page_title: Tanimbar Islands
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Tanimbar Islands / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Bahasa Indonesia: Foto. ekspedisi militer ke Irian barat 1907-1915. Bangunan berasitektur tradisional di Kep. Tanimbar Nederlands: Foto. Militaire Exploratie van Nederlands Nieuw-Guinea 1907-1915. Gebouw op de tanimbar-eilanden
context_page_description: The Tanimbar Islands, also called Timur Laut, are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia, including Fordata, Larat, Maru, Molu, Nuswotar, Selaru, Selu, Seira, Wotap, Wuliaru and Yamdena. The Indonesian phrase timur laut means "east of the sea" or "northeast".
  The Tanimbar Islands are administered as the Tanimbar Islands Regency, a regency of Maluku. The Regency covers a land area of 4,465.79 sq.km, and it had a population of 105,341 at the 2010 Census; the latest official estimate was 117,341. The principal town and administrative centre lies at Saumlaki.
context_section_description: Geographically, the northeast islands are still part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. The Aru Islands and Kai Islands lie to the northeast, and Babar Island and Timor lie to the west. The islands separate the Banda Sea and the Arafura Sea. The total land area of the Islands is 5440 km² (2100 sq mi).
  The largest of the group is Yamdena. Yamdena Island has a range of thickly forested hills along its eastern coast, while its western coast is lower. Saumlaki is the chief town, located on the south end of Yamdena. Other islands include Larat, Selaru, and Wuliaru.
  The population was 105, 341 at the 2010 Census, of whom about 94% are Christian, and the remainder Muslim or other.
  The tiny island of Tanimbarkei is not part of Tanimbar, but of the Kai Islands and inhabited by less than 1000 very traditional people.
  The Tanimbar Islands are part of the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests ecoregion.
caption: A building in Tanimbar
exif: {}