Gulf of Papua facts for kids
The Gulf of Papua is a large bay found on the southern coast of New Guinea. It covers a huge area of about 70,400 square kilometers (about 27,200 square miles). This gulf is an important part of the country of Papua New Guinea.
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Geography of the Gulf
Many of New Guinea's biggest rivers flow into the Gulf of Papua. These include the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River. Because so many rivers meet here, the gulf forms a very large river delta.
The western coast of the gulf has many swampy areas with waterways affected by tides. In contrast, the land to the east, near Cape Possession, is flat and sandy.
Inland Areas and Seasons
The land further inland from the central and eastern parts of the Papuan Gulf slowly rises towards the mountainous Southern Highlands. This area is covered with different kinds of inland swamps and thick tropical forests. The western inland region has a large area of karst, which is a type of landscape made of limestone that has been shaped by water.
The dry season in the Gulf of Papua begins in October and lasts until February. After that, the wet season starts, bringing more rain to the region.
The Gulf's Shape and Depth
The southern edge of the Gulf of Papua is marked by a line that stretches from the Fly River Delta in the west to Cape Suckling in the east. This line is about 355 kilometers (220 miles) long. The gulf itself covers a sea area of about 35,000 square kilometers (13,500 square miles).
The Gulf of Papua forms a wide, flat underwater shelf. It is about 150 kilometers (93 miles) wide at its widest point, near the Fly Delta. However, it becomes much narrower, less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide, east of the Purari River delta. In the southwest, the gulf connects to the wide and shallow Torres Strait shelf, which is near the northeastern tip of Australia.
The seafloor of the Gulf of Papua can be divided into different areas. Near the coast, it's a flat, shallow area where the rivers bring in a lot of mud and sand. Further out, there are more complex areas with underwater valleys and coral reefs. Some of these valleys were likely formed by strong tidal currents during the Ice Age when sea levels were much lower.
People and How They Live
The communities living around the Papuan Gulf mostly live in villages along the shore or in coastal mangrove forests. There are also larger towns that serve as important centers for the region. These towns include Kikori, Baimuru, Ihu, Kerema, and Malalaua.
Life in the Towns
These semi-urban centers are where people can find important services. They have health clinics, high schools, and larger shops. The main government office for the Gulf Province, which manages most of the Papuan Gulf, is located in Kerema. Because of these services, these towns are home to people from many different groups who live in the Papuan Gulf.
Travel and Connections
Since the 1950s, many people from the Gulf of Papua have moved to Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea, to find work. As a result, Port Moresby has a large community of people from the Papuan Gulf. They mainly live in areas like Kaugere, Kila Kila, and Horse Camp. People in the Gulf communities can also use regional flights to travel to other parts of the country.
A paved road connects communities near Malalaua to Port Moresby. There is also a dirt road that links Kerema to Malalaua, though it can be difficult to use when it rains a lot. Despite these roads, the main ways people travel are still by canoe and by fiberglass boats with outboard motors. In the Purari Delta, it's common for people, especially men, to travel to Port Moresby at least once a year to visit family and earn money.
Food and Work
Today, people in the Gulf of Papua mostly get their food by fishing and hunting. They also rely on sago palms, which are a very important food source. Depending on the area, people also do agriculture (farming) and horticulture (gardening).
In the eastern Gulf, where the soil is higher, communities like the Toaripi and Elema have large gardens. In the west, communities like the Purari, Urama, Gope, Goaribari, and Kerewa have smaller gardens inland. They often focus on growing different kinds of fruit and nut trees.
Modern Developments
Since the early 1990s, companies have started to develop projects in the Papuan Gulf. These projects involve searching for oil and cutting down trees in the region's tropical forests. For example, an oil pipeline now runs from the Kutubu oil project in the Southern Highlands all the way to an offshore oil terminal in the Gulf of Papua.
Since the mid-1990s, several logging camps have been set up. Some of these are run by a Malaysian company called Rimbunan Hijau. Communities whose land and water are affected by these projects receive some money as royalty payments. This money allows them to buy things like rice, canned fish, and kerosene. People are still studying the long-term effects of these resource projects on the environment and the communities.
Culture and Traditions
The many different cultural groups living in the Papuan Gulf share some similar traditions. Most of them speak Non-Austronesian languages. Their family systems are often patrilineal, meaning that family lines are traced through the father's side. Communities are organized based on tribal and clan boundaries. While these boundaries have stayed strong over time, people from Gulf communities now often marry people from other groups within the region and from outside groups.
Famous Longhouses and Art
During the early colonial period (from about 1880 to 1920), communities in this region became well-known in Europe for their huge longhouses and amazing artworks. In the Purari Delta, the Purari people built houses with fronts that were 80 feet tall. These houses then sloped down along a central roof beam that was 120 feet long. In contrast, the Goaribari people, who live near the Omati and Kikori Rivers, had longhouses that were all the same height (20 feet) but could reach lengths of 600 feet!
While communities in the east (like the Purari, Elema, and Toaripi) no longer build these large houses, you can still find longhouses among the Urama, Gope, and Era River communities. These buildings were where many of the region's incredible ritual artworks were made and stored.
Rituals and Art Forms
Before people from other countries arrived, certain rituals were common in the Gulf of Papua. These included practices like headhunting and cannibalism. These rituals often involved showing off magical powers and initiating young men into adulthood. A very important part of these rituals was tribal art.
This art was mostly made from wood. It was carved with designs and painted using natural dyes like red ochre, lime (a white mineral), and coal (black). Examples of this art include sculptures, masks, bull roarers (instruments that make a roaring sound), and gope boards (carved wooden shields).
Some experts, like the British anthropologist Alfred Haddon and art historian Douglas Newton, have noticed similarities between the art forms of the Papuan Gulf and those of groups living along the Sepik River. Because of these similar styles, they have suggested that there might be a cultural connection between the two areas. However, no research has fully proven this link yet; it remains an idea based on how the art looks.
See also
In Spanish: Golfo de Papúa para niños
