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Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest part of Indonesia.

Geography

The longest axis of the island runs approximately northwest - southeast, crossing the equator near the center. The interior of the island is dominated by two geographical regions: the Barisan Mountains in the west and swampy plains in the east. To the southeast is Java, separated by the Sunda Strait. To the north is the Malay Peninsula, separated by the Straits of Malacca. To the east is Borneo, across the Karimata Strait. West of the island is the Indian Ocean. The backbone of the island is the Barisan mountains chain. The volcanic activity of this region endowed the region with fertile land and beautiful sceneries, for instance around the Lake Toba. It also contains deposits of coal and gold. To the east, big rivers carry silt from the mountain, forming the vast lowland interspersed by swamps. Even if mostly unsuitable for farming, the area is currently of great economic importance for Indonesia. It produces oil "from above the soil and underneath", the palm oil and petroleum. Most of Sumatra used to be covered by tropical rainforest, home to species such as orangutans, tapirs, and Sumatran tigers, and some unique plants like the Rafflesia. Unfortunately, economic development coupled with corruption and illegal logging has severely threatened its existence. Conservation areas have not been spared from destruction, either. See also: Islands of Indonesia, Riau islands

History

An ancient name for Sumatra was Swarna Dwipa, (Sanskrit for Isle of Gold), apparently based on the fact that mines in the Sumatran highlands were exporting gold from fairly early times. With its location in the India-China sea trade route, several trading towns flourished, especially in the eastern coast, and were influenced by Indian religions. The most notable of these were the Srivijaya and the Sumudra。Srivijaya was a Buddhist monarchy centered in what is now Palembang. Dominating the region through trade and conquest throughout the 7th-9th century, the kingdom helped spread the Malay culture throughout Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo. The empire was thalassocratic, a maritime power that extended its influence from island to island. Srivijaya influence waned in the 11th century. The island was then subject to conquests from Javanese kingdoms, first Singhasari and subsequently Majapahit. At the same time, Islam made its way to Sumatra, spreading through contacts with Arabs and Indian traders. By the late 13th century, the monarch of Samudra kingdom (now in Aceh) had converted to Islam. Ibn Battuta, who visited the kingdom during his journey, pronounced the kingdom "Sumatra", hence the name of the island. Samudra was succeeded by the powerful Aceh Sultanate, which survived to the 20th century. With the coming of the Dutch, the many Sumatran princely states gradually fell under their control. Aceh, in the north, was the major obstacle, as the Dutch were involved in the long and costly Aceh War (1870-1905). On 26 December 2004, the western coast and islands of Sumatra, particularly Aceh province, were devastated by a nearly 15 metre high tsunami following the 9.0-magnitude Indian Ocean earthquake. The death toll surpassed 170,000 in Indonesia alone, primarily in Aceh. In 2005 there was an 8.7 magnitude aftershock of the previous earthquake in December 2004. See 2005 Sumatran Earthquake.

Administration

2005 Sumatran Earthquake The administrative regions of Sumatra (or the smaller islands nearby) are:
- Aceh
- Bangka-Belitung
- Bengkulu
- Jambi
- Lampung
- Riau- capital: Pekanbaru
- Sumatera Barat (West Sumatra) - capital: Padang
- Sumatera Selatan (South Sumatra) - capital: Palembang
- Sumatera Utara (North Sumatra) - capital: Medan

Demographics

Sumatra is not very heavily populated, about 85 people per sq.km (with more than 40 million people in an area the size of Germany). The most populous regions includes most of Sumatra Utara and central highland in Sumatra Barat, while the major urban centre are Medan and Palembang. The people are of Malay stock composed of many different tribes, speaking 52 different languages. Most of these groups, however, share many similar traditions and the different tongues are closely related. Malay-speaking people dominate the eastern coast, while people in the southern and central interior speak languages related to Malay, such as Lampung and Minangkabau. The highland of northern Sumatra is inhabited by the Bataks, while the northernmost coast is dominated by Acehs. Ethnic Chinese minorities are also present in urban centers. A majority of people in Sumatra are Muslims. Most central Bataks, meanwhile, are Protestant Christians - the religion was spread by the Dutch. The rest follow Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, and Chinese traditional beliefs.

Flora and fauna


- Sumatran Pine
- Rafflesia
- Orangutan
- Orang Pendek

External links


- http://indahnesia.com/indonesia.php?code=SUBHIS: offers a brief history of the Minangkabau region (West Sumatra)
- Category:Islands of Indonesia zh-min-nan:Sumatra ko:수마트라 섬 ms:Sumatera ja:スマトラ島 th:เกาะสุมาตรา

List of islands by size

This is a list of islands in the world ordered by area. It includes all islands with an area greater than 3,000 km² (1,200 square miles). For comparison, continental land masses are also shown.

Land masses

These figures are rough approximations only #Africa-Eurasia (84,000,000 km²) #America (41,000,000 km²) #Antarctica (13,000,000 km²) #Australia (7,600,000 km²)

Islands over 3,000 km²

Islands over 1,000 km²

This section of the list is not comprehensive; it shows how the areas of other large islands compare. Note: Australia, at 7,600,000 km², is sometimes considered to be a continental landmass, rather than an island. If however one does count Australia among the islands it, not Greenland, would be the largest in the world.

Other notable islands

This section of the list is far from comprehensive.

See also


- List of islands (by country)
- List of islands by population

External links


- [http://www.worldislandinfo.com/jcalder Joshua Calder's World Island Info]
- [http://islands.unep.ch/Tiarea.htm United Nations Environment Programme list of islands by area] Islands by area ko:섬 목록 (넓이 순) ja:島の一覧 (面積順)

Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia is located in the Malay Archipelago, the world's largest archipelago, between Indochina and Australia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall. It has had free elections since the 1998 Revolution which led to the resignation of President Suharto, who came to power in 1965.

History

Under the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism, several kingdoms formed on the islands of Sumatra and Java from the 7th to 14th century. The arrival of Arab traders from Gujarat, India, later brought Islam, which became the dominant religion in many parts of the archipelago after the collapse of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms. When the Portuguese came in the early 16th century, they found a multitude of small states. These states were vulnerable to the Portuguese, and later other Europeans, who were in pursuit of dominating the spice trade. In the 17th century, the Dutch emerged as the most powerful of the Europeans, ousting the Spanish and Portuguese (except for their colony of Portuguese Timor on the island of Timor). The Dutch influence started with trading by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), a private enterprise, which gradually expanded its region of influence and its grip on political matters. Following the dissolution of the VOC in 1799, as well as the political instability from the Napoleonic Wars, the East Indies were awarded to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. From this time onward, the East Indies were officially ruled as colonies of the Dutch crown. Under the nineteenth-century Cultivation System (Cultuurstelsel), large plantations and forced cultivation were established on Java, finally creating the profit for the Netherlands that the VOC was unable to produce. In a more liberal period of colonial rule after 1870 the Cultivation System was abolished, and after 1901 the Dutch introduced the Ethical Policy, which included limited political reform and increased investment in the colony. During World War II, with the Netherlands under German occupation, in December 1941 Japan began a five prong campaign towards Java and the vital fuel supplies of the Dutch East Indies. Though Japan captured Java by March 1942, it was unable to find any national leader willing to cooperate with the Japanese government against the Dutch, eventually the Japanese commander ordered that Sukarno be released from his prison island and in July 1942 Sukarno arrived in Jakarta. Sukarno, with colleagues, cooperated with the Japanese occupiers. In 1945, with the war drawing to a close, Sukarno was made aware of an opportunity to declare an independence. Upon lobbying, Japan agreed that Sukarno established a committee to plan for independence. Sukarno, and Mohammad Hatta, declared independence on 17 August. In an effort to regain control of their previously occupied colonies, the Allies sent in their armies, together with the Netherlands' Army. Indonesia's war for independence lasted from 1945 until 27 December, 1949, when, under heavy international pressure, the Netherlands acknowledged Indonesia's independence. Sukarno became the country's first president, with Mohammad Hatta as the first vice president. See Indonesian National Revolution. It was not until 16 august 2005 that the Dutch government recognised 1945 as the country's year of independence and expressed its regrets over the Indonesian deaths caused by the Netherlands' Army. The 1950s and 1960s saw Sukarno's government aligning itself first with the emerging non-aligned movement and later with the socialist bloc. The 1960s saw Indonesia in a military confrontation against neighboring Malaysia, and increasing frustration over domestic economic difficulties. Army general Suharto became president in 1967 with the excuse of securing the country against an alleged Communist coup attempt against a weakening Sukarno. In the aftermath of Suharto's rise, hundreds of thousands people were killed or imprisoned in a backlash against alleged Communist supporters. Suharto's administration is commonly called the New Order era. Suharto invited major foreign investment into the country, which produced substantial, if uneven, economic growth. However, Suharto enriched himself and his family through widespread corruption and he was forced to step down amid massive popular demonstrations and a faltering economy by the Indonesian Revolution of 1998. In the period of 1998 to 2001, the country had three presidents: Bacharuddin Jusuf (BJ) Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Sukarnoputri. In 2004 the largest one-day election in the world and Indonesia's first direct Presidential election was held and was won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Parts of northern Sumatra, particularly Aceh, were devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami on 26 December 2004. See Impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Indonesia

Politics

The highest legislative body is the Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR, head: Hidayat Nur Wahid) or 'People's Consultative Assembly', consisting of the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR, head: Agung Laksono) or People's Representative Council, elected for a five-year term, and the Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD, head: Ginandjar Kartasasmita) or Regional Representatives Council. Following elections in 2004, the MPR became a bicameral parliament, with the creation of the DPD as its second chamber.

Provinces

Currently, Indonesia has 33 provinces (of those, 2 are special territories and 1 capital city territory). The provinces are subdivided in districts, which are in turn split up in sub-districts and municipalities. The provinces are: Bali, Bangka-Belitung, Banten, Bengkulu, Central Java, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, East Java, East Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, South Sumatra, Gorontalo, Jambi, Lampung, Maluku, North Maluku, North Sulawesi, North Sumatra, Papua (Irian Jaya), Riau, Riau Kepulauan, South East Sulawesi, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, West Irian Jaya, West Java, West Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, West Sulawesi, West Sumatra The special territories (daerah istimewa) are Aceh (or Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) and Yogyakarta. Special territories have more autonomy from the central government than other territories, and as a result they have unique legislative privileges: the Acehnese government has the right to create an independent legal system and instituted a form of sharia (Islamic Law) in 2003; Yogyakarta remains a sultanate whose sultan (currently the wildly popular Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X) is the territory's de facto governor for life. The capital city territory is Jakarta. Though Jakarta is a single city, it is administered much as any other Indonesian province. For example, Jakarta has a governor (instead of a mayor), and is divided into several sub-regions with their own administrative systems. East Timor was a province of Indonesia from its annexation in 1976 until Indonesia relinquished sovereignty in 1999. Following a period of transitional administration by the UN, it became an independent state in 2002.

Geography

2002 Indonesia's 18,108 islands, of which about 6,000 are inhabited, are scattered around the equator, giving the country a tropical climate. The largest populated islands are Java, one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, where about half of the population lives, Sumatra, Borneo (shared with Malaysia and Brunei), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea) and Sulawesi. The country borders Malaysia on the island of Borneo (Indonesian: Kalimantan), Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea and East Timor on the island of Timor. In addition to the capital city of Jakarta, principal Indonesian cities of high population include Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Palembang, and Semarang. Its location on the edges of tectonic plates, specifically the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian, means Indonesia is frequently hit by earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis. Indonesia is also rich in volcanoes, the most famous being the now vanished Krakatau (Krakatoa), which was located between Sumatra and Java. Flora and fauna differ markedly between Kalimantan, Bali, and western islands on the one hand and Sulawesi, Lombok, and islands further to the east on the other hand. This ecological boundary has been called the Wallace line after its discoverer. The line is often given as the boundary between Asia and Australasia, as such making Indonesia a bicontinental country. See also: Map of Asia

Economy

Indonesia's economy suffered greatly in the late 1990s, in part as a result of the financial crisis that struck most of Asia at the time. The economy has stabilized somewhat since then. The country has extensive natural resources outside of Java, including crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper and gold. Indonesia is the world's second largest exporter of natural gas, though it has recently become a net importer of crude oil. Major agricultural products include rice, tea, coffee, spices and rubber. Indonesia's major trading partners are Japan, the United States and the surrounding nations of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. The central bank of Indonesia is Bank Indonesia [http://www.bi.go.id] The economy is now undergoing a process of rebuilding after the tsunami that struck in December of 2004.

Demographics

Indonesia's population can be roughly divided into two groups. The west of the country is Asian and the people are mostly Malay, while the east is more Pacific and people on New Guinea are Papuan, with roots in the islands of Melanesia. There are, however, many more subdivisions, which is logical given the fact that Indonesia spans an area the size of Europe or the USA and that it consists of many islands that to a large degree had their own separate development. Many Indonesians identify with a more specific ethnic group that is often linked to language and regional origins; examples of these are Javanese, Sundanese, or Batak. But there are also quite different groups within many islands, such as Borneo, with its Dayak and Punan, who have different lifestyles and skintones. Most Indonesians speak a local language (bahasa daerah) as their first tongue, but the official national language, Indonesian (locally called Bahasa Indonesia or simply Bahasa, meaning language) is almost universally taught in schools and is spoken by nearly every Indonesian. Originally a lingua franca for most of the region, including present-day Malaysia (and thus closely related to Malay), it was accepted by the Dutch as the de facto language for the colony and declared the official language after independence. The formerly large, influential Eurasian community (locally known as Indos) has largely left the country for the Netherlands, California and Australia, although a few still remain in Indonesia and are highly esteemed models and soap opera stars. There are also serious ethnic tensions in Indonesia, predominately between Indonesians of Chinese ethnicity and the Pribumi peoples, who are natives of Indonesia. The riotings in Jakarta in 1997 and 1998 highlight this recurring tension. Ethnic relations are strained mostly due to the high level of economic power that the Chinese-Indonesians have relative to the Pribumi peoples, which in turn propels anti-Chinese sentiment. Positions of power and influence in the business sphere are consistently held by ethnic Chinese Indonesians. The Indonesian government is attempting to remedy this problem, but due to widespread corruption and discontent experienced by the poorer citizens of Indonesia ethnic harmony is slow in coming. Corruption, collusion, and nepotism which characterized Suharto's presidency clearly define the origins of Indonesia’s ethnic tensions today. Islam is Indonesia's main religion, with almost 88% of all Indonesians declared as Muslim according to the 2000 religious census, making Indonesia the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world. Prior to the arrival of the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity and Islam in the Malay Archipelago, the popular beliefs in region had been thoroughly influenced by Indic religious philosophy through Hinduism and Buddhism. After independence syncretism and intermarriage has decreased somewhat and religious divides sharpened, leading to communal violence in many of the eastern islands as well as in Java. Although Islam was once mainly practiced in Java and parts of Sumatra, the transmigration program has increased the number of Muslims living in Bali, Borneo, the Celebes, the Moluccas, and Papua. The remaining population is 8% Christian (of which roughly three quarters are Protestant, with the remainder mainly Catholic, and a substantial charismatic minority), 3% Hindu and 1% Buddhist with small communities of Jews. Indonesians are required to declare themselves as one of these official religions. As a result, many Indonesian "Muslims" are non-practicing, follow Indonesia's animist traditions (a fact that the government strenuously denies), or are entirely secular.

Culture

Art forms in Indonesia have been influenced by several cultures. The famous Javanese and Balinese dances, for example, contain aspects of Hindu culture and mythology. Also well-known are the Javanese and Balinese wayang kulit shadow theatre shows, displaying several mythological events. Several islands are famous for their batik and ikat cloth. Silat is a unique martial art originating from the archipelago.

Miscellaneous topics


- Agama Hindu Dharma
- Communications in Indonesia
- Foreign relations of Indonesia
- Hinduism in Southeast Asia
- Indonesian calendars
- Indonesian car number plates
- Indonesian Chinese
- Islam in Indonesia
- Islands of Indonesia
- List of famous Indonesians
- Military of Indonesia
- Music of Indonesia
- Public holidays in Indonesia
- Transportation in Indonesia
- Indonesian Civil War
- History of Indonesia

Further reading


- Theodore Friend, Indonesian Destinies, [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/ Harvard University Press], 2003, hardcover, 544 pages, ISBN 0674011376
- Steven Drakeley: The history of Indonesia, Westport, Connecticut : Greenwood, 2005, 201 S., ISBN 0-313-33114-6

See also


- 2002 Bali bombing
- 2005 Bali bombings

External links

Official sites (owned and operated by the government of Indonesia and its agencies)
- [http://www.antara.co.id/ Antara] — National News Agency
- [http://www.bi.go.id/ Bank Indonesia] — Indonesian Central Bank
- [http://www.info-ri.com/ Info-RI] — National Information Portal (in Indonesian)
- [http://www.deplu.go.id/?language=en&embassy=1& List of Indonesian embassies and consulates worldwide] (Department of Foreign Affairs)
- [http://www.indonesia.go.id/ National Portal of Republic of Indonesia] (in Indonesian)
- [http://www.rri-online.com/ RRI] — National Radio Network
- [http://www.tvri.co.id/ TVRI] — National Television Network (in Indonesian) Other sites (not owned nor operated by the government of Indonesia and its agencies)
-
- [http://www.business-indonesia.com/ Business Indonesia]
- [http://www.kompas.com/ Kompas] - Indonesia's most widely circulated Newspaper (in Indonesian)
- [http://www2.iisg.nl/indoc/ INDOC Database on Indonesian Labour]
- [http://www.indonesia-house.org/ Indonesia House] (in English and in Dutch)
- [http://www.insideindonesia.org/ Inside Indonesia Journal]
- [http://www.aseannewsnetwork.com/indonesia.html News from Indonesia] (in English and in Indonesian) Category:ASEAN member states Category:Island nations Category:Republics Category:Southeast Asian countries Category:Bicontinental countries zh-min-nan:Ìn-nî ko:인도네시아 ms:Indonesia ja:インドネシア simple:Indonesia th:ประเทศอินโดนีเซีย

Island

in New York, USA]] An island or isle is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water. Very small islands are called islets. Although seldom adhered to, it is also proper to call an emergent land feature on an atoll an islet, since an atoll is a type of island. A key or cay is also another name for a relatively small island. Groups of related islands are called archipelagos. There are three main types of islands: continental islands, river islands, and volcanic islands. There are also some artificial islands. The word island derives ultimately from the Old English word igland. It was originally spelled phonetically: iland. The letter "s" was added out of the mistaken belief that it derived from isle (< Old French < Latin insula) + land, where no such etymological relationship existed.

Continental islands

Continental islands are bodies of land that are connected by the continental shelf to a continent. That is, these islands are part of an adjacent continent and are located on the continental shelf of that continent. Examples include Greenland and Sable Island off North America, Barbados and Trinidad off South America, Sicily off Europe, Sumatra and Java off Asia, New Guinea and Tasmania off Australia. A special type of continental island is the microcontinental island, which results when a continent is rifted. The best example is Madagascar off Africa. The Kerguelen Islands and some of the Seychelles are also examples. Another subtype is the barrier island: accumulations of sand on the continental shelf.

River islands

River islands occur in river deltas and in large rivers. They are caused by deposition of sediment at points in the flow where the current loses some of its carrying capacity. In essence, they are river bars, isolated in the stream. While some are ephemeral, and may disappear if the river's water volume or speed changes, others are stable and long-lived.

Volcanic islands

Volcanic islands are built by volcanoes. Mid-ocean examples are not geologically part of any continent. One type of volcanic island is found in a volcanic island arc. These islands arise from volcanoes where the subduction of one plate under another is occurring. Examples include the Mariana Islands, the Aleutian Islands, and most of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the Lesser Antilles and the South Sandwich Islands are the only Atlantic Ocean examples. Another type of volcanic island occurs where an oceanic rift reaches the surface. There are two examples: Iceland, which is the world's largest volcanic island, and Jan Mayen—both are in the Atlantic. The last type of volcanic island are those formed over volcanic hotspots. A hot spot is more or less stationary relative to the moving tectonic plate above it, so a chain of islands results as the plate drifts. Over long periods of time, this type of island is eventually eroded down and "drowned" by isostatic adjustment, becoming a seamount. Plate movement across a hot-spot produces a line of islands oriented in the direction of the plate movement. An example is the Hawaiian Islands, from Hawaii to Kure, which then extends beneath the sea surface in a more northerly direction as the Emperor Seamounts. Another chain with similar orientation is the Tuamotu Archipelago; its older, northerly trend is the Line Islands. The southernmost chain is the Austral Islands, with its northerly trending part the atolls in the nation of Tuvalu. Tristan da Cunha is an example of a hotspot volcano in the Atlantic Ocean. An atoll is an island formed from a coral reef that has grown on an eroded and submerged volcanic island. The reef rises above the surface of the water and forms a new island. Atolls are typically ring-shaped with a central, shallow lagoon. Examples include the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Bora Bora in the Pacific.

See also


- List of islands
- List of islands by area
- List of islands by population
- Reef
- Desert island
- Tidal island
- List of artificial islands
- List of divided islands
- Skerry

External links


- [http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part8.htm Definition of island] from United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Category:Islands Category:Landforms zh-min-nan:Tó-sū ko:섬 ms:Pulau ja:島 simple:Island th:เกาะ

Barisan Mountains

The Barisan Mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km (1,050 mi) of the island. The Barisan range consists primarily of volcanoes shrouded in dense jungle cover. The highest peak of the range is Mount Kerinchi at 3,800 metres (12,467 ft). Category:Mountain ranges of Asia Category:Mountains of Indonesia ja:バリサーン山脈

Java island

:"Java" redirects here. For other uses, see Java (disambiguation). Java (disambiguation) Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. It is the most populous island in the world; indeed, it has a larger population than either the continents of Australia or Antarctica (see the list of islands by population). With an area of 132,000 square km, and 127 million inhabitants at 864 people per km² it would, if it were a country, be the second most densely-populated country of the world after Bangladesh, except for some very small city-states.

Geography

Natural

Bangladeshs]] Java () is in a chain of islands with Kalimantan (Borneo) to the north, Sumatra to the northwest, Bali to the east, Sulawesi to the northeast and Christmas Island to the south. It is the world's 13th largest island. Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin; and contains no fewer than thirty-eight mountains of that conical form, which indicates their having at one time or another been active volcanoes. See Volcanoes of Java. The island's longest river is the Bengawan Solo River, at some 540 km in length. The Bengawan Solo rises from its source in central Java at the Tawu volcano, flows north then eastwards to its mouth in the Java Sea, near the city of Surabaya.

Human

Java contains the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta. Popular tourist destinations include the city of Yogyakarta, a massive pyramid-like monument to Buddha known as Borobudur; and Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Java. Java is the most densely-populated island in Indonesia, with nearly 60% of the overall population of the country residing there [http://www.bps.go.id/sector/population/table1.shtml]. Since the 1970s, the Indonesian government has run transmigration programs aimed at resettling the population of Java on other less-populated islands of Indonesia. This program has met with mixed results, and has been behind many instances of ethnic tension, and even violence between the native people and the settlers. The island is divided into 4 provinces, 1 special region
- (daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district
  - (daerah khusus ibukota):
- Banten
- Jakarta
  -
- Jawa Barat (West Java)
- Jawa Tengah (Central Java)
- Jawa Timur (East Java)
- Yogyakarta
-

History

Paleontology

The island of Java is famous for several paleoanthropological finds of early hominid specimens. In particular, the 1891 discovery of cranial fossil remains commonly known as "Java man" (now designated as Trinil 2, after the Trinil site on the Bengawan Solo River), is famous for being the first such discovery of an early hominid specimen outside of Europe. This find, and several subsequent ones which have been made at various locations along the river's valleys, are now generally classified as belonging to the species Homo erectus. Two million years ago, the rainfall in the Sunda and Digul plateaus was very heavy, which allowed heavy tropical vegetation to thrive. This, in turn allowed many prehistoric cultures to emerge, as evidenced in many fossil findings in this region.

Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms

Much evidence of Java's past kingdoms remains; such as the famous Buddhist Borobudur and Hindu Prambanan temples. Indeed, the Javanese culture, and language itself, was heavily influenced by the cultures and languages of the Indian subcontinent. In the sixth and seventh centuries, many maritime kingdoms arose in Sumatra and Java, which controlled the waters in the Straits of Malacca, and flourished with the increasing sea-trade between China and India and beyond. During this time, scholars from India and China visited these kingdoms to translate literary and religious texts. The most prominent of the Hindu kingdoms was the Majapahit kingdom based in East Java, from where it ruled a large part of what is now western Indonesia. The name of the Majapahit empire is still invoked by contemporary Indonesian leaders to promote "unity", and the legitimacy of the state. The remnants of the Majapahit kingdom shifted to Bali during the sixteenth century, as Muslim kingdoms in the western part of the island gained influence.

Muslim kingdoms and the Dutch colonization

The earliest Muslim "evangelists" were called the Wali Songo, the "nine ambassadors". Several of them were of Chinese origin, leading to speculation about Zheng He's influence on the trade in the Straits of Malacca. Many of their tombs are still well-preserved, and often visited "Ziarah" for superstitious and religious reasons. Most of the brand of Islam that is adopted in Java is mixed with long-standing indigenous beliefs, and has a decidedly "local flavor". For example, the legend of Nyi Roro Kidul was invented as a mix of the superstition common on the southern coast of Java, and Islamic influences. The Dutch East India Company, (VOC) established its trading and administrative headquarters in Batavia (now the capital city of Jakarta). This capital, along with other coastal cities such as Semarang and Surabaya, was the focus of Dutch attention during most of the colonial period. The VOC maintained control over the mountainous interior of the island through indigenous client states, such as Mataram in central Java. The nineteenth century saw the Dutch government take over administration of the East Indies from the Dutch East India Company, and in the mid-nineteenth century, they implemented the cultuurstelsel and cultuurprocenten policies, which caused widespread famine and poverty. A Dutch author Douwes Dekker wrote a novel Max Havelaar to protest these conditions, and in turn the political and social movement spurned by this protest resulted in the Ethical Policy, by which many Javanese elites were given a chance to earn Dutch education, both in Java and in the Netherlands itself. It was from this elite that the most prominent nationalist leaders came. They formed the core of the new government, when Indonesia became independent after World War II.

Post independence

With the establishment of Jakarta as the capital, and the Javanese roots of the majority of Indonesian political figures, the island remains politically and economically dominant over the rest of the country. While much of rural Java is very poor, the urban areas of Java are among the wealthiest, most highly- developed regions in the country. Both presidents Sukarno and Suharto, who together ruled for the first forty-nine years of independence, were from Java. This political dominance has resulted in resentment on the part of some residents of other islands. The respected Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer once recommended that the Indonesian capital be moved outside the island of Java, in order to free the Indonesian nationalist movement from its Java-centric character.

Culture

Generally speaking, the three major cultures of Java are the Sundanese culture of West Java, the Central Java culture, and the East Java culture. In the western part of Central Java, usually named the Banyumasan region, a cultural mingling occurred; bringing together Javanese culture and Sundanese culture to create the Banyumasan culture. In the central Javan court cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, contemporary kings trace their lineages back to the pre-colonial Islamic kingdoms that ruled the region, making those places especially strong repositories of classical Javanese culture. Classic arts of Java include gamelan music and wayang puppet shows. Java was the site of many influential kingdoms in the Southeast Asian region, and as a result, many literary works have been written by Javanese authors. These include Ken Arok and Ken Dedes, the story of the orphan who usurped his king, and married the queen of the ancient Javanese kingdom; and translations of Ramayana and Mahabarata. Pramoedya Ananta Toer is a famous contemporary Indonesian author, who has written many stories based on his own experiences of having grown up in Java, and takes many elements from Javanese folklore and historical legends. See also: Culture of Indonesia

Language

Culture of Indonesia The three major languages spoken on the island are Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese. Other languages spoken by smaller groups include Betawi, Banyumasan, Badui, Osing and Tenggerese. The vast majority of the population also speaks Indonesian, generally as a second language.

Religion

Most Javanese (93%) are Muslims, either of the Abangan (40%) (nominal) type or orthodox (60%). Small Hindu (1-2%) enclaves are scattered through-out Java, but a large Hindu population prevails along the eastern coast nearest Bali, especially around the town of Banyuwangi. There are also Christian (2-3%) (communities; mostly in the major cities, although they are in the minority. Certain rural areas of south-central Java are strongly Catholic. Buddhist communities (1%) also exist in the major cities, primarily among the Indonesian Chinese. Then there are also groups of followers of Kejawen, or Javanese "mystical" groups (see "mysticism") who do not fit easily into governmental administrative categories - such as Sumarah, Subud and other groups. During the Suharto era, it was mandatory to belong to a government-approved religion in order to have an identity card, which itself was also mandatory. Followers of Kejawen had various difficulties because of this issue.

Ethnic groups


- Javanese (See: Javanese language)
- Sundanese (See: Sundanese language)
- Madurese
- Indonesian Chinese
- Cirebonese

See also


- Badui
- Osing
- Sailendra
- Singhasari
- Tenggerese

Further reading


- [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS646x2xW819j/ JAVA, FACTS AND FANCIES], by Augusta De Wit, 1905. (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS646x2xW819j/1f/java_facts_and_fancies.pdf layered PDF] format)

External links


- Category:Islands of Indonesia Category:History of JavaCategory:History of IndonesiaCategory:History of South East Asia ko:자와 섬 ms:Jawa ja:ジャワ島

Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. It runs approximately north-south and contains the most southerly point of the Asian mainland. Its narrowest point is the Isthmus of Kra. The south-west coast is separated from the island of Sumatra by the Straits of Malacca. To the east across the South China Sea lies the island of Borneo. The south coast is separated from the island of Singapore by the Straits of Johor. Singapore is not part of the Malay peninsula as it is an island. The area is divided politically:
- the northwest is the extreme south part of Myanmar
- the central region and northeast is the south part of Thailand
- the south is the part of Malaysia called Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia (which should not be confused with the larger Malay Peninsula). The Malay term Tanah Melayu is still occasionally used in political discourse to describe uniting all Malay people on the peninsula under one Malay nation, although this ambition was largely realized with the creation of Malaysia. There however remains a Malay majority in southern Thailand, as the area was formerly part of the Pattani kingdom, a Malay kingdom. There is also a Malay minority in the predominantly Chinese island of Singapore, which the British leased from the Sultanate of Johor in 1819. The west coast of the peninsula was especially popular among seafaring Bugis, Chinese and Indian as a stopover, leading to increased migration of the people to set up visible coastal settlements in the 13th century.

See also


- Malay archipelago Category:Peninsulas Category:Asia ko:말레이 반도 ja:マレー半島 th:คาบสมุทรมลายู

Straits of Malacca

]] The Strait of Malacca (also called the Straits of Malacca, and in Malay Selat Melaka) is a narrow stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Economic importance of the Strait

From an economic and strategic perspective the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, an equivalent of the Suez Canal, or the Panama Canal. The Strait forms the main ship passageway between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking three of the world's most populous nations: India, Indonesia and China. The Strait carries 50,000 vessels per year, carrying between one-fifth and one quarter of the world's sea trade. A quarter of all oil shipments carried by sea come through the Strait, in 2003, an estimated 11 million barrels (1,700,000 m³) a day, a trade that is expected to expand as oil consumption rises in China. At Phillips Channel near Singapore, the 805 km (500 mile) channel is only 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) wide at its narrowest point. This creates one of the world's most significant traffic bottlenecks [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/choke.html]. All these factors have caused the area to become a target for piracy and a perceived target for terrorism. Piracy has been a considerable problem in the Strait in recent years, rising from around 25 attacks in 1994 to a record 220 in 2000. Just over 150 attacks were carried out in 2003. This accounted for around one-third of all piracy in 2003. The number of attacks rose again in the first half of 2004, and the total number is expected to top the 2000 record. In response to the rising crisis, the Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean navies stepped up their patrols of the area in July 2004. Fears of terrorism rest on the possibility that a large ship could be pirated and sunk at a shallow point in the Strait (it is just 25m deep at its shallowest part), effectively blocking the Strait. If successfully achieved, the attack would have a devastating effect on world trade. Opinions amongst security specialists differ about the feasibility and likelihood of such an attack. Another shipping risk in the Straits is the yearly haze that persists due to raging bush fires in Sumatra. The haze can literally choke shipping by reducing visibility to as low as 200m making navigation in such a narrow and busy trade route hazardous. There is also the perceived risk that terrorist or pirates could make use of the cover of haze to their advantage in launching operations.

Proposals to relieve the Strait

Thailand has developed several plans that if implemented would diminish the economic significance of the Strait. The Thai government has over the course of its history several times proposed to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Kra, shaving around 600 miles from the journey from Africa and the Middle East to the Pacific. This would effectively cut Thailand in two, further isolating the separatist Muslim majority in Pattani. The prohibitive financial and ecological costs suggest that no such canal will go ahead in the near future despite the backing of several Thai politicians, and according to a report leaked to The Washington Times in 2004, the offer by China to underwrite the costs of the canal. A second alternative is to build a pipeline across the isthmus to carry oil to ships waiting on the other side. Proponents of the plan say it would cut the cost of oil delivery to Asia by about $0.50/barrel ($3/m³). Myanmar has also made a similar pipeline proposal. Finally, there is also a proposal to directly pipe crude from the Middle East to Xinjiang, China. Building began in October 2004.

See also


- Srivijaya
- Sultanate of Malacca
- Malacca

References


- [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/choke.html World oil transit chokepoints]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3925277.stm BBC News report on the increased security in the Straits]
- [http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=2752802 "Going for the jugular" Report on the potential terrorist threat to the Straits. From the Economist, requires subscription, in the print edition June 10th 2004]
- [http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050117-115550-1929r.htm China builds up strategic sea lanes]
- [http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id%3D3668/marineelectronichighwayarticle.pdf A report from the International Maritime Organisation on the implementation of a Straits "Marine Electronic Highway" - a series of technological measures to ensure safe and efficient use of the busy waters]

External links


- [http://www.fsas.upm.edu.my/~masdec/web/straits.html The Malacca Straits Research and Development Centre homepage]
- [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7E69A41A-E46F-41D9-AD34-26BA06933A87.htm Al-Jazeera: Malacca Strait nations plan air patrol] Category:Geography of Malaysia Malacca, Straits of Category:Indian Ocean ko:믈라카 해협 ms:Selat Melaka ja:マラッカ海峡

Borneo

]] Borneo (politically divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei) is the third largest island in the world. It has an area of 743,330 km² (287,000 mi²), and is located at the centre of the Malay archipelago and Indonesia. Borneo is considered part of the geographic region of Southeast Asia.

Geography

Borneo is surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east, and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south. Karimata StraitTo the west of Borneo are the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. To the south is Java. To the east is the island of Sulawesi (Celebes). To the northeast is the Philippines. Borneo's highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, with an elevation of 4,095 m above sea level.

Administration

Borneo is divided politically into:
- The Indonesian provinces of East, South, West and Central Kalimantan.
- The Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
- The independent sultanate of Brunei in two parts.

History

The whole Borneo was controlled by Brunei Empire during its golden age from the 15th to 17th centuries. Borneo was the main site of the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia between 1962 and 1966.

Natural resources

Malaysia The island historically had extensive rainforest cover, but the area is shrinking rapidly due to heavy logging for the needs of the Malaysian plywood industry and also multinational companies such as Mitsubishi take their share. One half of the annual tropical timber acquisition of the whole world comes from Borneo. Furthermore, palm plantations are rapidly encroaching on the last remnants of primary rainforest. The rainforest was also greatly destroyed due to the forest fires in 1997 to 1998 which were started by man and coincided with an exceptional drought season of El Niño. During the great fire, hotspots could be seen on satellite images and a haze was created that affected Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The remaining Borneo rainforest is the only natural habitat for the endangered Bornean orangutan. It is also an important refuge for many endemic forest species, and the Asian Elephant, the Sumatran Rhinoceros and the Clouded Leopard. In order to combat overpopulation in Java, the Indonesian government started a massive migration of poor farmers to Borneo, called transmigrasi to farm the logged areas, albeit with little success as the fertility of the land has been removed with the trees and what soil remains is washed away in tropical downpours. Indigenous people (e.g. Kayan, Kenyah, Punan Bah and Penan) living on the island have been fighting for decades for their rights to preserve their environment against loggers and transmigrasi settlers. The type of rainforests found in Borneo include rare peat-swamp forests and heath forest.

References


- Gudgeon, L. W. W. 1913. British North Borneo. Adam and Charles Black, London. (An early well-illustrated book on "British North Borneo", now known as Sabah.)

See also


- Islands of Indonesia
- Hikayat Banjar

External links


- [http://www.insightnewstv.com/d54 Borneo: Eco Warriors] - Online documentary
- [http://www.shopborneo.com Shopborneo.com] Category:Islands Category:Geography of Indonesia Category:Geography of Malaysia ko:보르네오 섬 ms:Kepulauan Borneo ja:ボルネオ島 th:เกาะบอร์เนียว

Indian Ocean

:This article is about the water body. For the Indian fusion music band, see Indian Ocean (band). The Indian Ocean is the third-largest body of water in the world, covering about 20% of the Earth's water surface. It is bounded on the north by southern Asia (the Indian subcontinent); on the west by the Arabian Peninsula and Africa; on the east by the Malay Peninsula, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20°east meridian south of Africa, and from the Pacific by the 147°east meridian. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30°north latitude in the Persian Gulf. This ocean is nearly 10,000 km (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 km² (28,400,000 mi²), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The ocean's volume is estimated to be 292,131,000 km³ (70,086,000 mi³). Small islands dot the continental rims. Island nations within the ocean are Madagascar (formerly Malagasy Republic), the world's fourth largest island; Comoros; Seychelles; Maldives; Mauritius; and Sri Lanka. Indonesia borders it. The ocean's importance as a transit route between Asia and Africa has made it a scene of conflict. Because of its size, however, no one nation had successfully dominated until the early 1800s when Britain controlled much of the surrounding land. right

Environment

The African, Indian, and Antarctic crustal plates converge in the Indian Ocean. Their junctures are marked by branches of the Mid-Oceanic Ridge forming an inverted Y, with the stem running south from the edge of the continental shelf near Mumbai, India. The eastern, western, and southern basins thus formed are subdivided into smaller basins by ridges. The ocean's continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 km (125 mi) in width. An exception is found off Australia's western coast, where the shelf width exceeds 1,000 km (600 mi). The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m (12,760 ft). Its deepest point, in the Java Trench, is estimated to be 7,450 m (24,442 ft). North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the main basin is covered by pelagic sediments, of which more than one-half is globigerina ooze. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments. Glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes.

Climate

The climate north of the equator is affected by a Monsoon wind system. Strong northeast winds blow from October until April; from May until October south and west winds prevail. In the Arabian Sea the violent monsoon brings rain to the Indian subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere the winds generally are milder, but summer storms near Mauritius can be severe. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Hydrology

Bay of Bengal Among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Arvandrud/Shatt-al-Arab, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Irrawaddy. Currents are largely controlled by the monsoon. Two large circular currents, one in the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving counterclockwise, constitute the dominant flow pattern. During the winter monsoon, however, currents in the north are reversed. Deepwater circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and Antarctic currents. North of 20°south latitude the minimum surface temperature is 22°C (72°F), exceeding 28°C (82°F) to the east. Southward of 40°south latitude, temperatures drop quickly. Surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37 parts per 1,000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between southern Africa and southwestern Australia. Pack ice and icebergs are found throughout the year south of about 65°south latitude. The average northern limit of icebergs is 45°south latitude.

Economy

The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The warmth of the Indian Ocean keeps phytoplankton production low, except along the northern fringes and in a few scattered spots elsewhere; life in the ocean is thus limited. Fishing is confined to subsistence levels. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna.

History

The earliest known civilizations, in the valleys of the Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, and Indus rivers and in Southeast Asia, have developed near the Indian Ocean. During Egypt's 1st dynasty (c. 3000 BCE), sailors were sent out onto its waters, journeying to Punt, thought to be part of present-day Somalia. Returning ships brought gold and Myrrh. Phoenicians of the 3rd millennium BCE may have entered the area, but no settlements resulted. The Indian Ocean is far calmer and thus open to trade earlier than the Atlantic or Pacific. The powerful monsoons also meant ships could easily sail them west early in the season, then wait a few months and return eastwards. This allowed Indonesian peoples to cross the Indian Ocean to settle in Madagascar. In the second or first century BCE Eudoxus of Cyzicus was the first Greek to cross the Indian Ocean. Hippalus is said to have discovered the direct route from Arabia to India around this time. During the first and second century CE intensive trade relations developed between Roman Egypt and the Tamil kingdoms of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas in Southern India. Like the Indonesian people above, the western sailors used the monsoon to cross the Ocean. The unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes this route and the ports and trade goods along the coasts of Africa and India around 70 CE. In 1497 Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed to India, the first European to do so. The European ships, armed with heavy cannon, quickly came to dominate the trade. Portugal at first attempted to achieve pre-eminence setting up forts an the important straits and ports. But the small nation was unable to support such a vast project and they were replaced in the mid-1600s by other European powers. The Dutch East India Company (1602-1798) sought control of trade with the East across the Indian Ocean. France and Britain established trade companies for the area. Eventually Britain became the principal power and by 1815 dominated the area. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 revived European interest in the East, but no nation was successful in establishing trade dominance. Since World War II the United Kingdom has withdrawn from the area, to be only partially replaced by India, the USSR, and the United States. The last two have tried to establish hegemony by negotiating for naval base sites. Developing countries bordering the ocean, however, seek to have it made a "zone of peace" so that they may use its shipping lanes freely. Though the United States did manage to salvage a naval base for itself at Deigo Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean. On December 26 2004 the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean were hit by tsunamis caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The waves resulted in more than 226,000 deaths and over 1 million homeless.

Data

Southern Ocean: A spring 2000 decision by the International Hydrographic Organization delimited a fifth world ocean, stripping the southern portions of the Indian Ocean. The new ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60°south latitude which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Indian Ocean remains the third-largest of the world's five oceans. Area:
- total: 68.556 million km²
- seas: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Laccadive Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, and other tributary water bodies Coastline: 66,526 km Climate: northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean Terrain: surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge Graphics of the seabed terrain produced by the Royal Navy & British Geological Survey in 2005 can be found here. Elevation extremes:
- lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
- highest point: sea level 0 m Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules Environment - current issues: endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea Geography - note: major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait Ports and harbors: Calcutta (India), Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Karachi (Pakistan), Fremantle (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa), Visakhapatnam (India),Kochi(India)

References


- Braun, D., The Indian Ocean (1983)
- Chandra, S., ed., The Indian Ocean (1987);
- Chaudhuri, K. N., Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean (1985);
- Cousteau, Jacques-Yves, and Diole, Philippe, Life and Death in a Coral Sea (1971);
- Cubitt, Gerald, Islands of the Indian Ocean (1975);
- Das Gupta, A., and Pearson, M.N., India and the Indian Ocean (1987);
- Dowdy, W. L., and Trood, R., eds., The Indian Ocean (1985);
- Kerr, A., ed., Resources and Development in the Indian Ocean Region (1981);
- Nairn, A. E., and Stehli, F. G., eds., The Ocean Basins and Margins, Vol. 6: The Indian Ocean (1982);
- Ostheimer, John M., ed., The Politics of the Western Indian Ocean Islands (1975);
- Toussaint, Auguste, The History of the Indian Ocean, trans. by June Guicharnaud (1966). Much of this text is based on public domain text by US Naval Oceanographer at: http://oceanographer.navy.mil/indian.html

External links


- [http://dapper.pmel.noaa.gov/dchart/ NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer] Plot and download ocean observations Category:Oceans Category:Indian Ocean zh-min-nan:Ìn-tō·-iûⁿ ko:인도양 ja:インド洋 simple:Indian Ocean th:มหาสมุทรอินเดีย

Lake Toba

Lake Toba is a large lake, 100 km long and 30 km wide, in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Geology

In 1949 the Dutch geologist Rein van Bemmelen reported that Lake Toba was surrounded by a layer of ignimbrite rocks, and was a large volcanic caldera. Later researchers found rhyolite ash similar to that in the ignimbrite around Toba in Malaysia and India, 3000 km away. Oceanographers discovered Toba ash on the floor of the eastern Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. Bay of Bengal Bay of Bengal The Toba eruption is dated at 73,000 ± 4000 years ago. It had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8, making it the most recent eruption of a supervolcano and probably the greatest eruption in the last two million years. A large area collapsed after the ejection of so much subsurface material, forming a caldera, which filled with water creating Lake Toba. Later, the floor of the caldera uplifted to form Samosir, a large island in the lake. Such uplifts are common in very large calderas, apparently due to the upward pressure of unerupted magma. Toba is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. There have been no historic eruptions at Toba, but large earthquakes have occurred, the most recent in 1987 along the southern shore of the lake. The underwater fault off the west coast of Sumatra has had several major earthquakes since 1995, including the ~9.0 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and the 8.7 2005 Sumatra earthquake, the epicenters of which were only a mere 200 miles from the lake. 2005 Sumatra earthquake

People

Most of the people who live around Lake Toba are ethnically Bataks. Traditional Batak houses are noted for their distinctive roofs (which curve upwards at each end, like a boat's hull does) and their colorful decor.

See also


- Toba eruption

References


-
-

External links


- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=2.590517,98.807602&spn=.904475,.975861&t=k&hl=en Satellite image on Google Maps]
- Toba, Lake Toba, Lake Toba, Lake Toba, Lake Toba, Lake

Oil palm

Elaeis guineensis
Elaeis oleifera The oil palms (Elaeis) coomprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to west Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to tropical Central America and South America. Mature trees are single-stemmed, and grow to 20 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, and reach between 3-5 m long. A young tree produces about 30 leaves a year. Established trees over 10 years produce about 20 leaves a year. The flowers are produced in dense clustes; each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals. The fruit takes six months to mature from pollination to maturity; it comprises an oily, fleshy outer layer (the pericarp), with a single seed (kernel), also rich in oil. Unlike its relative, the Coconut Palm, the oil palm does not produce offshoots; propagation is by sowing the seeds.

Agriculture

Oil palms are grown for their clusters of fruit, which can weigh 40-50 kg. Upon harvest, the drupe, pericarp and seeds are used for production of soap and edible vegetable oil; different grades of oil quality are obtained from the pericarp and the kernel, with the pericarp oil used mainly for cooking oil, and the kernel oil used in processed foods. For each hectare of oil palm, which is harvested year-round, the annual production averages 10 tonnes of fruit, which yields 3,000 kg of pericarp oil, and 750 kg of seed kernels, which yield 250 kg of high quality palm kernel oil as well as 500 kg of kernel meal. The meal is used to feed livestock. Some varieties have even higher productivities which has led to their consideration for producing the vegetable oil needed for biodiesel. The African Oil Palm was introduced to Sumatra and the Malaya area in the early 1900s; many of the largest plantations of oil palms are now in this area, with Malaysia growing over 20,000 square kilometres. Malaysia claims that in 1995 it was the world's largest producer with 51% of world production. In this area, the destruction of natural rainforest to grow oil palm plantations is an issue of major environmental concern.

Nutrition

Palm oil is high in vitamin K and dietary Magnesium. Palm oil contains 43 percent saturated fats, 43 percent monounsaturated fats and 13 percent polyunsaturated fats. Its high nutritional value means that the palm nut is eaten by a wide variety of animals, including, rather improbably, two birds of prey, the Palm Nut Vulture and the Harrier Hawk.

External links


- [http://www.mpopc.org.my/index1.htm Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council (MPOPC)]
- [http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html Biodiesel production]
- [http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/biodiversity/case_studies/palm_oil/index.html Friends of the Earth UK: Palm oil - rainforest in your shopping]
- [http://www.cspinet.org/palmoilreport/index.html Center for Science in the Public Interest: Cruel Oil - How Palm Oil Harms Health, Rainforest and Wildlife] Category:Palms ja:アブラヤシ

Petroleum

]] Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. A widely believed myth is that the oil itself is flammable; however, it is actually the gas that evaporates from the oil that is flammable. Petroleum exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earth's crust. Another name is naphtha, from Persian naft or nafátá (to flow). It consists of a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons, largely of the alkane series, but may vary much in appearance, composition, and purity. Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for producing fuel oil, which is an important "primary energy" source ([http://www.iea.org/bookshop/add.aspx?id=144 IEA Key World Energy Statistics]). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics.

Origin

Biogenic theory

Most geologists view crude oil, like coal and natural gas, as the product of compression and heating of ancient vegetation over geological time scales. According to this theory, it is formed from the decayed remains of prehistoric marine animals and terrestrial plants. Over many centuries this organic matter, mixed with mud, is buried under thick sedimentary layers of material. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure cause the remains to metamorphose, first into a waxy material known as kerogen, and then into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis. These then migrate through adjacent rock layers until they become trapped underground in porous rocks called reservoirs, forming an oil field, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping. 150 °C is generally considered the "oil window". Though this corresponds to different depths for different locations around the world, a 'typical' depth for an oil window might be 4 - 5 km. Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: a rich source rock, a migration conduit, and a trap (seal) that forms the reservoir. The reactions that produce oil and natural gas are often modeled as first order breakdown reactions, where kerogen breaks down to oil and natural gas by a large set of parallel reactions, and oil eventually breaks down to natural gas by another set of reactions.

Abiogenic Theory

The idea of abiogenic petroleum origin was championed in the Western world by Thomas Gold based on thoughts from Russia, mainly on studies of Nikolai Kudryavtsev. The idea proposes that large amounts of carbon exist naturally in the planet, some in the form of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are less dense than aqueous pore fluids, and migrate upward through deep fracture networks. Thermophilic, rock-dwelling microbial life-forms are in part responsible for the biomarkers found in petroleum. However, their role in the formation, alteration, or contamination of the various hydrocarbon deposits is not yet understood. Thermodynamic calculations and experimental studies confirm that n-alkanes (common petroleum components) do not spontaneously evolve from methane at pressures typically found in sedimentary basins, and so the theory of an abiogenic origin of hydrocarbons suggests deep generation (below 200 km) (see results [http://www.gasresources.net/]). As with any petroleum, the idea goes, these hydrocarbons would migrate upwards with methane, sometimes bearing helium and nitrogen and frequently heavy metals such as Nickel, Vanadium, Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Zinc, Mercury and others. Diamondoids are common in oil and gas and its nature probably is related to natural diamonds that come from earth's mantle. The proponents of abiogenic petroleum claim that reserves are never exhausted because they are filled from below. This idea has not been supported by any critically reviewed research. It has been widely discredited by scientists and geologists alike. Also, even if oil fields can be replenished from abiotic deposits that exist deeper within the earth, it would be very near impossible that they could be replenished at current rates of depletion, future rates aside. It would certainly take many thousands if not millions of years for oil fields to regain original levels.

Composition

In refining, the component chemicals of petroleum are separated by fractional distillation, which is a separation based on relative boiling points (or equivalently relative volatility). The different products (in order of boiling points) include light gases (e.g. methane, ethane, propane), gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel, gasoil, paraffin wax, and asphalt. Subtler techniques, such as gas chromatography, HPLC, and GC-MS, can separate some fractions of petroleum into individual compounds; these are analytical chemistry methods used mainly in quality control in refineries. Strictly speaking, petroleum consists of hydrocarbons (compounds of hydrogen and carbon) and non-hydrocarbon fractions, which might also include nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, or traces of metals such as van