Penajam (), formerly known as Balikpapan Seberang until 1987, is a district and the administrative capital of Penajam North Paser Regency, in

East Kalimantan East Kalimantan (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo/Kalimantan. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the cu ...

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, ...

. As of 2023, it was inhabited by 95,358 people, and currently has the total area of 1,207.37 km². Its district seat is located at the village of Nipah-Nipah. The district borders Sepaku to the north, Waru to the southwest, and Long Kali, Paser to the west. It is also separated from

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...

(of which the district formerly part of it until 1987) by the Balikpapan Bay to northeast.

History

Etymology

According to local legends, a group of robbers from this town were defeated by another group of robbers from Sangkulirang. This situation forced them to stop () becoming robbers. This word eventually evolved into its current form, Penajam.

Modern history

On 24 April 1969, Penajam was transferred from

Kutai Kutai is a historical region in what is now the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The region shares its name with the native ethnic group of the region (known as 'the Kutai people'), with a total population arou ...

by gubernatorial decree 55/TH-Pem/SK/1969. Since that date, the district had been known as Balikpapan Seberang (lit. "opposite of Balikpapan") until 13 October 1987, when it was transferred again to Pasir Regency by government regulation number 21, and the name change was reverted. On 11 June 1996, the northern parts of the district (12 villages) were separated to form Sepaku. On 16 October 2019, riots sparked at Penajam following an assault case at Nipah-Nipah Beach, causing damages on nearby buildings.

Geography

Climate

Penajam has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Governance

Villages

Penajam is divided into the following 23 villages (the rest are urban , rural are marked by grey background):

References

Districts of Penajam North Paser Regency Regency seats of East Kalimantan {{EKalimantan-geo-stub