Semau
| Semau | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Sawu Lake | |
| Archipelago | Timor Archipelago | |
| Geographical location | 10 ° 13 ′ S , 123 ° 22 ′ E | |
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| Highest elevation | 210 m | |
Semau ( Pulau Semau, Pusmau ) is an Indonesian island in the Lesser Sunda Islands . It belongs to the Timor Archipelago .
geography
Semau lies in front of the western tip of Timor, from which it is separated by the road from Semau . On the other side is the bay of Kupang with the provincial capital Kupang about 20 nautical miles away. The crossing with a motorboat takes about 30 minutes. To the northwest of Semau lies the Sawusee , to the south the road from Roti separates Semau from the island of Roti . The Timor Sea lies further south . The highest point in Semau is 210 m above sea level. Off the east coast of Semau lies the small island of Kambang and southwest of the island of Tabui .
Semau belongs to the government district ( Kabupaten ) Kupang of the East Nusa Tenggara Province , which occupies the eastern part of the Lesser Sunda Islands .
Residents
Among other things, Rotinese live on Semau, who originally came from the neighboring island of Roti and settled here during the Dutch colonial era . The majority of the population are the Helong , who also live on the coast of the western tip of Timor.
fauna
Semau belongs to the area of Wallacea . Thus the fauna and flora of the island are part of the biogeographical transition zone between the Asian and Australian flora and fauna , which is why both species from the Asian region and species from the Australian region can be found here. Alfred Russel Wallace, the naturalist after whom Wallacea was named, lived for four days in the town of Ui-Assa ( Oeassa ) on Semau in 1859 during his journey through the Malay Archipelago . Semau is an Important Bird Area .
Conspicuous representatives of the fauna of Semau include the yellow-cheeked cockatoo ( Cacatua sulphurea ), the green Timor pigeon ( Treron psittaceus ), the Timor rice finch ( Padda fuscata ), the Timor water python ( Liasis mackloti ) and the Timor monitor lizard ( Varanus timorensis ).