Raja Ampat Archipelago (Kepulauan Raja Ampat) Embrace A Phenomenal Coral Wilderness.

Raja Ampat Archipelago(pic. by Jeniffer Hayes-National Geograpic)

This archipelago is groups of island located in the western part of the Kepala Burung(Vogelkoop) Guinea. Administratively, this archipelago is under the Raja Ampat District(kabupaten), West Papua Province. The islands are now the destination of the divers who are interested in the beauty of the underwater scenery. The archipelago composed by four groups island. Four groups island are named by the four largest islands, namely Waigeo Island, Misool Island, Salawati Island, and Island Batanta.

The archipelago is a place that has the potential to serve as a tourist attraction, especially diving tourism. Raja Ampat Islands waters according to various sources, is one of the 10 best waters for diving sites around the world. In fact, it may also be recognized as number one for the completeness of underwater flora and fauna at this time.

see also article and photos in National Geographic by David Doubillet :".....the region would prove to have the greatest coral reef biodiversity for its size in the world. Even a short initial voyage confirmed more than 450 species of reef-building coral, nine newly discovered....."