Wetar

Wetar is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia.

The principal towns on Wetar are Lioppa in the northwest, Ilwaki in the south, Wasiri in the north, Masapun in the east, and Arwala in the northeast. These are connected by roads.

Geography

Wetar is 120 km long (measured from to east-most tip to west-most tip), and about 43 km north-to-south. It has an area of approximately 2,651.8 km². It is surrounded by coral reefs and deep seas. The highest point on the island is 1412 m.

Wetar is part of a volcanic island arc which includes the other Barat Daya Islands and the Banda Islands, created by the collision of the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is not, however, principally of volcanic origin, being instead mainly oceanic crust that has been lifted by the plate collision. The stratovolcano Gunungapi Wetar forms an isolated island to the north of Wetar.

There are a number of gold mines on Wetar, which have been poorly managed and constitute an environmental concern.

Along with other nearby islands, it formed part of Wallacea, the area of deep water separated from both the Asian and Australian continental shelves. This region is known for its unusual fauna, and Wetar is no exception. It has 162 species of birds, three of which are endemic, and four of which are endangered. Rainfall is highly seasonal based on the monsoon, and the islands are mostly covered in tropical dry broadleaf forests that are partly deciduous, with many trees losing their leaves in the dry season. It forms part of the Timor and Wetar deciduous forests ecoregion.

The island has one single lake, Danau Tihu.