New Guinea

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New Guinea
LocationNewGuinea.svg
Geography
Location Melanesia
Coordinates 530'S 14100'ECoordinates 530'S 14100'E
Archipelago Malay archipelago
Area 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi)
Area rank 2nd
Highest elevation 4,884 m (16,024 ft)
Highest point Puncak Jaya
Administration
Indonesia
Provinces Papua
West Papua
Largest settlement Jayapura
Papua New Guinea
Provinces Central
Simbu
Eastern Highlands
East Sepik
Enga
Gulf
Hela
Jiwaka
Madang
Morobe
Oro
Southern Highlands
Western
Western Highlands
West Sepik
Milne Bay
National Capital District
Largest settlement Port Moresby
Demographics
Population ~ 11,306,940 (2014)
Pop. density 14 km2 (36 sq mi)
Ethnic groups Papuan and Austronesian
New Guinea (Tok Pisin Niugini; Dutch Nieuw-Guinea; German Neuguinea; Indonesian
Papua or, historically, Irian) is a large island in Oceania. It is the world's
second-largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 785,753 km2
(303,381 sq mi), and the largest wholly or partly within the Southern Hemisphere
and Oceania (if excluding Australia as an island).

The island is divided between two countries Papua New Guinea to the east, and
Indonesia to the west.

Contents [hide]
1 Names
2 Geography
3 Relation to surroundings
4 Human presence
5 Political divisions
6 People
7 Biodiversity and ecology
7.1 Ecoregions
7.1.1 Terrestrial
7.1.2 Freshwater
7.1.3 Marine
8 History
8.1 Early history
8.2 Precolonial history
8.3 European contact
8.4 World War II
8.5 Since World War II
9 Notes and references
10 Bibliography
11 External links
Names[edit]

A typical map from the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography. Australasia during
the Golden Age of Dutch exploration and discovery (c. 1590s1720s) including Nova
Guinea (New Guinea), Nova Hollandia (mainland Australia), Van Diemen's Land
(Tasmania), and Nova Zeelandia (New Zealand).
The island has been known by various names

The name Papua was used to refer to parts of the island before contact with the
West.[1] Its etymology is unclear;[1] one theory states that it is from Tidore, the
language used by the Sultanate of Tidore, which controlled parts of the island's
coastal region.[2] The name came from papo (to unite) and ua (negation), which
means not united or, territory that geographically is far away (and thus not
united).[2]

Ploeg reports that the word papua is often said to derive from the Malay word papua
or pua-pua, meaning frizzly-haired, referring to the highly curly hair of the
inhabitants of these areas.[3] Another possibility, put forward by Sollewijn Gelpke
in 1993, is that it comes from the Biak phrase sup i papwa which means 'the land
below [the sunset]' and refers to the islands west of the Bird's Head, as far as
Halmahera. Whatever its origin, the name Papua came to be associated with this
area, and more especially with Halmahera, which was known to the Portuguese by this
name during the era of their colonization in this part of the world.

When the Portuguese and Spanish explorers arrived in the island via the Spice
Islands, they also referred to the island as Papua.[2] However, the name New Guinea
was later used by Westerners starting with the Spanish explorer Yigo Ortiz de
Retez in 1545, referring to the similarities of the indigenous people's appearance
with the natives of the Guinea region of Africa.[2] The name is one of several
toponyms sharing similar etymologies, ultimately meaning land of the blacks or
similar meanings, in reference to the dark skin of the inhabitants.

The Dutch, who arrived later under Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten, called it
Schouten island, but later this name was used only to refer to islands off the
north coast of Papua proper, the Schouten Islands or Biak Island. When the Dutch
colonized it as part of Netherlands East Indies, they called it Nieuw Guinea.[2]

The name Irian was used in the Indonesian language to refer to the island and
Indonesian province, as Irian Jaya Province. The name was promoted in 1945 by
Marcus Kaisiepo,[1] brother of the future governor Frans Kaisiepo. It is taken from
the Biak language of Biak Island, and means to rise, or rising spirit. Irian is the
name used in the Biak language and other languages such as Serui, Merauke and
Waropen.[2] The name was used until 2001, when the name Papua was again used for
the island and the province. The name Irian, which was originally favored by
natives, is now considered to be a name imposed by the authority of Jakarta.[1]

Geography[edit]
Regions of Oceania Australasia, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia.
Physiographically, Australasia includes the Australian landmass (including
Tasmania), New Zealand, and New Guinea.

New Guinea located in relation to Melanesia

New Guinea map of Kppen climate classification

Topographical map of New Guinea

New Guinea is an island to the north of Australia, but south of the equator. It is
isolated by the Arafura Sea to the west, and the Torres Strait and Coral Sea to the
east. Sometimes considered to be the easternmost island of the Malay archipelago,
it lies north of Australia's Top End, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York
peninsula, and west of the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands
Archipelago.

Politically, the western half of the island comprises two provinces of Indonesia
Papua and West Papua. The eastern half forms the mainland of the country of Papua
New Guinea (PNG).

The shape of New Guinea is often compared to that of a bird-of-paradise (indigenous

to the island), and this results in the usual names for the two extremes of the
island the Bird's Head Peninsula in the northwest (Vogelkop in Dutch, Kepala Burung
in Indonesian; also known as the Doberai Peninsula), and the Bird's Tail Peninsula
in the southeast (also known as the Papuan Peninsula).

A spine of eastwest mountains, the New Guinea Highlands, dominates the geography
of New Guinea, stretching over 1,600 km (1,000 mi) from the 'head' to the 'tail' of
the island. The western half of the island of New Guinea contains the highest
mountains in Oceania, rising up to 4,884 m (16,024 ft) high, and ensuring a steady
supply of rain from the equatorial atmosphere. The tree line is around 4,000 m
(13,100 ft) elevation and the tallest peaks contain permanent equatorial
glacierswhich have been retreating since at least 1936.[4][5][6] Various other
smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges. Except in
high elevations, most areas possess a warm humid climate throughout the year, with
some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season.

The highest peaks on the island of New Guinea are

Puncak Jaya, sometimes known by its former Dutch name Carstensz Pyramid, is a mist-
covered limestone mountain peak on the Indonesian side of the border. At 4,884
metres (16,024 ft), Puncak Jaya makes New Guinea the world's fourth-highest
landmass.
Puncak Mandala, also located in Papua, is the second-highest peak on the island at
4,760 metres (15,617 ft).
Puncak Trikora, also in Papua, is 4,750 metres (15,584 ft).
Mount Wilhelm is the highest peak on the PNG side of the border at 4,509 metres
(14,793 ft). Its granite peak is the highest point of the Bismarck Range.
Mount Giluwe 4,368 metres (14,331 ft) is the second-highest summit in PNG. It is
also the highest volcanic peak in Oceania.

Mount Bosavi
Another major habitat feature is the vast southern and northern lowlands.
Stretching for hundreds of kilometres, these include lowland rainforests, extensive
wetlands, savanna grasslands, and some of the largest expanses of mangrove forest
in the world. The southern lowlands are the site of Lorentz National Park, also a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The northern lowlands are drained principally by the
Mamberamo River and its tributarie