Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

IXDONESIA.6SI.ndo-Malaya andAustro-Malaya.But Malaysia itself, as has long been shown by Wallace,* forms two perfectlydistinct physical regions, the Indo-Malayan, comprising the three great islands ofSumatra, Java, and Borneo, connected by a shallow marine bad, and the Austro-Malayan, the twot chief members of which are Celebes and Jilolo, both risingabove oceanic waters of great depth. Striking contrasts of climate, floras andfaunas, as well as of human populations, are presented by these two main divisionsof the Eastern Archipelago. Nevertheless both are characterised by certaincommon features, in virtue of which they may be regarded as collectively formingFig. 23. Indonesian Stxbm.^kine Plateau.Scale 1 : 48.000,000.T.^iV"^.^-^Depthsan oceanic world distinct from Asia, of which they constitute a south-easterncontinuation.All these Indonesian lands have a total estimated extent of nearly 700,000square miles, or nearly six times the superficial area of the British Isles. Butthe oceanic region over which these lands are scattered is far more extensive.From the northernmost extremity of Sumatra to the last of the Tenimber islets,the distance across the Indian Ocean is no less than 2,800 miles ; while betweenLombok and the north point of Borneo, Indonesia develops an extreme breadth ofabout 700 miles. Within this vast expanse are comprised one island larger than• The Malay Archipelago, the first edition of which appeared in 1808.t Excluding New Guinea, which is not here considered.VOL. XIV. F