All Topics  
Sunda Strait

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Sunda Strait
 
 
  Topics Sunda Strait Topic Home

The Sunda Strait (Indonesian
Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Malay language from the Riau islands in western Indonesia, today called Riau Indonesian....
: Selat Sunda) is the strait
Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or...
 between the Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n islands of Java and Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
. It connects the Java Sea
Java Sea

The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east....
 to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
. The name comes from the Indonesian term Pasundan, "West Java".

strait stretches in a roughly north-east/south-west orientation, with a minimum width of 24 km (15 miles) at its north-eastern end between Cape Tua on Sumatra and Cape Pujat on Java.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Sunda Strait'
Start a new discussion about 'Sunda Strait'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Sunda Strait Map V3
The Sunda Strait (Indonesian
Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Malay language from the Riau islands in western Indonesia, today called Riau Indonesian....
: Selat Sunda) is the strait
Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, navigable channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example because it is too shallow, or...
 between the Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n islands of Java and Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
. It connects the Java Sea
Java Sea

The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east....
 to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
. The name comes from the Indonesian term Pasundan, "West Java".

Geography

The strait stretches in a roughly north-east/south-west orientation, with a minimum width of 24 km (15 miles) at its north-eastern end between Cape Tua on Sumatra and Cape Pujat on Java. It is very deep at its western end but as it narrows to the east it becomes much shallower, with a depth of only 20 m (65 feet) in parts of the eastern end. This makes it notoriously difficult to navigate, with sandbanks, very strong tidal flows and man-made obstructions such as oil rig
Oil rig

Oil rig may refer to* Drilling rig - for on-land oil drilling* Oil platform - for offshore oil drilling...
s off the Java coast. It has been an important shipping route for centuries, especially during the period when the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was a trading company, which was established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia....
 used it as the gateway to the Spice Islands of Indonesia (1602-1799). The strait's narrowness, shallowness and lack of accurate charting make it unsuitable for many modern large ships, most of which use the Strait of Malacca
Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is a narrow, 805 km stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is named after the state of Melaka, Malaysia....
 instead.

The strait is dotted by a number of small islands, including Sangiang
Sangiang

Sangiang is an island midway in the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. Administratively it is a part of Banten province of western Java....
 (Thwart-the-Way), Sebesi
Sebesi

Sebesi is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It lies about 12 km to the north of the Krakatoa Islands and is the closest large island, about the same area and height as the remmant of Rakata....
, Sebuku
Sebuku

Sebuku is an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. It is one of the larger islands in the strait and lies just to the north of Sebesi....
, Panaitan
Panaitan

Panaitan is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It is the largest island in the strait, and is located near the westernmost tip of Java ....
 (Prince's) and most notably, the Krakatoa Islands: Lang
Lang Island

Lang Island lies in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, in Indonesia. It is one of the Krakatoa Islands, near the famous volcano. Lang suffered only slightly in the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa; it actually grew in area from massive pumice fall, although most of the additional area washed away within several years....
 (Panjang or Rakata Kecil), Verlaten
Verlaten

Verlaten Island is an island in the Sunda Strait in Indonesia, between Java and Sumatra. It is one of the Krakatoa Islands, near the famous volcano....
 (Sertung), Krakatoa
Krakatoa

Krakatoa , also spelled Krakatao, is a Island#Oceanic islands in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole....
, and Anak Krakatoa. Many of these (including Sebesi
Sebesi

Sebesi is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It lies about 12 km to the north of the Krakatoa Islands and is the closest large island, about the same area and height as the remmant of Rakata....
 and Panaitan
Panaitan

Panaitan is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It is the largest island in the strait, and is located near the westernmost tip of Java ....
) are volcanic in origin, but the best known volcano is Krakatoa
Krakatoa

Krakatoa , also spelled Krakatao, is a Island#Oceanic islands in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole....
.The islands in the strait and the nearby surrounding regions of Java and Sumatra were devastated by the eruption of Krakatoa
Krakatoa

Krakatoa , also spelled Krakatao, is a Island#Oceanic islands in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole....
 in 1883, primarily due to intense pumice fall and huge tsunami
Tsunami

A is a series of ocean surface wave that is created when a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced. The Japanese term is literally translated into " harbor wave."...
s caused by the collapse of the volcano. The eruption drastically altered the topography of the strait, with as much as 18-21 km³ of ignimbrite
Ignimbrite

Ignimbrite is a volcano pyroclastic rock, often of dacitic or rhyolitic composition."Ignimbrite" is the deposit of a pumice rich pyroclastic density current, or 'pyroclastic flow', a hot suspension of particles and gases that flows rapidly from a volcano, driven by a greater density than the surrounding atmosphere....
 being deposited over an area of 1.1 million km² around the volcano. Some areas have never been resettled (such as the coastal region of Java now incorporated into the Ujung Kulon National Park
Ujung Kulon National Park

Ujung Kulon National Park is located at the western-most tip of Java , Indonesia. It includes the volcanic island group of Krakatoa and other islands including Handeuleum and Peucang....
), but much of the coastline is now very densely populated.

The Battle of Sunda Strait

On March 1, 1942, the Battle of Sunda Strait
Battle of Sunda Strait

The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II. On the night of February 28 ? March 1, 1942, the United States cruiser USS Houston and the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth faced a major Imperial Japanese Navy task force....
 - part of the larger Battle of the Java Sea
Battle of the Java Sea

The Battle of the Java Sea was a major naval battle of the Pacific War of World War II. Allies of World War II navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy, on February 27, 1942, and in secondary actions over successive days....
 - took place when the Allied cruiser
Cruiser

A cruiser is a large type of warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The first cruisers were intended for individual raiding and protection missions on the seas....
s HMAS Perth
HMAS Perth (D29)

HMAS Perth was a Leander class cruiser which served with the Royal Australian Navy during World War II.Perth, the first ship to be named after the city of Perth, Western Australia, was the first of its class to be modified for Australia....
 and USS Houston
USS Houston (CA-30)

USS Houston , nicknamed the "Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast", was a Northampton class cruiser heavy cruiser of the United States Navy. She was the second ship to bear the name "Houston."...
 encountered a Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese amphibious landing force near Bantam
Bantam (city)

Bantam in Banten near the western end of Java was a strategically important site and formerly a major trading city, with a secure harbor on the Sunda Strait through which all ocean-going traffic passed, at the mouth of Cibanten River that provided a navigable passage for light craft into the island's interior which itself provides a good acc...
 commanded by Rear Admiral Kenzaburo Hara
Kenzaburo Hara

Kenzaburo Hara Former House of Representatives of Japan Speaker Kenzaburo Hara, who had served as a legislator for 54 years until he retired in 2000, died of heart failure in Tokyo Saturday, his family said....
, which included aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a navy force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations....
s, three cruisers and ten destroyer
Destroyer

In navy terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers ....
s. The two Allied cruisers were sunk but a Japanese minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations....
 and a transport vessel were sunk by friendly fire.

Planned Bridge

In the 1960s proposals were made for a bridge across the Sunda Strait, and in the 1990s further suggestions arose. In October 2007 the proposal to bridge the strait
Sunda Strait Bridge

The Sunda Strait Bridge is a planned road and railway connection between the two Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. After years of discussion and planning, eventually in October 2007 the Indonesian government gave the initial go-ahead for what will become the world?s longest suspension bridge, across the Sunda Strait....
 was made again and apparent construction and completion dates have been announced. The islands of Ular
Ular

Ular could refer to:* Ular, Indonesia, an island in the Sunda Strait considered as a stepping-stone for the Sunda Strait Bridge project* an alternative transliteration of Volar, Afghanistan...
, Sangiang
Sangiang

Sangiang is an island midway in the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. Administratively it is a part of Banten province of western Java....
 and Prajurit
Prajurit

Prajurit is an islet in Indonesia some off the cost of Sumatra in the Sunda Strait.The planned Sunda Strait Bridge will utilise the islet....
 will be utilised, and it will be above sea level to facilitate ease of passage for all shipping

See also


Islands in the Strait

  • Anak Krakatoa
  • Calmeyer
    Calmeyer

    Calmeyer was an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. It, and a neighboring island Steers , were created from volcanic products from the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, in the Sebesi Channel between Krakatoa and Sebesi, which was a fairly shallow area ....
  • Krakatoa
    Krakatoa

    Krakatoa , also spelled Krakatao, is a Island#Oceanic islands in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole....
    • Danan
      Danan

      Danan was one of the three volcanic cones on the island of Krakatoa, in the Sunda Strait, in Indonesia. It lay in the center area of the island, and may have been a twin volcano....
      , volcanic cone on Krakatoa
    • Perboewatan
      Perboewatan

      Perboewatan was one of the three main volcanic cones on the island of Krakatoa , in the Sunda Strait, in Indonesia. It was the lowest and northernmost of the cones....
      , volcanic cone on Krakatoa
    • Rakata
      Rakata

      Rakata is a stratovolcano on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java . It is the largest, and southernmost, of three volcanoes that formed the island Krakatoa and the only one not totally destroyed in the eruption of 1883....
      , volcanic cone on Krakatoa
  • Legundi
    Legundi

    Legundi is an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. It is one of the larger islands in the Strait, and lies at the western end of Sumatra's Lampong Bay....
  • Panaitan
    Panaitan

    Panaitan is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It is the largest island in the strait, and is located near the westernmost tip of Java ....
     (Prince's Island)
  • Panjang, or Rakata Ketjil (Lang)
  • Polish Hat
  • Sangiang
    Sangiang

    Sangiang is an island midway in the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. Administratively it is a part of Banten province of western Java....
     (Thwart-the-way)
  • Sebesi
    Sebesi

    Sebesi is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It lies about 12 km to the north of the Krakatoa Islands and is the closest large island, about the same area and height as the remmant of Rakata....
  • Sebuku
    Sebuku

    Sebuku is an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. It is one of the larger islands in the strait and lies just to the north of Sebesi....
  • Sertung (Verlaten)
  • Steers (island)
    Steers (island)

    Steers was an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. It, and a neighboring island Calmeyer, were created from volcanic products from the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, in the Sebesi Channel between Krakatoa and Sebesi, which was a fairly shallow area ....
  • Tabuan
    Tabuan

    Tabuan is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It is one of the larger islands in the strait, and lies at the entrance to Sumatra's Semangka Bay....


Bays

  • Lampung Bay, Sumatra
  • Semangka Bay, Sumatra
  • Welcome Bay, Java


Other

  • Java Head
  • Kra Canal
  • Lombok Strait
    Lombok Strait

    The Lombok Strait is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia.Its narrowest point is at its southern opening, with a width of only 18 km, but at the northern opening it is 40 km across....
  • Makassar Strait
    Makassar Strait

    Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea....
  • Malaccamax
    Malaccamax

    Malaccamax is a naval architecture term for the largest size of ship capable of fitting through the -deep Strait of Malacca. Because the Sunda Strait is even shallower at minimum depth, a post-Malaccamax ship would need to use even longer alternate routes such as:...