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.
Biak is the main island of Biak Archipelago located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak has many atolls, reefs, and corals.
Yapen is an island of Papua, Indonesia. The Yapen Strait separates Yapen and the Biak Islands to the north. It is in Cenderawasih Bay off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. To the west is Mios Num Island across the Mios Num Strait, and to the east Kurudu Island. Off the southeast coast of Yapen are the Amboi Islands and to the southwest are the Kuran Islands. Together these islands form the Yapen Islands Regency within the province of Papua. It is populated with communities of Yobi, Randowaya, Serui, and Ansus. Its highest point is 1,496 metres.
The South Halmahera–West New Guinea (SHWNG) languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, found in the islands and along the shores of the Halmahera Sea in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and of Cenderawasih Bay in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. There are 38 languages.
Cenderawasih Bay, also known as Sarera Bay and formerly Geelvink Bay, is a large bay in northern Province of Papua, Central Papua and West Papua, New Guinea, Indonesia.
Ambai are the archipelago or the chain of islands off the southern coast of Yapen Island, in Cenderawasih Bay and Papua Province in Western New Guinea, northeastern Indonesia.
The Yapen languages are the branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages spoken on Yapen Island and the nearby isle of Cenderawasih Bay, both in Papua province of northeastern Indonesia.
Waropen Regency is one of the regencies (kabupaten) in Papua Province, Indonesia. The Regency covers an area of 10,843.97 km2, and it had a population of 24,639 at the 2010 Census and 33,943 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 37,643 - comprising 19,754 males and 17,889 females. The capital is the town of Botawa.
Yapen Islands Regency is a regency (kabupaten) in Papua Province of eastern Indonesia. It covers an area of 2,432.49 km2 (939.19 sq mi), and had a population of 82,951 at the 2010 Census and 112,676 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 115,056. It comprises an archipelago which lies in Cenderawasih Bay off the north coast of Western New Guinea.
The 2010 Papua earthquake occurred on June 16 at 12:16 local time in Papua province of Indonesia. The magnitude 7.0 mainshock was preceded by an 6.2 foreshock 10 minutes earlier, and was followed 42 minutes later by an Mw 6.6 aftershock.
Saweru is a Papuan language closely related to Yawa of central Yapen Island in Geelvink (Cenderawasih) Bay, Indonesia, of which it is sometimes considered a dialect. It is spoken on Serui Island just offshore.
Kurudu is an Eastern Yapen language of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, in Papua Province of Western New Guinea, northeastern Indonesia.
Serui-Laut, or Arui, is an Austronesian language spoken on Serui Island of the Ambai Islands, in Western New Guinea, Indonesia.
Silas Ayari Donrai Papare was a Papuan–Indonesian politician and guerilla leader who is a National Hero of Indonesia.
Persatuan Sepakbola Serui, commonly known as Perseru Serui, or Perseru, was an Indonesian football club based in Yapen Islands Regency, Papua. Their nickname is The Orange Cendrawasih. The traditional team home kit is black and orange striped shirt, similar to Hull City or Shakhtar Donetsk. They last play in the Liga 1 in the Indonesian Football League. Their home stadium is Marora Stadium.
The Indonesian Irian Independence Party was a pro-Indonesian party in the Netherlands New Guinea. The party was established in 1946 by several pro-Indonesian students as a way to support the integration of Papua into the territory of Indonesia. The party's leader, Silas Papare was awarded as the National Hero of Indonesia posthumously on 14 September 1993.
Serui Malay is a variety of the Papuan Malay language native to parts of the Indonesian province of Papua. It is spoken in the city of Serui and other places on the Yapen Islands, as well as in nearby coastal areas of the New Guinea mainland.
Stevanus Rumbewas Airport is an airport serving the town of Serui and the nearby towns and islands in the Yapen Islands Regency, Papua, Indonesia. The airport commenced operation on 19 December 2014, replacing the old Sudjarwo Tjondronegoro Airport which has been closed due to the lack of land for expansion to cope with the increasing passenger demands. The airport is named after Stevanus Rumbewas, a former Indonesian Navy officer who originated from Serui, and member of Indonesian Irian Independence Party (PKII).
The 1979 Yapen earthquake occurred on September 12 at 05:17:51 UTC. It had an epicenter near the coast of Yapen Island in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Measuring 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale and having a depth of 20 km (12 mi), it caused severe damage on the island. At least 115 were killed due to shaking and a moderate tsunami.
