The Star Mountains ( Dutch (

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

)'': Sterrengebergte'';

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesia ...

'': Pegunungan Bintang'') are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in western

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the eastern end of Highland Papua,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, stretching from the eastern end of Indonesia to the Hindenburg Range in Papua New Guinea. The Indonesian

Pegunungan Bintang Regency Pegunungan Bintang Regency, or Bintang Mountains Regency is a regency in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It covers an area of 15,683 km2, and had a population of 65,434 at the 2010 Census and 77,872 at the 2020 Census. The administ ...

and Star Mountains Rural LLG in Papua New Guinea are named after the mountain range.

History

The earlier Western expedition to the mountains was led by

Jan Sneep Jan Sneep (died 16 January 2016 in Voorschoten) was a Dutch civil servant and adventurer, best known for the 7-month, thousand-mile Franco-Dutch expedition across what was then Netherlands New Guinea, led by Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau. Sneep was ...

, a Dutch colonial civil servant who operated from the Sibil Valley. The expedition, which started in April 1959, mapped the terrain and collected anthropological data of the people who lived in the area. The expedition used two small Bell helicopters, but the altitudes severely limited their effectiveness and one of them crashed, forcing the expedition to rely more on traditional man power. Climbers from the expedition reached the peak of

Puncak Mandala Puncak Mandala or Mandala Peak (until 1963 Julianatop or Juliana Peak) is a mountain located in Highland Papua, Indonesia. At , it is the highest point of the Jayawijaya (Orange) Range and included in Seven Second Summits. Following Mount Carst ...

on 9 September 1959.

Climate

The Star Mountains have an annual rainfall of more than 10,000 mm/year, and although no official scientific weather station has ever been established it has been claimed to be one of the wettest places on earth.

Languages

In terms of the number of independent

language families A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in his ...

, the Star Mountains are one of the most linguistically diverse regions in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

. These language families and isolates include: * Pauwasi ** Eastern Pauwasi ** Western Pauwasi (Tebi–Towei) * Kwomtari ** Fas, Baibai ** Guriaso ** Kwomtari, Nai-Biaka ** Pyu *

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

* Kaure–Kosare *'' Kapauri'' * Lepki-Murkim * Senagi ( Angor-

Dera Dera, Dero, Daro, Dhoro, Dahar or Dehra is a word in several languages of South Asia, whose meaning is ' camp', 'mound' or 'settlement'. It appears in the names of a number of places. Geography India * Dera, Himachal Pradesh * Dera Bassi, Mo ...

) * Tofanma-Namla *'' Elseng'' *'' Kembra'' *'' Kimki'' *'' Molof'' *''

Usku Usku, or Afra, is a nearly extinct and poorly documented Papuan language spoken by 20 or more people, mostly adults, in Usku village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency, Papua, Indonesia. Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Tran ...

'' *'' Yetfa''

References

External links

Photos from Star Mountains

Dutch Star Mountains expedition
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Western New Guinea Mountain ranges of Papua New Guinea