TIMOR SEA

arm of the Indian Ocean, lying southeast of the island of Timor, Indonesia, and northwest of Australia. About 300 miles (480 km) wide, it covers about 235,000 square miles (615,000 square km) and opens west into the Indian Ocean and east into the Arafura Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean. A maximum depth of more than 10,800 feet (3,300 m) is reached in the Timor Trough in the north, but more than half of the sea has a depth of less than 650 feet (200 m). The sea experiences throughout the year a southwesterly surface current, the Timor Current, averaging 0.51 mile (0.81.6 km) per hour. The Timor Sea is the site of an important oil field.