippines, east-northeast and southeast of the island of Borneo, and north, east, and west of the island of New Guinea, including the seas in between. Thousands of species of marine organisms, from the tiniest cleaner shrimp and camouflaged pygmy seahorses to the majestic cetaceans and whale sharks, thrive in these waters.

Raja Ampat Regency is a regency of Southwest Papua Province of Indonesia. The regency, which was formed by separating the archipelago from Sorong Regency, based on the Law 26 of 2002, was inaugurated on 12 April 2003. It consists of a number of groups of islands situated off the north-west end of West Papua; the four main islands from south to north are Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. At present, the regency covers a land area of 7,559.60 km, with a total area (including 59,820.01 km of sea area) stated as 67,379.61 km. It had a population of 42,508 at the 2010 Census and 64,141 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 72,865 (comprising 37,942 males and 34,923 females). The principal town lies at Waisai on Waigeo Island.

On 25 October 2013 the People's Representative Council (DPR) began reviewing draft laws on the establishment of new regencies, including two new regencies of North Raja Ampat and South Raja Ampat within the borders of the existing Raja Ampat Regency. As at May 2024, these changes have not yet been implemented.

The Halmahera Sea (Indonesian: Laut Halmahera; Indonesian pronunciation: [ˌlaʊt̪̚ halmaˈhera]) is a regional sea located in the central eastern part of the Australasian Mediterranean Sea. It is centered at about 1°S and 129°E and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the north, Halmahera to the west, Waigeo and Southwest Papua to the east, and the Seram Sea to the south. It covers about 95,000 km (about 37,000 miles) and its topography comprises a number of separate basins and ridges, the chief of which is the Halmahera Basin reaching a depth of 2,039 m.

On its western side, the Halmahera Sea includes three large gulfs or bays which cut deep into the coast of Halmahera island, turning the east coast of that island into four huge peninsulas. These three inlets comprise Wedi Bay (Teluk Wesi) in the south (between the southern and southeastern peninsulas), Buli Bay (Teluk Buli) in the centre (between the southeastern and northeastern peninsulas) and Kao Bay (Teluk Kao) in the north (between the northeastern and northern peninsulas). A notable fourth inlet is Galela Bay (Teluk Galela) further to the north, which projects into the coast of North Halmahera Regency.