| Cenderawasih Bay | |
|---|---|
| Teluk Cenderawasih (Indonesian) | |
 Location of Cenderawasih Bay | |
  Cenderawasih Bay | |
| Location | Western New Guinea |
| Coordinates | 2°30′00″S135°20′00″E / 2.50000°S 135.33333°E /-2.50000; 135.33333 |
| Type | Bay |
| Basin countries |  Indonesia |
| Max. width | 450 kilometres (280 mi) |
| Max. depth | 1,627 metres (5,338 ft) |
Cenderawasih Bay (Indonesian:Teluk Cenderawasih, "Bird of Paradise Bay"), also known asSarera Bay (Indonesian:Teluk Sarera) and formerlyGeelvink Bay (Dutch:Geelvinkbaai), is a large bay in northernProvince of Papua,Central Papua andWest Papua,New Guinea,Indonesia.[1]
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 theBird's Head Peninsula and the mouth of theMamberamo River.
The bay is more than 300 kilometers wide. The coastline fromManokwari, in the northwest of the bay, to Cape d'Urville at the mouth of theMamberamo is more than 700 kilometers long. To the south, theWandammen Peninsula heads north into the bay. Important places along the coast are Manokwari,Ransiki,Wasior andNabire.
TheWamma River,Tabai River,Warenai River, andWapoga River empty into the Bay.
The Dutch name of the bay was after thefrigateDe Geelvink with whichJacob Weyland sailed through the bay in 1705. The Dutch frigate was named afterGeelvinck family.
TheTidore Sultanate had tributary ties with the region. Seafarers from the area used to regularly pay homage to the sultan.[2]
Teluk Cenderawasih National Park is located in the Teluk Cenderawasih.In the Cenderawasih Bay extensivecoral 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 amarine national park in 2002. The Wondiwoi/Wandammen Natural Reserve of 730 km2 protects the great biodiversity of the Wandammen Peninsula.
In the bay is the archipelago known as theBiak Islands (also called the Schouten Islands, or Geelvink Islands), comprisingBiak, thePadaido Islands,Supiori andNumfor (Numfoor). Further south in the bay is the 140 kilometer long island ofYapen (Japen). Smaller islands in the bay areMios Num (Pulau Num), Rumberpon, Waar (or Meoswaar), Roon and Kurudu. TheMapia Islands lie to the north, and south ofPalau.
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