Buton is an island located off the southeast coast of mainland Sulawesi. The island is aligned lengthwise north-south, being approximately 150 kilometers long and 50 kilometers wide. It is at longitude 123 degrees east and 5 degrees south.
Maps are available to provide detailed location.
The major city of Buton is Baubau, sometimes spelt Bau-Bau or given the abbreviation Baus. Prior to 1999, Baubau had a population of 300,000 persons. It is estimated there are 500,000 people living in Baubau at the present time. Baubau is a port city and is favored with a large sheltered harbour equipped with a modern concrete pier for ocean-going vessels, a separate pier for oil tankers, a well equipped ferry harbour for the ferries which ply between Buton and Muna and several other piers primarily used by coastal trading vessels and fishing boats. There is no industry in Baubau, so the commercial viability of the city depends upon it's maritime activities and the usual infrastructure associated with a regional capital city.