The Markham Valley is a geographical area in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The name "Markham" commemorates Sir

Clements Markham Sir Clements Robert Markham (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president for ...

, Secretary of the British

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

- Captain

John Moresby Rear Admiral John Moresby (15 March 1830 – 12 July 1922) was a British naval officer who explored the coast of New Guinea and was the first European to discover the site of Port Moresby. Life and career Moresby was born in Allerford, Somerset, ...

of the Royal Navy named the

Markham River The Markham River is a river in eastern Papua New Guinea. It originates in the Finisterre Range and flows for to empty into the Huon Gulf at Lae. The river was named in 1873 by Captain John Moresby, R.N., in honour of Sir Clements Markham, then ...

after Sir Clements in the course of his voyage of exploration in HMS ''Basilisk'' in 1873. The valley contains two districts of

Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...

: Huon Gulf district on the east and

Markham district Markham District is a district of the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Kaiapit Kaiapit is a town in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.

on the west. The inhabitants of the valley are of Oceanic (Austronesian) descent and live in large villages under a

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

political system. The valley is described as "Flatter than a pancake for miles and miles in all directions, until it runs into the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s that surround it on three sides" and "always hot, and usually bone dry". The

Highlands Highway The Highlands Highway, sometimes known as the Okuk Highway, is the main land highway in Papua New Guinea. It connects several major cities and is vital for the movement of people and goods between the populous Highlands region and the coast. F ...

runs through the valley. The

runs through the valley. According to one visitor, about once a year, the local

ns burn the dry grass. The Markham Valley runs from the port city of

Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...

up to the junction of the Highlands Highway and the road to

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histor ...

. The Markham Valley is approximately long and gains approximately in elevation. The dominant land use in the valley is as cattle pasture, with some sugar-cane production and chicken farming. In 1993, the valley was devastated by landslides and breached landslide dams caused by a series of earthquakes with the largest measuring 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale. Sixty people lost their lives in the disaster.

References

Valleys of Papua New Guinea {{PapuaNewGuinea-geo-stub

See also

References