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 outs ...

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 regencie ...

and West Papua,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

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 ...

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 ...

and the mouth of the

Mamberamo River The Mamberamo (''Indonesian: Sungai Mamberamo'') is the second longest river on the island of New Guinea, after Sepik River (1,146 km) and third largest in Oceania by discharge (5,500 m3/s) volume after Fly River (7,500 m3/s) and Sepik (7,000 m3/ ...

. 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 pr ...

, in the northwest of the bay, to Cape d'Urville at the mouth of the

Mamberamo The Mamberamo (''Indonesian: Sungai Mamberamo'') is the second longest river on the island of New Guinea, after Sepik River (1,146 km) and third largest in Oceania by discharge (5,500 m3/s) volume after Fly River (7,500 m3/s) and Sepik (7,000 m3/ ...

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, 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 The Wamma River (Wami River) is a river in northern part of West Papua (region), Western Papua, Papua (province), Papua province, Indonesia.

, Tabai River,

Warenai River The Warenai River is a river in northern New Guinea, Indonesia.Warenai
- Geonames.org. Tributaries include the

, and Wapoga River 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 ''De Geelvink'' with which :nl:Jacob Weyland, Jacob Weyland sailed through the bay in 1705. The Dutch frigate was named after Geelvinck family. The Sultanate of Tidore, 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 is located in the Teluk Cenderawasih. In the Cenderawasih Bay extensive coral reefs 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 Teluk Cenderawasih National Park, 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 (also called the Biak Islands, or Geelvink Islands), comprising Biak, the Padaido Islands, Supiori Island, Supiori and Numfor (Numfoor). Further south in the bay is the 140 kilometer long island of Yapen (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

* Schouten Islands, Biak Islands (aka Schouten Islands): ** Biak ** Padaido Islands (''Kepulauan Padaido'') ** Numfor ** Supiori Island, Supiori * Yapen Islands Regency, Yapen Islands ** Yapen ** Mios Num ** Kurudu ** Ambai Islands (''Kepulauan Ambai'') ** Kuran Islands (''Kepulauan Kuran'')

Central Papua Province

* Nabire Regency, Moora Islands archipelago (''Kepulauan Moora'') * Anggrameos Island

References

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