MAP OF MALUKU / MOLUCCAS ISLAND

Geology and geography
The Maluku islands have a total of area of 850.00 km2 , 90% of the area is the sea. There an estimated of about 1072 islands in the region of Maluku with two islands are the largest in the area. The Halmahera and Seram are sparsely populated, while the most developed is Ambon and Ternate are small. Majority of the islands are forested and mountainous. The Tanimbar islands are dry and hilly, while the Aru islands are flat and swampy. Mt. Binaya (3027m) on Seram island is the highest mountain.. Numbers of islands, such as Ternate (1721m), are volcanoes emerging from the sea with villages sited around their costs. There have been over 70 serious volcanic eruptions in the last 500years and earthquakes common.

The geology of the Maluku Islands share much similar history, characteristics and processes with the neighbouring Nusa Tenggara region. There is a long history of geological study of these regions since Indonesian colonial period; however, the geological formation and progression is not fully understood, and theories of the island's geological evolution have changed extensively in recent decades. The Maluku Islands comprise some of the most geologically complex and active regions in the world, resulting from its position at the meeting point of four geological plates and two continental blocks.

Biota and environment
Biogeographically all of the islands apart from the Aru group lie in Wallacea, the region between the Sunda Shelf (part of the Asia block), and the Arafura Shelf (part of the Australian block). More specifically, they lie between Weber’s Line and Lydekker’s Line, and thus have a fauna that is rather more Australasian than Asian. Malukan biodiversity and its distribution are affected by various tectonic activities; most of the islands are geologically young, being from 1 million to 15 million years old, and have never been attached to the larger landmasses. The Maluku islands differ from other areas in Indonesia; they contain some of the country's smallest islands, coral island reefs scattered through some of the deepest seas in the world, and no large islands such as Java and Sumatra. Flora and fauna immigration between islands is thus restricted, leading to a high rate of endemic biota evolving.

The ecology of the Maluku Islands has fascinated naturalists for centuries; Alfred Wallace’s book, The Malay Archipelago was the first significant study of the area's natural history, and remains an important resource for studying Indonesian biodiversity. Maluku is the subject of two major historical works of natural history by Georg Eberhard Rumphius : the Herbarium Amboinense and the Amboinsche Rariteitkamer.

Rainforest covered most of northern and central Maluku, which, on the smaller islands has been replaced by plantations, including the region's endemic cloves and nutmeg. The Tanimbar Islands and other southeastern islands are arid and sparsely vegetated, much like nearby Timor. In 1997 the Manusela National Park, and in 2004 the Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park have been established, for the protection of endangered species.

Nocturnal marsupials, such as cuscus and bandicoots, make up the majority of the mammal species, and introduced mammals include covets and wild pigs. Bird species include approximately 100 endemics with the greatest variety on the large islands of Halmahera and Seram. North Maluku has two species of endemic birds of paradise. Uniquely among the Maluku Islands, the Aru islands have a purely Papuan fauna including kangaroos, cassowaries, and birds of paradise.
While many ecological problems affect both small islands and large landmasses, small islands suffer their particular problems. Development pressures on small islands are increasing, although their effects are not always anticipated. Although Indonesia is richly endowed with natural resources, the resources of the small islands of Maluku are limited and specialised; furthermore, human resources in particular are limited.

Climate
Central and southern Maluku Islands experience the dry monsoon between October to March and the wet monsoon from May to August, which is the reverse of the rest of Indonesia. The dry monsoon's average maximum temperature is 30°C while the wet's average maximum is 23°C. Northern Maluku has its wet monsoon from December to March in line with the rest of Indonesia. Each island group have their own climatic variations, and the larger islands tend to have drier coastal lowlands and their mountainous hinterlands are wetter.