Sulawesi
one of the four Greater Sunda Islands, governed by Indonesia
Sulawesi ( SOO-lə-WAY-see, Indonesian: [ˌsulaˈwesi]), also known as Celebes ( SEL-ib-eez, sə-LEE-beez), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Within Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra are more populous.
The landmass of Sulawesi includes four peninsulas: the northern Minahasa Peninsula, the East Peninsula, the South Peninsula, and the Southeast Peninsula. Three gulfs separate these peninsulas: the Gulf of Tomini between the northern Minahasa and East peninsulas, the Gulf of Tolo between the East and Southeast peninsulas, and the Gulf of Boni between the South and Southeast peninsulas. The Makassar Strait runs along the western side of the island and separates the island from Borneo.
Etymology
The name Sulawesi possibly comes from the words sula ("island") and besi ("iron") and may refer to the historical export of iron from the rich Lake Matano iron deposits. The name came into common use in English following Indonesian independence.
The name Celebes was originally given to the island by Portuguese explorers. While its direct translation is unclear, it might be a Portuguese rendering of the native name "Sulawesi".
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3812. VIAF identifies the subject as 316430489. The Library of Congress control number is sh85021616. Authority coordinates are -2.000, 121.000. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sulawesi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.