| Berau Gulf | |
|---|---|
| MacCleur Gulf | |
| Teluk Berau (Indonesian) | |
 | |
  Berau Gulf | |
| Coordinates | 2°27′46″S132°31′06″E / 2.462661°S 132.518469°E |
| Primary inflows | Bintuni Bay |
| Primary outflows | Ceram Sea |
The Berau Gulf (Indonesian : Teluk Berau), formerly the MacCleur Gulf, separates the Vogelkop (Doberai) and Bomberai Peninsulas of Western New Guinea. It opens on the Ceram Sea to the west and ends in Bintuni Bay to the east.
Berau Bay is formed by the broadening of Bintuni Bay to the east and separates the Vogelkop Peninsula to the north from the Bomberai Peninsula (with its western extremity, the Fakfak Peninsula) to the south. To the west is the open Seram Sea. The islands of Ogar and Arguni are located off the Fakfak peninsula.
The area is part of the Indonesian province of Papua Barat. The administrative district of Fakfak lies on the southern coast, while the northern coast (the southern coast of the Vogelkop) belongs to the administrative districts of Teluk Bintuni and Sorong Selatan (South Sorong). [1]
West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya Barat, is an Indonesian province located in Indonesia Papua. It covers most of the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea: the eastern half of the Bird's Head Peninsula and the whole of the Bomberai Peninsula, along with nearby smaller islands. The province is bordered to the north by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by Southwest Papua Province, the Halmahera Sea and the Ceram Sea, to the south by the Banda Sea, and to the east by the province of Central Papua and the Cenderawasih Bay. Manokwari is the province's capital and largest city. With an estimated population of 569,570 in mid-2023, West Papua is the least populous province in Indonesia after South Papua, following the separation off in 2022 of the western half of the Bird's Head Peninsula to create the new province of Southwest Papua, containing 52% of what had been West Papua's population.Its population density is similar to Russia.
The Gulf of Tomini, also known as the Bay of Tomini, is the equatorial gulf which separates the Minahassa (Northern) and East Peninsulas of the island of Sulawesi (Celebes) in Indonesia. The Togian Islands lie near its center. To the east, the Gulf opens onto the Molucca Sea.
The Bird's Head Peninsula or Doberai Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces of Southwest Papua and West Papua. It is often referred to as The Vogelkop, and is so named because its shape looks like a bird's head on the island of New Guinea. The peninsula at the opposite end of the island is called the Bird's Tail Peninsula. The peninsula just to the south is called the Bomberai Peninsula.
Bomberai Peninsula is located in the Western New Guinea region. It is south of the Bird's Head Peninsula, and Bintuni Bay separates the two peninsulas. To the west lies the Sebakor Bay and to the south Kamrau Bay. On the southeast Arguni Bay lies between the peninsula and the Bird's Neck Isthmus.
New Guinea is the world's second-largest island, with an area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi). Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf, and were united during episodes of low sea level in the Pleistocene glaciations as the combined landmass of Sahul. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The island's name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the African region of Guinea.
Bintuni Bay is the eastward extension or inner bay of Berau Gulf in western New Guinea. It separates the Bird's Head Peninsula on the north from the Bomberai Peninsula on the south. Administratively it is part of West Papua, Indonesia. The bay is 12 miles (19.3 km) wide at its entrance and there are extensive marshes along the shore.
Bintuni is a small town and administrative district in West Papua, Indonesia and seat of the Teluk Bintuni Regency. The town comprises two villages with a combined population of 13,795 at the 2010 Census and 22,757 inhabitants as at mid 2022. The town is located near the southeast coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula on Bintuni Bay. It is served by Steenkool Airport. The district had 18,663 inhabitants in 2010, which increased to 34,192 by mid 2023.
Kaimana Regency is a regency in the south of West Papua province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 18,500 sq. km, and had a population of 46,249 at the 2010 Census and 62,256 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 65,490. The administrative centre is the town of Kaimana. The Mairasi languages are spoken in the regency, among other languages.
South Sorong Regency is a regency of Southwest Papua province of Indonesia. It has an area of 6,570.23 km2, and had a population of 37,900 at the 2010 Census and 52,469 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 54,277. The administrative centre is the town of Kaibus in Teminabuan District.
Teluk Bintuni Regency or Bintuni Bay Regency is a regency of West Papua Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 18,637 km2, comprising administrative districts on three sides of Bintuni Bay, a gulf that separates the Bird's Head Peninsula and Bomberai Peninsula which together form the main geographical constituents of the province; it had a population of 52,422 at the 2010 Census and 87,083 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 90,101. The administrative centre is the town of Bintuni.
Teluk Wondama Regency or Wondama Bay Regency is a regency of West Papua province of Indonesia. It covers a land area of 4,844.035 km2, and had a population of 26,321 at the 2010 Census and 41,644 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 44,534. The administrative centre lies in the small town of Rasiei.
Sumuri or Sumeri is a language spoken in Sumuri District, Teluk Bintuni Regency on the Bomberai Peninsula by about a thousand people.
Irarutu, Irahutu, or Kasira is an Austronesian language of most of the interior of the Bomberai Peninsula of north-western New Guinea in Teluk Bintuni Regency. The name Irarutu comes from the language itself, where ira conjoins with ru to create 'their voice'. When put together with tu, which on its own means 'true', the meaning of the name becomes 'Their true voice' or 'The people's true language'.
Port of Sorong is a seaport in western New Guinea. This port contains both passenger and container terminal linking the Bird's Head Peninsula with other regions of Indonesia. This port is located at Sudirman Road, Sorong District, in Sorong and operated by PT Pelabuhan Indonesia IV.
The Berau Gulf languages form a high-level branch of the Trans–New Guinea language family in the classification of Timothy Usher. They are spoken along the coasts of the Berau Gulf of western New Guinea, as well as the islands of Timor, Alor and Pantar further west. The constituent families are,
The Vogelkop–Aru lowland rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion covers the peninsular lowlands of western New Guinea, along with the Aru Islands and other nearby islands.
The Vogelkop montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in western New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the mountains of western New Guinea's Bird's Head and Bomberai peninsulas.
The Wondiboy Peninsula, also known as the Wondiwoi, Wandammen, Wondama, or in old sources Mandamy is a mountainous peninsula in Wondama Bay Regency, Western New Guinea. It extends northwards from the Bird's Neck Isthmus into Cenderawasih Bay, and is composed administratively of the Rasiei, Wondiboy, Wasior and Teluk Duairi Districts (kecamatan) within the regency. At the northern end of the peninsula the land breaks up into a series of islands which form Roon District, of which the largest is Roon Island.
The Bird's Neck Isthmus is an isthmus in western New Guinea. It connects the main mass of the island to its two large western peninsulas, the Bird's Head Peninsula, also known as the Vogelkop or Doberai Peninsula, and the Bomberai Peninsula. The isthmus is mostly covered in lowland tropical rain forest.
