 | |
| Continent | Asia |
|---|---|
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Coordinates | 8°50′S125°55′E / 8.833°S 125.917°E /-8.833; 125.917 |
| Area | Ranked 154th |
| • Total | 14,919 km2 (5,760 sq mi) |
| • Land | 100% |
| • Water | 0% |
| Coastline | 706 km (439 mi) |
| Borders | Indonesia: 253 km (157 mi) |
| Highest point | Tatamailau (2,963 m or 9,721 ft) |
| Lowest point | Timor Sea,Savu Sea, andBanda Sea 0 m (0 ft) |
| Longest river | Loes River 80 km (50 mi) |
| Largest lake | Ira Lalaro 1.9 km2 (1 sq mi) |
| Climate | Tropical |
| Terrain | Mountainous and rugged |
| Natural resources | Gold,petroleum,natural gas,manganese,marble |
| Natural hazards | Landslides are common;earthquakes; andtsunamis. |
| Environmental issues | deforestation and soilerosion |
| Exclusive economic zone | 70,326 km2 (27,153 mi2) |
Timor-Leste includes the mountainous eastern half ofTimor, theOcussi-Ambeno region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands ofAtauro andJaco. The country is located northwest ofAustralia in theLesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of theIndonesian Archipelago. 'Timor' is a Portuguese derivation of 'Timor', theMalay word for "Orient"; the island of Timor is part of theMalay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Timor-Leste is the only Asian nation to lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.[citation needed] TheLoes River is the longest with a length of 80 km (50 mi). This river system covers an area of 2,184 km2 (843 mi2). It is a small country with a land size of 14,919 km2 (5,760 mi2). Theexclusive economic zone is 70,326 km2 (27,153 mi2).[1]
| Climate data for Dili (1914-1963) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.5 (95.9) | 36.6 (97.9) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.7 (96.3) | 36.5 (97.7) | 34.1 (93.4) | 35.0 (95.0) | 34.0 (93.2) | 34.5 (94.1) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.5 (95.9) | 36.6 (97.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.3 (88.3) | 31.1 (88.0) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.5 (88.7) | 31.3 (88.3) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.3 (86.5) | 30.5 (86.9) | 31.4 (88.5) | 31.1 (88.0) | 30.9 (87.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.6 (81.7) | 27.4 (81.3) | 27.4 (81.3) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.8 (80.2) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.4 (77.7) | 26.0 (78.8) | 27.2 (81.0) | 27.4 (81.3) | 26.6 (79.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.1 (75.4) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.5 (74.3) | 22.8 (73.0) | 21.9 (71.4) | 20.8 (69.4) | 20.1 (68.2) | 20.5 (68.9) | 21.5 (70.7) | 23.0 (73.4) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.4 (72.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 19.0 (66.2) | 16.2 (61.2) | 16.5 (61.7) | 18.2 (64.8) | 13.2 (55.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 12.4 (54.3) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.4 (56.1) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.0 (64.4) | 16.7 (62.1) | 11.8 (53.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 139.5 (5.49) | 138.7 (5.46) | 132.7 (5.22) | 104.3 (4.11) | 74.9 (2.95) | 58.4 (2.30) | 20.1 (0.79) | 12.1 (0.48) | 9.0 (0.35) | 12.8 (0.50) | 61.4 (2.42) | 144.9 (5.70) | 908.8 (35.77) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 80 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 80 | 82 | 80 | 77 | 75 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 77 | 75 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 189.1 | 161.0 | 235.6 | 234.0 | 266.6 | 246.0 | 272.8 | 291.4 | 288.0 | 297.6 | 270.0 | 220.1 | 2,972.2 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 6.1 | 5.7 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.0 | 7.1 | 8.1 |
| Source:Deutscher Wetterdienst[2] | |||||||||||||
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Timor-Leste's fauna is diverse and contains a number of endemic and threatened species. The Timor and Wetar deciduous forests region, which covers the entire island, has 38 mammal species. Timor-Leste's two endemic mammal species are theTimor shrew and theTimorese horseshoe bat. The country's and region's largest mammal, theJavan rusa, and its only native marsupial, theNorthern common cuscus, are both believed to have been introduced to the island in prehistoric times by settlers from theLesser Sunda Islands andNew Guinea, respectively. Other mammals found in Timor-Leste include theCrab-eating macaque, a large number of species of bats, and the aquatic mammal, theDugong. Timor-Leste also has its own native horse breed, theTimor pony.
Timor-Leste's terrestrial biodiversity is most visible in its native bird species. As of 2022, a total of 289 bird species are found in Timor-Leste. Significantly threatened bird species include the endangeredTimor green pigeon andWetar ground dove and the critically endangeredYellow-crested cockatoo. Timor-Leste has an endemic subspecies of theIris lorikeet,S. i. rubripileum.
Along with theSolomon Islands,Papua New Guinea, thePhilippines,Indonesia,Malaysia andAustralia, Timor-Leste is one of the countries located in theCoral Triangle, the site of the most biodiverse coral reefs in the world.[3][4] In particular,Atauro Island's coral reefs have been recognised as having the highest average fish biodiversity of any site surveyed, with reef sites off Atauro carrying an average of 253 different species.[5] The highest number of species recorded from a single site in Timor-Leste was 642 different fish species, ranking second out of surveyed sites after Indonesia'sRaja Ampat Islands.[6]
Additionally, the reefs appeared to have suffered limited damage from coral bleaching and rising ocean temperatures compared to other sites in the Coral Triangle.[7][8][9] However, despite being in relatively pristine condition, the reefs remain threatened by climate change and habitat destruction, especially blast fishing. It is believed that this has most affected large marine species such as sharks; despite the diversity of the reefs, there were a significant lack of sharks recorded in the surveys of 2016.
Timor-Leste's isolation and lack of tourism are believed to have helped preserve the reefs, as opposed to tourist-heavy locales such as Bali, where the abundance of tourism has negatively affected the health of the reefs. The Timorese government and local residents of Atauro have made attempts to preserve the reefs through education of local citizens, rejecting harmful development projects, and placing emphasis on traditional laws of preserving nature, calledTara Bandu.[10][11]
