The Maro River also known as Sungai Merauke and Merauke-rivier, Merauki River flows in
Merauke Regency
Merauke Regency is a regency in the far south of the Indonesian province of South Papua. It covers an area of 46,791.63 km2, and had a population of 195,716 at the 2010 Census and 230,932 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2 ...
,
Papua,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. It is located just to the west of the
Bensbach River
The Bensbach River is a river in southwestern Papua New Guinea. It is located just to the east of the Maro River in Merauke Regency, Indonesia, and just to the west of the Morehead River in Papua New Guinea.
The mouth of the river, Torasi Estua ...
of
Western Province, Papua New Guinea
Western Province is a coastal province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Papua (Indonesian province), Papua. The provincial capital (political), capital is Daru. The largest town in the province is Tabubil, Papu ...
.
Hydrology
The Maro flows from north-east to south-west, into the
Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea.
Geography
The Arafura Sea is ...
. Its total length is 207 km and width around 48 - 900.1 m. The river is strongly tidal for most of its length and its lower reaches are affected by salt water. The main tributaries are Obat, also known as Oba. Associated with the river is a complex system of
swamps
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
and
oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...
s which are of great importance for a large number of birds and reptiles. The Maro river borders the northern side of
Wasur National Park
The Wasur National Park forms part of the largest wetland in Merauke Regency, South Papua, Indonesia and has been one of the least disturbed by human activity. .
Ramsar Sites Database: Wasur National Park
, retrieved 2009-10-30
Geography
The river flows in the southern area of Papua with predominantly tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(designated as ''Am'' in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification).
See also
*List of rivers of Indonesia
This is a list of rivers in Indonesia.''Map of Indonesia''. Peta Indonesia. Wawasan Nusantara. CV. Indo Prima Sarana. Accessed 29 Juli 2017.
By island
This list is arranged by island in alphabetical order, with respective tributaries indented un ...
*List of rivers of Western New Guinea
This is a partial list of rivers of Western New Guinea in Indonesia.''Map of Indonesia''. Peta Indonesia. Wawasan Nusantara. CV. Indo Prima Sarana. Accessed 29 Juli 2017.
In alphabetical order
By mouth location
From west to east:
North coast ...
References
{{coord, 8.4734, S, 140.3503, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Rivers of South Papua
Rivers of Indonesia