The Lorentz River (also Unir or Undir in Indonesian, or Noordrivier in Dutch) is located in the
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, ...
n province of
South Papua
South Papua, officially the South Papua Province (), is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the southern portion of Western New Guinea, Papua, following the borders of the Papuan customary region of Anim Ha. Formally establ ...
in
Western New Guinea
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively named Papua, the region ...
, about 3,500 km northeast of the Indonesian capital
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
.
Sungai Lorentz
at Geonames.org (cc-by); Last updated 2013-06-04; Database dump downloaded 2015-11-27 It originates in the central east-west mountain range of New Guinea and flows southwards into the Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea.
Geography
The Arafura Sea is ...
at Flamingo Bay. During the first two Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
expeditions to Southern New Guinea (1907–10) it was called ''Northern River''. In 1910 it was renamed after the Dutch explorer Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz
Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz (18 September 1871 – 2 September 1944) was a Dutch explorer in New Guinea and diplomat in South Africa.
He was born to Theodorus Apolonius Ninus Lorentz, a tobacco grower in East Java who had returned to the ...
. After it became part of Indonesia, it was renamed to Unir, as in the language of the local Asmat people
The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the province of South Papua, Indonesia. The Asmat inhabit a region on the island's southwestern coast bordering the Arafura Sea, with lands totaling approximately 18,000 km2 (7,336&n ...
, while the Lorentz name is still in use.
History
At the beginning of the 20th century, the navigable part of the river played an important role in the exploration of Dutch New Guinea
Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea (, ) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. It contained ...
in western New Guinea
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively named Papua, the region ...
. Three large Dutch expeditions led from the mouth upstream to the central snow-capped mountains, which were still unexplored. The expeditions aimed to cover the Wilhelmina summit (now called ''Puncak Trikora'' ) covered by "eternal snow". The first of the three South New Guinea expeditions failed before the mountain could be reached. The second expedition reached the snow-capped foot of Wilhelmina, but it was only during the third expedition that the mountain could be conquered on 21 February 1913.
Geography
The river flows in the southwest area of Papua with a predominantly 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 ...
(designated as ''Af'' in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification).
See also
*List of drainage basins of Indonesia
This is a list of river catchment areas, also known as drainage basins, in Indonesia.
Based on the National River Basin Classification map, Indonesia has a total of 42,210 river basins organized as a basis for determining watershed management poli ...
*List of rivers of Indonesia
This is a list of rivers in Indonesia.''Map of Indonesia''. Peta Indonesia. Wawasan Nusantara. CV. Indo Prima Sarana. Accessed 29 Juli 2017.
By island
This list is arranged by island in alphabetical order, with respective tributaries indented un ...
*List of rivers of Western New Guinea
This is a partial list of rivers of Western New Guinea in Indonesia.''Map of Indonesia''. Peta Indonesia. Wawasan Nusantara. CV. Indo Prima Sarana. Accessed 29 Juli 2017.
In alphabetical order
By mouth location
From west to east:
North coast ...
*Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests
The Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southern New Guinea. The ecoregion includes the extensive swamp forests of southern and western New Guinea.
Geography
New Guinea is home to extensive sw ...
References
External links
Map and pictures of Lorentz River
from The Papua Insects Foundation.
{{coord, 5, 32, 32, S, 138, 02, 36, E, region:ID-PA_type:waterbody_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
Rivers of South Papua
Lorentz basin