The Celebes Sea (or the Sulawesi Sea) of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangi Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Borneo. The Sea is in the form of a huge basin, and plunges as deep as 6,200 m. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by 520 miles (837 km) east-west and has a total surface area of 110,000 square miles (280,000 square km). The sea opens southwest through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea.

The Celebes Sea is a piece of an ancient ocean basin that formed 42 million years ago in a setting far from any land mass. By 20 million years ago, crustal movement had pushed the Celebes basin close enough to the Indonesian and Philippine volcanoes to receive volcanic debris. By 10 million years ago the Celebes Sea was inundated with continental debris, including coal, which was shed from a rapidly growing young mountain on Borneo and the basin had docked against Eurasia.

The border between the Celebes and the Sulu Sea is at the Sibutu-Basilan Ridge. Strong ocean currents, deep sea trenches and sea mounts , combined with active volcanic islands, result in complex oceanographic features.

Celebes Sea Pirates

The celebes sea has somewhat attained an international notoriety for its pirates preying not only on small time fishermen but also entire giant container ships. Nowadays, these pirates have high-tech weapons and equipments like radar and GPS navigation devices and ride on high-speed motorboats.

Marine life

Celebes sea is home to a wide variety of fish and aquatic creatures. The tropical setting and warm clear waters permit the Celebes sea to harbor about 580 of the world's 793 species of reef-building corals, which grow as some of the most bio-diverse coral reefs in the world, and an impressive array of marine life, including whales and dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, eagle rays , barracuda, marlin and other reef and pelagic species. Tuna and yellow fin tuna are also abundant.

Aquatic products

In addition to high abundance of fish caught in the Celebes sea, this sea also yields other aquatic products like sea tang.

Commercial significance

An important transportation path for trade and commerce in the region. It is a popular site for deep sea diving and luxury ocean cruising.

Political significance

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