Lake Maninjau (, meaning "overlook" or "observation" in the

Minangkabau language Minangkabau (Minangkabau: , Jawi script: ; ) is an Austronesian language spoken by the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the western part of Riau, South Aceh Regency, the northern part of Bengkulu and Jambi, also in several cities throughout Ind ...

) is a

caldera lake A volcanic crater lake is a lake in a crater that was formed by explosive activity or a collapse during a volcanic eruption. Formation Lakes in calderas fill large craters formed by the collapse of a volcano during an eruption. Lakes in maars ...

West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. It is located to the west of

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi (, Jawi script, Jawi: , formerly ) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 121,028 in 2020.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. An official es ...

, at .

Formation

The Maninjau

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

was formed by a volcanic eruption estimated to have occurred around 52,000 years ago. Deposits from the eruption have been found in a radial distribution around Maninjau extending up to to the east, to the southeast, and west to the present coastline. The deposits are estimated to be distributed over and have a volume of . The caldera has a length of and a width of .

The lake

Lake Maninjau has an area of , being approximately long and wide. The average depth is , with a maximum depth of . The natural outlet for excess water is the Antokan river, located on the west side of the lake. It is the only lake in

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

which has a natural outlet to the west coast. Since 1983, this water has been used to generate

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power for West Sumatra, generated around 68 MW at maximum load. Most of the people who live around Lake Maninjau are ethnically

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see bel ...

. Villages on the shores of the lake include Maninjau and Bayur. Maninjau is a notable tourist destination in the region due to its scenery and mild climate. It is also a site for

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

Local fishing and agriculture

Two endemic species collected from the lake for local consumption and for export to markets outside the crater are ''pensi'', a species of small mussel, and ''palai rinuak'', a type of small fish. One method of preparing ''palai rinuak'' is to grill a mixture of the fish along with coconut and spices, wrapped in a banana leaf. The lake is used for

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

, using ''karamba'' floating net cages. The technique was introduced in 1992 and, by 1997, there were over 2,000 cage units with over 600 households engaged. Each cage may have 3-4 production cycles each year. There is evidence of pollution around some ''karamba'' areas. On the edge of the lake, land use includes rice fields in the swamps and the lower slopes. The villages are bordered uphill by a large belt of forest-like tree gardens, which dissolve into the upper

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

on the steepest parts of the slopes up to the ridge of the caldera. The tree gardens include three typical components: * Fruit trees including

durian The durian () is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognized species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species ...

jack fruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in diameter. A ...

, cempedak,

rambutan Rambutan ( ; ; ''Nephelium lappaceum'') is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to several other ed ...

langsat ''Lansium domesticum'', commonly known as langsat () or lanzones, ,--) is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species is native to Southeast Asia, from peninsular Thailand and Malaysia to I ...

, golden berries and water apples. * Timber species including

Toona sinensis ''Toona sinensis'', common name, commonly called Chinese mahogany, Chinese cedar, Chinese toon, beef and onion plant, or red toon (; ; ; ; ) is a species of ''Toona'' native to eastern and southeastern Asia, ranging from northern Korean peninsula ...

and

Pterospermum javanicum ''Pterospermum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. Its species are tropical trees that range from southern China across tropical Asia. Traditionally included in the family (biology), family Sterculiaceae, it is incl ...

. * Spice trees including

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

and

cardamum Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are re ...

Sukarno's pantun

The first president of Indonesia,

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

, visited the area in early June 1948. A ''

pantun ''Pantun'' ( Jawi: ) is a Malayic oral poetic form used to express intricate ideas and emotions. It generally consists of an even number of lines and is based on ABAB rhyming schemes. The shortest consists of two lines, known as the in Mal ...

'' he wrote about the lake reads:

References

External links