| Berau Gulf | |
|---|---|
| MacCleur Gulf | |
 | |
  Berau Gulf | |
| Coordinates | 2°27′46″S132°31′06″E / 2.462661°S 132.518469°E Coordinates: 2°27′46″S132°31′06″E / 2.462661°S 132.518469°E |
| Native name | Teluk Berau (Malay) |
| Primary inflows | Bintuni Bay |
| Primary outflows | Ceram Sea |
The Berau Gulf (Malay: 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 or Irian Barat, is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea, Bird's Head Peninsula and Bomberai Peninsula, along with nearby islands. The province is bordered to the north by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by the Halmahera Sea and the Ceram Sea, to the south by the Banda Sea, and to the east by the province of Papua and the Cenderawasih Bay. Manokwari is the province's capital, while Sorong is its largest city. West Papua is the second-least populous province in Indonesia, with a population of 1,134,068 at the 2020 Census.
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua or Indonesian New Guinea, is the western portion of New Guinea administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region is also called West Papua. It is considered part of the Australian continent. The territory is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and includes the Schouten and Raja Ampat archipelagoes. The region is predominantly covered with ancient rainforest where numerous traditional tribes live such as the Dani of the Baliem Valley although a large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas with the largest city being Jayapura.
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 and the major part of the Province of West Papua, Indonesia. The peninsula on the opposite side of the island is called the Bird's Tail Peninsula.
Sougb, or Sogh, is a Papuan language of the East Bird's Head language family spoken in the east of the Bird's Head Peninsula to the east of Meyah and to the south of Manokwari, including the area of Soug Jaya District, Teluk Wondama Regency. It consists of four dialects and is spoken by around 12,000 people in all. The language is alternatively known as Mantion, or Manikion, an originally derogatory term used by the Biak people.
Bomberai Peninsula is located in the Western New Guinea region, opposite to and to the south of the Bird's Head Peninsula. To the west lies the Sebakor Bay and to the south Kamrau Bay. Sabuda island lies off the western tip of the peninsula, and is separated from the mainland by Berau and Bintuni straits.
New Guinea is the world's second-largest island, and with an area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi), the largest island in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, it is separated by the 150 km wide Torres Strait from Australia. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua and West Papua. The largest cities on the island are Jayapura and Port Moresby.
Bintuni Bay is the eastward extension or inner bay of Berau Gulf off Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea. Administratively it is part of West Papua (region), Indonesia. The bay is 12 miles (19.3 km) wide at its entrance and the land on both sides is marsh.
Bintuni is a small town and administrative district (kecamatan) in West Papua, Indonesia and seat of the Teluk Bintuni Regency. It comprises two villages with a combined population of 13,795 at the 2010 Census. The town is located near the southeast coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula on Bintuni Bay. It is served by Bintuni Airport. The district had 24,742 inhabitants in 2018.
New Guinea, lying within the tropics and with extensive mountain areas, comprises a wide range of ecoregions. These include rainforests, grasslands and mangrove.
South Sorong Regency is a regency of West Papua province of Indonesia. It has an area of 7,789.92 km2, and had a population of 37,900 at the 2010 Census and 52,469 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre is the town of Teminabuan.
Teluk Bintuni Regency is a regency of West Papua Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 18,637 km2, comprising administrative districts on both sides of Bintuni Bay, a gulf which separates the Bird's Head Peninsula and Bomberai Peninsula which 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 administrative centre is the town of Bintuni.
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”.
Erokwanas is a minor Austronesian language of the north coast of the Bomberai Peninsula of Western New Guinea in Indonesia. Erokwanas speakers reside in the villages of Darembang and Goras in the Mbahamdandara District, Fakfak Regency.
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.
