South Tapanuli (Tapanuli Selatan in

Indonesian Language Indonesian ( ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has be ...

, abbreviated Tapsel) is a regency in

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

, Indonesia. Its seat is the town of

Sipirok Sipirok is a town in North Sumatra province of Indonesia and the seat (capital) of South Tapanuli Regency. It is known for the Batu Jomba Sipirok, a badly maintained highway which becomes difficult and dangerous during wet weather. Notable residen ...

. This regency was originally very large and contained thousands of towns and villages, including the city of

Padang Sidempuan Padangsidempuan (sometimes written as Padangsidimpuan or Padang Sidempuan) is a city in North Sumatra, Indonesia, and the former capital of South Tapanuli Regency, which surrounds the city. It has an area of 159.28 km² and a population of 17 ...

. The areas that have separated from South Tapanuli Regency are the new regencies of Mandailing Natal, Padang Lawas Utara and Padang Lawas, all lying to the south-east of the residual South Tapanuli Regency, plus the city (''kota'') of

. After the division, the

regency seat A regency seat ( id, Ibu kota kabupaten) is an capital or seat of government of a regency in Indonesia. It is roughly equivalent of county seat in the United States or county town in the United Kingdom. Legally, regency seats are not administrat ...

moved to from Padang Sidempuan to Sipirok. The regency covers an area of 4,355.35 square kilometers and had a population of 264,108 at the 2010 census and 300,911 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. These figures exclude the city of

, which is virtually surrounded by South Tananuli territory but is independently administered. There are several attractions in the regency, including Lake Marsabut and Lake Siais. The language used by the people is the Angkola Batak language. The majority religion of the population is

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. An

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

is located at Aek Godang in Hulu Sihapas District,

North Padang Lawas Regency North Padang Lawas (''Padang Lawas Utara'') is a regency in North Sumatra province of Indonesia. It has an area of 3,918.05 km2, and had a population of 223,049 at the 2010 census and 260,720 at the 2020 census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, ...

Administration

At the 2010 Census, the regency was divided into twelve

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s (''kecamatan''). Subsequently, three additional districts (Tano Tombangan Angkola, Angkola Muara Tais and Angkola Sangkunur) have been created by the division of existing districts. The districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages (''desa'' and ''kelurahan'', 248 in total) in each district and its post code. Notes:
(a) the 2010 population of the new Tano Tombangan Angkola District is included in the figure for Sayur Matinggi District, from which it was split off.
(b) the 2010 population of the new Angkola Muara Tais District is included in the figure for Batang Angkola District, from which it was split off.
(c) the 2010 population of the new Angkola Sangkunur District is included in the figure for Angkola Barat District, from which it was split off.

Geography

Location

To the north, the district is bordered by the

Central Tapanuli Regency Central Tapanuli Regency (''Tapanuli Tengah'' in Indonesia) is a regency in North Sumatra province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The seat of regency government is at Pandan. The regency covers an area of 2,194.98 km2 and it had a population of 311,232 at ...

and

North Tapanuli Regency North Tapanuli Regency (''Tapanuli Utara'' - in Indonesian, "utara" means "north") is a landlocked regency in North Sumatra province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Its capital is Tarutung. The regency covers an area of 3,793.71 square kilometres and it had ...

. The regency borders the

Padang Lawas Regency Padang Lawas is a regency in North Sumatra province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 3,912.18 km2, and had a population of 226,807 at the 2010 Census and 261,011 at the 2020 Census. Its administrative seat is the town of Sibuhuan. Padang Lawas ...

in the east, and to the north, the west and the south it borders the

Mandailing Natal Regency Mandailing Natal, abbreviated as Madina, is a regency in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 6,620.70 square kilometres and it had a population of 403,894 people at the 2010 census and 472,886 at the 2020 Census. The capital ...

. In the middle of the South Tananuli Regency is Padang Sidimpuan City, which is entirely surrounded by this Regency.

Sights

Sampuran Waterfall (Damparan - Tapsel) Jul2013 01

Sights include a waterfall in Damparan Hauntas, in Saipar Dolok Hole District.

Archaeology

The

Padang Lawas archaeological site Padang Lawas is an archaeological site in Indonesia in Padang Lawas Regency and North Padang Lawas Regency in North Sumatra. The remains of Hindu-Buddhist temple complex are located there. The most well-preserved temple are the Bahal temple comp ...

is partly located in the regency. The site covers approximately 1,500 km² in this regency and in the Padang Lawas and North Padang Lawas regencies.

Wildlife

The critically endangered

Tapanuli orangutan The Tapanuli orangutan (''Pongo tapanuliensis'') is a species of orangutan restricted to South Tapanuli in the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It is one of three known species of orangutan, alongside the Sumatran orangutan (''P. abelii''), fou ...

lives in the region. It was described as a distinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in 2017 and represents the first

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species of

great ape The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the east ...

to be described since the

bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...

in 1929. Scientists identify new species of great ape, ''Pongo tapanuliensis'' or Tapanuli orangutan, but fear its survival is already in doubt as habitat under threat.

References

Sources

*Simanjuntak, Truman, M. Hisyam, Bagyo Prasetyo, Titi Surti Nastiti (éds.), ''Archaeology: Indonesian perspective : R.P. Soejono's festschrift'', LIPI, Jakarta, 2006, Regencies of North Sumatra {{NSumatra-geo-stub