The Kangean Islands or simply Kangean ( Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Kangean'') is a collective name referred to the area of Kangean (the main island) and its surrounding islands lie in the north of

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and ...

in northern Bali Sea, northwest of the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up ...

(Nusa Tenggara), administratively part of

Sumenep Regency Sumenep Regency (Indonesian: ''Kabupaten Sumenep'', Madurese: ''Kabhupatèn Songennep'', Carakan: ''꧋ꦏꦧꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦱꦺꦴꦔꦼꦤ꧀ꦤꦼꦥ꧀꧉'', Pèghu: ''كابوڤاتين سَوڠٓنّٓڤ'', Lontara': ᨀᨅᨘᨄᨈ ...

, East Java Province. It comprises a total of 91 islands altogether with 27 inhabited islands, Kangean located approximately in the north of

, the northwest of

Lombok Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is ...

, and 120 km east of Madura. Apart from the regencial administrative, the capital of Kangean is Arjasa, it is the biggest district which located in the western hemisphere of the island. The Kangean Islands has a relatively large potential of natural resources, such as

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

, and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

production.

Layout

The largest island, at about 490 km², is Kangean Island. Other islands include Paliat, Sepanjang, and several smaller islands. The towns of Arjasa and Kalikatak, both on Kangean Island, are the area's largest population centres. The Kangean islands have strong historic and ethnic ties with Madura,

West Nusa Tenggara West Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Barat – NTB) is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the exception of Bali which is its own province. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest ...

Sumbawa Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. Along with Lombok, it forms the province of West Nusa Tenggara, but th ...

South Borneo South Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Selatan) is a province of Indonesia. It is the smallest province in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of Borneo. The provincial capital was Banjarmasin until 15 February 2022 when it was legally moved to Banj ...

, and also

South Sulawesi South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sul ...

. The majority religion at Kangean is

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

. The highest elevation point on the islands is in the northeast at 1,192 feet (364 m.), while overall the islands are low in elevation. The weather tends to rain regularly. Kangean - panoramio (1)

Saltwater crocodiles The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been liste ...

are reported to be present within the island's coastal mangroves. They are administered as three districts (''kecamatan'') of

- Arjasa, Kangayan, and Sapêken. Arjasa District forms the west part of the main island, Kangayan District forms the east part of that island, and Sapêken District comprises a number of separate islands to the east and southeast of Kangean, of which Paliat and Sepanjang are the largest. Together, their population was 108,264 in the 2000 census, increasing to 123,367 in the 2010 count and to 161,056 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.

Ethnic group

The Kangeanese ( Kangeanese: ''Oréng Kangéan'', Indonesian: ''Orang Kangean'' or ''Suku Kangean'') are an Austronesian

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

native to the

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 Gui ...

n island of Kangean and its surrounding

islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

. The Kangeanese population live mostly on the Kangean Islands, making up 90% of the island group's population of 161,056.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.

Languages

The

Kangean language Kangean or Kangeanese is a language spoken in Indonesia. It is native to Kangean and the surrounding islands. Kangean lies to the north of Bali, the northwest of Lombok and the east of Madura Madura Island is an Indonesian island of ...

is mainly spoken in Kangean areas.

Exports and reserves

Since 1993 the islands have been the site of substantial

mining. The natural gas fields were first discovered and developed by the United States corporation

ARCO ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...

, which became a subsidiary of BP in 2000. In mid-2004, BP sold its Kangean holdings to an Indonesian corporation, PT Energi Mega Persada. The islands are connected to East Java via a 430 km pipeline, most of which runs underwater. Other economic activities on the islands include

, and

production.

Airstrip

In 2014, the local government agreed to reactivate an old airstrip on Kangean Island. The airstrip is 1,000 meters long and 30 meters wide.

References

External links

Map including the Kangean Islands
{{authority control Archipelagoes of Indonesia Islands of the Java Sea