A deep, warm basin in the Coral Triangle that holds some of the richest marine biodiversity found anywhere on Earth.
Area
280,000 km²
Ocean basin
Pacific
Location
A deep basin at the heart of marine biodiversity
Average depth
about 3,600 m
Maximum depth
about 6,200 m
Salinity
~34 ppt
Temperature
Warm, 27–29°C
Region
Between Borneo, Sulawesi & the Philippines
About the Celebes Sea
The Celebes (Sulawesi) Sea is a deep basin ringed by Borneo, Sulawesi and the southern Philippines, dropping past 6,000 m. It sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle — the global centre of marine biodiversity — and expeditions here still turn up strange new deep-sea creatures. Its reefs shelter turtles, reef sharks and dazzling shoals of fish.
Did you know?
It lies at the centre of the Coral Triangle, where more species of fish and coral live than in any other sea on the planet.
Highlights
- At the centre of the Coral Triangle
- A deep basin over 6 km down
- New species still found here
Photo gallery
Life in the Celebes Sea
Creatures, seabirds and marine plants — including some of the rarest and strangest — that live in these waters.
Creatures of the deep
Whale shark
The largest fish alive — a spotted, harmless giant that strains plankton from the sea.
Manta ray
A gentle giant that “flies” through the water on wings up to seven metres across.
Clownfish
Lives unharmed among an anemone’s stinging tentacles; every clownfish is born male.
Moray eel
A reef ambush predator with a hidden second set of jaws in its throat to drag prey down.
Pygmy seahorse
A thumbnail-sized seahorse camouflaged so perfectly on sea fans it was found by accident.
Seabirds
Frigatebird
A pirate of tropical skies; the male balloons a scarlet throat pouch to court mates.
Marine plants & algae
Coralline algae
Stony pink algae that cement coral reefs together and help them grow.
Turtle grass
A tropical seagrass whose meadows feed turtles, manatees and dugongs.
Surface & deep in the Celebes Sea
The sea is warm where the Sun reaches it and cold far below. Flip between the sunlit surface and the deep water to feel the difference — these are typical figures for a sea.
Sunlit surface
22°C
typical surface temperature
Seas warm strongly at the surface in summer, but their deeper water stays cold and still — the sunlight simply never reaches it.
Recorded range for the Celebes Sea: Warm, 27–29°C