Cenderawasih Bay ( id, Teluk Cenderawasih, "Bird of Paradise Bay"), also known as Sarera Bay ( id, Teluk Sarera) and formerly Geelvink Bay ( nl, Geelvinkbaai), is a large bay in northern

Province of Papua A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Central Papua Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province ( id, Provinsi Papua Tengah) is an Indonesian province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 11 November 2022 from the former eight western regen ...

and West Papua, New Guinea, Indonesia.

Geography

''Cenderawasih Bay'' is a large bay to the northwest of the Indonesian province of Papua, north of the province of Central Papua, and east of the province of West Papua, between the

Bird's Head Peninsula The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces o ...

and the mouth of the Mamberamo River. The bay is more than 300 kilometers wide. The coastline from

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pro ...

, in the northwest of the bay, to Cape d'Urville at the mouth of the Mamberamo is more than 700 kilometers long. To the south, the Wandammen peninsula heads north into the bay. Important places along the coast are Manokwari,

Ransiki , nickname = , motto = , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , imag ...

, Wasior and

Nabire Nabire is a town in the Indonesian province of Central Papua, at the western end of New Guinea. The town is the administrative seat of the Nabire Regency, and has been designated to be the administrative capital of the new province. It is served b ...

. The Wamma River, Tabai River, Warenai River, and

Wapoga River The Wapoga River is a river in northern New Guinea, Indonesia. It is a tributary of the Warenai River. The Wapoga River basin and surrounding mountains were surveyed by a team of scientists organized by Conservation International in 1998. The rai ...

empty into the Bay.

History

UB Utrecht - Nova Guinea Vol 4 - Karte 2 - Karte des Geelvink-Busens

The Dutch name of the bay was after the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

''De Geelvink'' with which Jacob Weyland sailed through the bay in 1705. The Dutch frigate was named after

Geelvinck Geelvinck (" yellow finch") was a Dutch surname. The family died out in the early 19th century. Some notable members of the family include: * Jan Cornelis Geelvinck, the son of a merchant in beans and peas, and involved in the West India Company. ...

family. The Tidore Sultanate had tributary ties with the region. Seafarers from the area used to regularly pay homage to the sultan.Slama, Martin (2015),
Papua as an Islamic Frontier: Preaching in 'the Jungle' and the Multiplicity of Spatio-Temporal Hierarchisations", ''From 'Stone-Age' to 'Real-Time': Exploring Papuan Temporalities, Mobilities and Religiosities''
ANU Press, pp. 243–270,

Marine National park

Teluk Cenderawasih National Park Teluk Cenderawasih National Park is the largest marine national park of Indonesia, located in Cenderawasih Bay, south-east of Bird's Head Peninsula. It includes the islands of Mioswaar, Nusrowi Island, Roon, Rumberpon, Anggrameos and Yoop.

is located in the Teluk Cenderawasih. In the Cenderawasih Bay extensive

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. ...

exists. Parts of the area have been declared a protected marine reserve of 1.5 million hectares, the largest natural park in Southeast Asia. The western part of the bay was declared a marine national park in 2002. The Wondiwoi/Wandammen Natural Reserve of 730 km2 protects the great biodiversity of the Wandammen Peninsula.

Islands

In the bay is the archipelago known as the

Schouten Islands The Schouten Islands ( id, Kepulauan Biak, also Biak Islands or Geelvink Islands) are an island group of Papua province, eastern Indonesia in the Cenderawasih Bay (or Geelvink Bay) 50 km off the north-western coast of the island of New ...

(also called the Biak Islands, or Geelvink Islands), comprising

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The larg ...

, the

Padaido Islands The Padaido Islands, also known as the Padaido Archipelago, is a group of Islands in Indonesia's Papua Province. They lie in Cenderawasih Bay, south and southeast of the island of Biak. The archipelago consists of many small islands and coral reef ...

, Supiori and

Numfor Numfor (also Numfoor, Noemfoor, Noemfoer) is one of the Schouten Islands (also known as the Biak Islands) in Papua province, northeastern Indonesia. It was the site of conflict between Japanese and the Allied forces during World War II, and w ...

(Numfoor). Further south in the bay is the 140 kilometer long island of

Yapen Yapen (also Japan, Jobi) is an island of Papua, Indonesia. The Yapen Strait separates Yapen and the Biak Islands to the north. It is in Cenderawasih Bay off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. To the west is Mios Num Island ...

(Japen). Smaller islands in the bay are Mios Num (''Pulau Num''), Rumberpon, Waar (or Meoswaar), Roon and Kurudu. The Mapia Islands lie to the north, and south of Palau.

West Papua Province

* Auri Islands archipelago (''Kepulauan Auri'') * Meos Waar * Rumberpon * Roon Island * Meos Angra

Papua Province

Biak Islands Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The larg ...

(aka

): **

(''Kepulauan Padaido'') **

** Supiori *

Yapen Islands Yapen Islands Regency is a regency (''kabupaten'') in Papua Province of eastern Indonesia. It covers an area of , and had a population of 82,951 at the 2010 Census and 112,676 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2021 was 114,210. It ...

** Mios Num ** Kurudu **

Ambai Islands The Ambai Islands chain (''Kepulauan Ambai'') form an archipelago of small islands off the southern coast of Yapen Island, in Cenderawasih Bay and Papua Province in Western New Guinea, northeastern Indonesia. Islands The archipelago has five ma ...

(''Kepulauan Ambai'') **

Kuran Islands The Kuran Islands (''Kepulauan Kuran'') are a group of small scattered islands, and part of the Yapen Islands archipelago in Papua Province of Western New Guinea, northeastern Indonesia. They are located off the southwestern coast of Yapen Island ...

(''Kepulauan Kuran'')

Central Papua Province

* Moora Islands archipelago (''Kepulauan Moora'') * Anggrameos Island

References

{{Authority control Bays of Indonesia Landforms of Western New Guinea Landforms of Papua (province) Landforms of West Papua (province)