Republic of Indonesia
Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago, with more than 17,500 islands that scattered between 6 degrees north latitude to 11 degrees south latitude and from 9 degrees to 141 degrees east longitude. Indonesia bridges two continents, Asia and Australia/Oceania. This strategic position profoundly influences the country's culture, social and political life, and the economy.

 

Spanning the length of 3,977 miles from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, if its territorial waters were included, the total area of Indonesia would cover 1.9 million square miles.

 

The five major islands of Indonesia are: Sumatra with an area of 473,606 square km, Java with an area of 132,107 square km, Kalimantan with 539,460 square km, Sulawesi with 189,216 square km, and Papua covering an area of 421,981 square km.

 

The climate and weather of Indonesia is characterized by two tropical seasons, which vary with the equatorial air circulation (The Walker Circulation) and the meridian air circulation (The Hardley Circulation). The displacement of the latter follows the north-south movement of the sun and its relative position form the earth, in particular from the continents of Asia and Australia, at certain periods of the year.

 

These factors contribute to the displacement and instensity of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which is an equatorial trough of low pressure that produces rain. Thus, the west and east monsoons, or the rainy and dry seasons, are a prevalent feature of the tropical climate.

 

The climate changes every six months. The dry season (June to September) is influenced by the Australian continental air masses; while the rainy season (December to March) is the result of the Asian and Pacific Ocean air masses. The air contains vapor which precipitates and produces rain in the country. Tropical areas have rains almost the whole year through. However, the climate of Central Maluku is an exception. The rainy season is from June to September and the dry season from December to March. The transitional periods between the two seasons are April to May and October to November.

 

Due to the large number of islands and mountains in the country, average temperatures may be classified as follows: coastal plains : 28°C inland and mountain areas : 26°C higher mountain areas: 23°C, varying with the altitude.

 

Being in a tropical zone, Indonesia has an average relative humidity between 70% and 90%, with a minimum of 73% and a maximum of 87%.

 

Sriwijaya...Majapahit...Mataram...Spice Islands... Dutch East Indies...... over the centuries, the islands have been known by many different names. The modern Republic of Indonesia , born on August 17, 1945, may be relatively young among the world's roster of nations. But it embraces a people whose roots stretch deep into antiquity. Indeed, one of the earliest archaelogical discoveries of human life named "Java Man."