Awesome Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat Located at the northwest corner of the Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in the province of West Papua, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings in Indonesia, is an archipelago consisting of over 1,500 islands around four main islands. from Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller Kofiau island. The Raja Ampat Islands are part of the Coral Triangle containing the richest marine biodiversity on earth.
Raja Ampat regency is a new regency separated from Sorong regency in 2004. The district's recent population (January 2014) is at 49,048. It covers over 40,000 km² of land and sea, which also contains the Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia's largest marine national park. This is part of a new province of West Papua called Indonesia which used to be Irian Jaya.
Raja Ampat regency is a new regency separated from Sorong regency in 2004. The district's recent population (January 2014) is at 49,048. It covers over 40,000 km² of land and sea, which also contains the Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia's largest marine national park. This is part of a new province of West Papua called Indonesia which used to be Irian Jaya.
History of Raja Ampat
The name Raja Ampat comes from a local mythology that tells of a woman who found seven eggs. Four of the seven hatch and become kings that occupy the four largest islands of Raja Ampat while the three others become ghosts, women, and stones History shows that Raja Ampat was once part of the Tidore Sultanate, an influential empire of the Moluccas. However, after the Dutch invaded Maluku, it was claimed by the Dutch. The first sightings and landing recorded by Europeans in the Ampat Islands was by Portuguese navigator Jorge de Menezes and his crew in 1526, en route from Biak, Bird's Head Peninsula, and Waigeo, to Halmahera (Ternate). The English explorer William Dampier gave his name to the Dampier Strait, which separates the island of Batanta from Waigeo island. To the east, there is a strait that separates the Batanta from Salawati. In 1759 Captain William Wilson sailed on East Indiaman Pitt navigating these waters and named a strait 'Pitt strait', after his vessel; This may be the channel between Batanta and Salawati.
Geography of Raja Ampat
The natural resources around Raja Ampat give it a great tourism potential. Many sources place Raja Ampat as one of the ten most popular places to dive while it maintains the number one ranking for undersea biodiversity.According to Conservation International, marine surveys show that marine biodiversity in the Raja Ampat region is the highest recorded on Earth. The Coral Triangle consists of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and East Timor.
The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, because Raja Ampat is the richest coral reef ecosystem in the world. The large coral colonies in this region accompanied by relatively high sea-level temperatures also indicate that coral reefs may be relatively resistant to threats such as coral bleaching and coral diseases, which are now jeopardizing the survival of other coral ecosystems around the world. The Raja Ampat Islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans.
The high marine diversity in Raja Ampat is strongly influenced by its position between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and coral and fish larvae are more easily divided between two oceans.
Raja Ampat's diversity, resilience and role as a source of larval deployment make it a global priority for marine protection. 1,508 species of fish, 537 coral species (96% exceptional of all species recorded in the world), and 699 species of molluscs, the diversity of marine life is staggering. Some areas boast of many fish and regular sharks, such as wobbegong.
The Raja Ampat Islands have at least three ponds containing harmless jellyfish, all in the Misool area. Although accessing the island is not that difficult, it takes some time. It takes six hours from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia to Sorong. Then, a boat ride to reach the island is very necessary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Ampat_Islands
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