The Gulf of Tomini (Indonesian: Teluk Tomini) is a gulf near the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia.
It is bounded on its north and north sides by the Gorontalo province,east sides by the Minahassa Peninsula buyat (buyat bay) and on the south side by the East Peninsula, Sulawesi.
The Togian Islands sit in the centre of the gulf.
To the east it is open to the Molucca Sea.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Gulf of Tomini as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its eastern limit as “The Western limit of Molukka Sea [sic]”, which is defined as “Tg. Pasir Pandjang (0°39′S 123°25′E) and across to Tg. Tombalilatoe (123°21’E) on the opposite coast”
Volcano in the Gulf of Tomini
Colo volcano forms the isolated small island of Una-Una in the middle of the Gulf of Tomini in northern Sulawesi. The broad, low volcano, whose summit is only 507 m above sea level, contains a 2-km-wide caldera with a small central cone. Only three eruptions have been recorded in historical time, but two of those caused widespread damage over much of the island. The last eruption, in 1983, produced pyroclastic flows that swept over most of the island shortly after all residents had been evacuated (Smithsonian).
Una-Una is an extremely remote island adjacent to the Togean National Park in the Gulf of Tomini, in Central Sulawesi,
Una-Una was formed by the short, broad Colo Volcano, whose summit rises just 500 meters above sea level, with a 2 kilometer wide caldera. UnaUna is a lush and scenic island and is indeed a direct result of the Colo Volcano’s eruption. One interesting by-product of the island’s volcanic nature is that unlike the pure, white sands of the other islands in TominiGulf, Una-Una’s beaches are a striking black.
Throughout history, only three eruptions have been recorded from Mount Colo, with two of them causing damage. In 1983, after over 80 years of dormancy, a powerful eruption burst from Mount Colo. Thick, yellow clouds rose 5 kilometres into the air, with volcanic ash reaching as far as East Kalimantan. Pyroclastic flows swept across the island, destroying everything in its path. Many settlements were completely devastated and hot clouds destroyed all plant species on the island. Only a narrow strip of vegetation and villages along the island’s east coast remained undamaged.
Six months prior to the eruption, the volcano began to show activity, giving the island’s residents the opportunity to be gradually evacuated to the surrounding islands. There were no casualties, and Mount Colo has not erupted since.
Una-Una remained uninhabited for some time, but after a few years, people gradually began returning to rebuild their lives. Initially, they only came to start agricultural production, but over time they once again began building homes. Although Colo volcano is still active and could erupt at any time, this did not dampen the desire of UnaUna’s previous inhabitants to return home.
Several changes have taken place on the island since the eruption. As a sort of blessing in disguise,the volcanic ash and lava which covered UnaUna has created an island of extremely fertile soil. Additionally, its deer population has increased drastically to an estimated tens of times higher than before. The phenomenon may have possibly been caused by the demise of many deer predators. Island residents now raise elk for every day needs such as food and clothing.
Olele marine park in Gulf of Tomini
There are just so many things that make Gorontalo perfect for holiday, the beauty of its nature, the culture and not forget to mention, the friendly people. General information about Gorontalo, stated at North Sulawesi. Mountains, hills, shore line are the main characteristic of Gorontalo and it makes the island perfect for marine tourism.
Most of diving site take you just a few minute from town,
- The best diving season runs from November to April
- You can experienced the encounter with dolphin (torsiops truncates) around February to April
Togean islands in Gulf of Tomini
Togean Islands. A community – based ecotourism as well as in conserving the biodiversity. A bewildering array of tropical rain forest covered six islands formed by volcanic activity. Situated in the vicinity of equator. This enchanting archipelago is one of the jewels of Central Sulawesi. Stunning reefs, small isolated white sandy beaches, traditional fishermen village of a Bajau, verdant rainforest have left many a world weary travel searching for superlatives.
For those with more specialised adventurous tastes, the Togean Islands offer various for type of coral of the world can be found here (Fringing reef), barrier reef, Patch Reef and atoee. Admirable places for snorkeling and diving. Four types of coral of the world can be found here (Fringing reef).
Togean is a group of islands consists of 57 large and small islands inside Tomini Bay in Central Sulawesi. Three main islands of Togean are Batudaka, Togean, and Talatakoh. There are several routes to reach Togean: the economic route will be through Gorontalo city by ferry to Togean Island. Sea route journey via Ampana, the capital of Tojo Una-una District, and Luwuk-Bunta-Togian route. The faster journey to Togian can be accessed by direct flight from Makassar to Luwuk, continued with 2.5 hours drive to Bunta, and continue the journey with a 2 hours chartered speedboat ride to Kadidiri Island where the dive resorts are located.While descending, divers are accompanied by schools of fusilier, snappers, and butterfly fish. The colorful group of anthias hovering above the corals looks like performing a welcome dance. The plethora of colorful corals and fish nicely put within the pristine water with average visibility reaches more than 20m has made this diving area as one of the best wide angle photography location in Indonesia.In the shallow water in front of the resort is an ideal place for night diving. Divers usually encounter nudibranch, pipefish, crocodilefish, and sometimes leaffish and frogfish in this site. Observe the sargassum floating in large amount on the surface; you may get a chance to see the rare sargassum frogfish in many colors.Another attraction is the American fighter plane wreck from World War II. The B-24 bomber aircraft is till intact; make it possible for divers with wreck diving experience to go inside and documenting each of its part. If you wish to dive by the schooling barracudas, then don’t miss the dive in Una-una Island waters. Here the schooling barracudas sometimes accompanied by school of jackfish.
GORONTALO DIVING CENTRE 