Sepik
Sediment plumes at the mouth of the Sepik and Ramu rivers
Countries	Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
Regions	Sandaun, Papua, East Sepik
Length	1,126 km (700 mi)
Watershed	80,321 km² (31,012 sq mi) [1]
Source
- location	Victor Emanuel Range, Papua New Guinea
- coordinates	5°13′S 141°49′E / -5.217, 141.817
- elevation	2,170 m (7,119 ft)
Mouth
- location	Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- coordinates	3°50′30″S 144°32′30″E / -3.84167, 144.54167
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Major tributaries
- left	Yellow River
- right	April River, Karawari, Yuat, Keram
Location of the Sepik River

The Sepik is the longest river on the island of New Guinea. New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun and East Sepik, with a small section flowing through the Indonesian province of Papua. Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania Sandaun Province, officially West Sepik Province, is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea. East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also

The Sepik, pronounced "sea-pick", is one of the great river systems of the world. It has a large catchment area and landforms that include swamplands, tropical rainforests and mountains. Biologically, the river system is possibly the largest uncontaminated freshwater wetland system in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia-Pacific or APAC is the area generally regarded as encompassing Littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the ^[2]

Description

The river originates in the Victor Emanuel Range in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea. From its mountain headwaters near Telefomin, it travels north-west and leaves the mountains abruptly near Yapsei. Telefomin is a station town on the border of Sandaun and Western Provinces in Papua New Guinea. From here it flows into Indonesian Papua, before turning back north-east for the majority of its journey following the Great Depression. Along its course it receives numerous tributaries from the Bewani and Torricelli Mountains to the north and the Central Range to the south. Bewani Mountains is a Mountain range in northwestern Papua New Guinea, at. Torricelli Mountains is a Mountain range in Sandaun Province, northwestern Papua New Guinea, at. The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, are a chain of Mountain ranges and intermountain Valleys on the

For most of the Sepik's length the river winds in serpentine fashion, like the Amazon River, to the Bismarck Sea off northern Papua New Guinea. The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas Río Amazonas of South America is the largest river in the world by volume with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers The Bismarck Sea lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean to the north of the island of Papua New Guinea and to the south of the Bismarck Archipelago and Unlike many other large rivers, the Sepik has no delta whatsoever, but flows straight into the sea, about 100 kilometres (60 mi) east of the town of Wewak. Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is also navigable for most of its length.

The river's total length is 1,126 kilometres (700 mi) and has a drainage basin of over 80,000 km² (30,000 mi²). ^[1] There is a 5-10 kilometres wide belt of active meanders formed by the river along most of its course that has created a floodplain up to 70 kilometres wide with extensive backwater swamps. ^[2] There are around 1500 Ox Bow and other lakes in the floodplain, the largest of which are the Chambri Lakes. An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake water body formed when a wide Meander from the mainstem of a River is cut off to create a lake The Chambri Lakes are a series of swamps and canals that are seasonally filled by the flooding of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. ^[2]

The Sepik basin is largely an undisturbed environment as there are no major urban settlements or mining and forestry activities in the river catchment. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Forestry is the Art and Science of managing forests tree Plantations and related Natural resources.

History

Local villagers have lived along the river for many millennia and the river has formed the basis for food, transport and culture.

Australian anthropologist, Ernest Chinnery, at work in the middle Sepik

Exploration

European contact with the river started in 1885 when the Germans as part of establishing German New Guinea explored the area. Ernest William Pearson Chinnery ( November 5 1887 - December 17 1972) was an Australian Anthropologist and public servant The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as German New Guinea ( Ger Deutsch-Neuguinea) was a former German Protectorate from 1884 to 1914 consisting of the northeastern part of The river was named by Dr Otto Finsch, Kaiserin Augusta, after the German Empress. Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch ( August 8 1839 - January 31 1917) was a German ethnographer naturalist and Explorer Princess Augusta Louisa Katherine of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach Duchess in Saxony ( Augusta Marie Luise Katharina von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) ( September 30 ^[3] Upon finding the river, Finsch navigated about 50 kilometres (31 mi) upstream from its mouth. ^[3]

In 1886 and 1887, further expeditions by steam boat were conducted by the Germans and over 600 kilometres (370 mi) were explored. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller ^[3] Between 1912 and 1913 the Germans sent further expeditions to explore the river and surrounding areas. They collected flora and fauna, studied local tribes and produced the first maps. The station town of Angoram was established as a base on the lower Sepik for explorations, but with the beginning of World War I, the explorations ceased. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All ^[3]

After the first World War the Australian government took trusteeship of the German colony, creating the Territory of New Guinea, and the Sepik region came under their juristriction. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Territory of New Guinea was the name given to the Australia -controlled League of Nations -mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New During this period the Australians established a station on the middle Sepik at Ambunti to conduct further explorations. ^[3]

In 1935 Sir Walter McNicoll's the new administrator of the Territory of New Guinea travelled up length of the Sepik to "have a look at the river people and the kind of country along the banks". Brigadier General Sir Walter Ramsay McNicoll CB CMG DSO (1877 &ndash 1947 was an Australian teacher soldier and colonial administrator ^[4]

World War II

The Japanese held the area throughout most of the Second World War. The Imperial Japanese Army ( IJA) ( Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国陸軍 Romaji: Dai-Nippon Teikoku World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including By the end of the war though, the Japanese had been completely surrounded after Hollandia in Netherlands New Guinea was captured in April 1944 during Operations Reckless and Persecution and Aitape had fallen during the campaign in August 1944. Jayapura City (Kota Jayapura (West Papuan - Port Numbai is the capital of Papua province Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. Netherlands New Guinea was the official name of Western New Guinea while it was a colonial possession of the Netherlands. Operation Reckless and Operation Persecution, April 21 - April 27, 1944 also known as the invasion of Hollandia, the Hollandia Aitape is a small town of about 8000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun province The Aitape-Wewak campaign took place in northern New Guinea between November 1944 and August 1945 The battle to defeat the remaining forces by the Australian Army was hard fought and drawn out due to the terrain. The Australian Army is Australia's military land force It is part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF along with the Royal Australian Navy and the

The Australians eventually pushed the Japanese back to the village of Timbunke on the middle Sepik in July 1945. After an Australian RAAF plane landed 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Timbunke the Japanese suspected that the villagers had collaborated with the Australians and proceeded to massacre 100 of the villagers. The Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. ^[5] Eventually the Japanese were defeated and surrendered at Wewak in September 1945. Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea.

Sepik art

The tribes living along the river are noted for their magnificent carvings and elaborate manhood initiation ceremonies involving scarification of designs of a crocodile on a riverbank. Initiation is a Rite of passage Ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society Scarifying involves scratching etching or some sort of superficial cutting or incision

References

External links

• http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/png/about_destin/sepik.html
• http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/sepikriv/sepikmrv.htm
• Alcheringa Gallery - gallery of contemporary Sepik art

Image gallery

Korogo Village, Sepik River, PNG, 1975. Franz Luthi

Sepik River initiation - crocodile scarification. Korogo village, 1975. Franz Luthi

Sawfish mask, middle Sepik River, early 20th century