Celebes Sea | Map, Location, Facts, & Depth

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-09T00:00:00CDT" >Oct 9, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Celebes-Sea/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Indonesian: </dt> <dd>Laut Sulawesi</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Celebes-Sea"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref288342"></span>Celebes Sea</strong>, sea of the western <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Pacific-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pacific Ocean</a>, bordered on the north by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sulu-Archipelago" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sulu Archipelago</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sulu-Sea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sea</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mindanao" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mindanao</a> island, on the east by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sangihe-Islands" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sangihe Islands</a> chain, on the south by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Celebes" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Celebes</a> (Sulawesi), and on the west by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Borneo-island-Pacific-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Borneo</a>. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by 520 miles (837 km) east-west and occupies a total surface area of 110,000 square miles (280,000 square km). The sea, opening southwest through the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Makassar-Strait" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Makassar Strait</a> to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Java-Sea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Java Sea</a>, fills a steep-sided, generally flat-bottomed <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="basin" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/basin" data-type="EB">basin</a> formed by downfaulting of a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/tectonic-landform" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tectonic block</a>. Over half of its area is more than 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) deep, the greatest recorded depth being 20,406 feet (6,220 meters). The edges of this enclosed basin are visible in the line of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/volcano" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">volcanic cones</a> in northern Celebes and the Sangihe Islands and the mountains of the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao. Deep water enters the sea from the Pacific south of Mindanao, flowing southwest to leave by the Makassar Strait. This pattern also holds true for surface currents.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Although the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Netherlands" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Dutch</a> seized parts of Celebes and the Sangihe group early in the 17th century, the sea itself was long dominated by traders and pirates from Borneo and the surrounding islands. It did not come under colonial control until late in the 19th century. Fishing is important, and there is much coastal and interisland trade.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":101231,"pageLength":227,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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