A warm, shallow sea between northern Australia and the island of Timor, fringed by reefs and rich in sea turtles.
Area
610,000 km²
Ocean basin
Indian
Location
A warm shelf sea off northern Australia
Average depth
about 400 m
Maximum depth
Timor Trough — about 3,300 m
Salinity
~34–35 ppt
Temperature
Warm, 25–30°C
Region
Between Australia & Timor
About the Timor Sea
The Timor Sea washes the north-west shelf of Australia and the southern shore of Timor, deepening into the Timor Trough along its northern edge. Its warm, shallow waters hold scattered coral reefs and seagrass meadows that feed turtles and dugongs, and it is an important region for Australia’s offshore oil and gas.
Did you know?
The Ashmore and Cartier reefs within it are globally important nesting and feeding grounds for sea turtles and sea snakes.
Highlights
- Globally important turtle reefs
- Deepens into the Timor Trough
- A major oil and gas province
Photo gallery
Life in the Timor Sea
Creatures, seabirds and marine plants — including some of the rarest and strangest — that live in these waters.
Creatures of the deep
Dugong
A gentle seagrass-grazing “sea cow” of warm Indo-Pacific coasts, cousin to the manatee.
Green sea turtle
The only sea turtle that grazes seagrass as an adult, which tints its fat green.
Manta ray
A gentle giant that “flies” through the water on wings up to seven metres across.
Whale shark
The largest fish alive — a spotted, harmless giant that strains plankton from the sea.
Seabirds
Frigatebird
A pirate of tropical skies; the male balloons a scarlet throat pouch to court mates.
Marine plants & algae
Turtle grass
A tropical seagrass whose meadows feed turtles, manatees and dugongs.
Mangrove
Salt-tolerant coastal trees whose tangled roots shelter young fish and buffer storms.
Surface & deep in the Timor 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 Timor Sea: Warm, 25–30°C