Lake Toba is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of a supervolcano. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the island of Sumatra, with a surface elevation of about 900 metres (2,953 ft), the lake stretches from 2.88°N 98.52°E to 2.35°N 99.1°E. The lake is about 100 kilometres long, 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide, and up to 505 metres (1,657 ft) deep. It is the largest lake in Indonesia and the largest volcanic lake in the world. Toba Caldera is one of twenty geoparks in Indonesia, and was recognised in July 2020 as one of the UNESCO Global Geoparks.
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. It is bordered by Aceh on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra on the southeast, with two different coastlines located on the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, and a maritime border with Malaysia to the east. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java, and Central Java, and is also the most populous province outside of Java Island. North Sumatra is also the third-largest province in area on the island of Sumatra after South Sumatra and Riau provinces. It covers an area of 72,460.74 km2, which is approximately the same size as Sierra Leone or Scotland or Maine.
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola, and Mandailing, related ethnic groups with distinct languages and traditional customs (adat).
Pematangsiantar, and also known as the City of Pematangsiantar, is an independent city in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia, surrounded by, but not part of, the Simalungun Regency, making Pematangsiantar an enclave within Simalungun Regency. Pematangsiantar formerly had the status of a second-level district and was the administrative centre of the surrounding Regency, but in 1986 it was elevated to Kota (City) and separated from the Regency.
The Batak languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken by the Batak people in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra and surrounding areas.
Marga is a term in Batak societies referring to a clan name. The term is derived either from the Sanskrit varga, meaning company, party, or group, or, more likely, from the Sanskrit marga, meaning 'road, way or path', referring to a people of 'one origin'.
Toba Batak is an Austronesian language spoken in North Sumatra province in Indonesia. It is part of a group of languages called Batak. There are approximately 1,610,000 Toba Batak speakers, living to the east, west and south of Lake Toba. Historically it was written using the Batak script, but the Latin script is now used for most writing.
Puteri Indonesia 2007 is 12th edition of Puteri Indonesia beauty pageant. It was held on 3 August 2007 in Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta.
Toba Batak people are the largest ethnic group of the Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The common phrase of ‘Batak’ usually refers to the Batak Toba people. This mistake is caused by the Toba people being the largest sub-group of the Batak ethnic and their differing social habit has been to self-identify as merely Batak instead of ‘Toba’ or ‘Batak Toba’, contrary to the habit of the Karo, Mandailing, Simalungun, Pakpak communities who commonly self-identify with their respective sub-groups.
Tomy Winata is an Indonesian businessman with interests in banking, property, and infrastructure, whose wealth comes from his business deals for the Indonesian Military. His philanthropic interests include the environment, particularly the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation a 45,000 hectare forest, endangered wildlife and sea conservation area, located in southern Sumatra.
Sudi Silalahi was an Indonesian politician and Indonesian army Lieutenant General. He was the Secretary of State of the Republic of Indonesia from 22 October 2009 to 20 October 2014. He was also the secretary of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when Yudhoyono was serving as Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs under the administration of Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Rosianna Magdalena Silalahi, also known as Rosi, is an Indonesian news presenter and former editor-in-chief of Liputan 6 SCTV. She is currently the editor-in-chief of the news channel Kompas TV.
Mie Gomak is a Batak thick spicy noodle soup dish served in a coconut milk and andaliman-based broth, specialty of Toba Batak region of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Other that traditional Batak lands surrounding Lake Toba, this dish is also a specialty of the Sibolga and Tapanuli area. Unlike common Indonesian noodles, the type of noodle used in this dish is a thick one called mie lidi, quite similar to spaghetti pasta, thus mie gomak is often described as Batak style spaghetti. Mie gomak is quite similar to Mie Aceh from neighbouring province.
Duma Riris Silalahi popularly known as Duma Riris is an Indonesian actress, singer, fashion model, and beauty pageant titleholder who won the title of Puteri Indonesia Lingkungan 2007. She represented Indonesia at the Miss International 2008 pageant in Macau.
Colonel Mangaradja Sinta Mardame Sinaga was a politician and military person who served as the Regent of North Tapanuli from 1968 until 1979. He was the first military person to hold the office.
Lundu Panjaitan was a Batak politician and bureaucrat. He began his career in bureaucracy as the assistant for administrative affairs in the office of the Governor of North Sumatra and became the Regent of Central Tapanuli in 1980. Since then, he has been appointed to several high positions in North Sumatra, such as the Head of the Tourism Bureau of North Sumatra, Regent of North Tapanuli, Chairman of the Provincial Investment Coordinating Board of North Sumatra, and the Deputy Governor of North Sumatra.
Delima Silalahi is an environmental activist from North Tapanuli, Indonesia, known for her efforts in safeguarding customary forests and Indigenous rights in North Sumatra. As the executive director of the NGO Kelompok Studi dan Pengembangan Prakarsa Masyarakat (KSPPM), she orchestrated efforts to reclaim over 17,000 acres of tropical forest that had been converted by a pulp and paper company.
Tiopan Bernhard Silalahi was an Indonesian military officer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Minister of Public Servants from 1993 to 1998.
Silalahi is one of Toba Batak clans originating in North Sumatra, Indonesia. People of this clan bear the clan's name as their surname. Notable people of this clan include:
