MOROTAI

also called Morty, island in Maluku Utara kabupaten (North Moluccas regency), Maluku provinsi (province), Indonesia. It is situated northeast of the larger island of Halmahera. With an area of some 700 square miles (1,800 square km), the island is mountainous and wooded, with swampy areas in the southwest; the chief products are resin and timber. The population is mainly either Tobilorese or Galelorese from Halmahera but also includes some Muslims and Christians. In World War II, it was a major Japanese military base; captured by Allied forces (1944), it was developed into a strategic air base, and an operational airfield still exists near Pitu on the southwestern end of the island. Pop. (1971) 27,333.