Nusa Laut Explained

Nusalaut/Nusahulawano/Pulau Emas
Map:Indonesia Maluku
Location:Oceania
Archipelago:Maluku Islands
Area Km2:32.50
Elevation M:358
Country:Indonesia
Country Admin Divisions Title:Province
Country Admin Divisions:Maluku
Population:5,437
Population As Of:mid 2023 estimate
Density Km2:176.7
Country Admin Divisions 1:Central Maluku
Timezone1:IEST
Utc Offset1:+09:00
Country Admin Divisions Title 1:Regency
Languages:Ambonese Malay, Indonesian, Nusa Laut

Nusa Laut is the smallest inhabited island in the Lease Islands group east of Ambon, in Indonesia's Maluku province.It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fringed by a drying reef.[1]

Nusa Laut's 5,437 inhabitants (as at mid 2023)[2] live in seven villages - Leinitu, Sila, Nalahia and Ameth in the north of the island, and Titawaai, Abubu and Akoon in the south of the island. They speak the Nusa Laut language, as well as Indonesian and Ambonese Malay.[3]

Nusa Laut has an all-Christian population and has been spared the 1999–2000 riots plaguing the rest of the region. Its villages have many colonial style houses and churches, two of which compete for the title of being the oldest church in Maluku. There is also an old fort - the Dutch East India Company's Fort Beverwijk.

Visitors come to the island for its beaches and to dive off the reefs of Ameth - reputedly one of the best dive spots in the Lease Islands.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=TnHGVP_BfgUC&pg=PA47 Pub164, 2004 Sailing Directions (Enroute): New Guinea
  2. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Kabupaten Maluku Tengah Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8101)
  3. http://www.ethnologue.com/language/NUL Nusa Laut - Ethnologue
  4. Muller, Dr. Kal (1990). Spice Islands: The Moluccas. Periplus Editions.