Sulawesi

Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes, English pronunciation: /səˈliːbiːz/) is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. The Portuguese were the first to refer to Sulawesi as 'Celebes'. The meaning of this name is unclear; originally it did not refer to the entire island as the Portuguese thought Sulawesi was an archipelago. The modern name 'Sulawesi' possibly comes from the words sula ... more

Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes, English pronunciation: /səˈliːbiːz/) is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. The Portuguese were the first to refer to Sulawesi as 'Celebes'. The meaning of this name is unclear; originally it did not refer to the entire island as the Portuguese thought Sulawesi was an archipelago. The modern name 'Sulawesi' possibly comes from the words sula ('island') and besi ('iron') and may refer to the historical export of iron from the rich Lake Matano iron deposits. According to reconstruction of plate tectonics, the island is believed to have been formed by the collision of terranes from the Asian Plate (forming the west and southwest), from the Australian Plate (forming the southeast and Banggai), and from island arcs previously in the Pacific (forming the north and east peninsulas). The settlement of South Sulawesi by modern humans is dated to c. 30,000 B.C. on the basis of radiocarbon... less