Raja Ampat, Papua

Raja Ampat, Papua

The origin of the name of Raja Ampat by local myth comes from a woman who found seven eggs. Four grains which hatch into four princes who separated and each a king who ruled in Waigeo, Salawati, Misool Misool East and West. Meanwhile, three other eggs became a ghost, a woman, and a stone. 

In the course of history, the Raja Ampat has long been inhabited by fishing communities and implement a custom system Maluku. In this system, the people are members of a village community. Each village was led by a king. Since the establishment of the two Muslim sultanate in the Moluccas, Raja Ampat become part of theSultanate of Tidore claims. After the defeat of the Dutch Empire Tidore, Raja Ampat Islands became part of the Indian claims - Netherlands.

In Raja Ampat, there were 88 villages and 10 districts, which are autonomous regions Sorong. The total areas of Raja Ampat reach ± 46,000 km2. A total of 6000 km2 is land, sea is remaining 85%.  There are approximately 610 islands, only about 35 are inhabited island. The rest have not been settled, but already have a name, but there are also some who do not yet have a name. There were four largest islands here, namely Misool Island, Salawati Island, Island Batanta and Waigeo Island. 

Raja Ampat Islands is an area that is included in the Coral Triangle (Coral Triangle). For the uninitiated, the Coral Triangle is the area that has the richest marine biodiversity in the world. Countries included in the Coral Triangle are Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, and Australia.
It is estimated there are over 1070 species of fish in the Raja Ampat Islands. Of course there are fish - fish seed to marketable. For example, tuna fish, tuna, mackerel, grouper, napoleon wrasse, red snapper, sea cucumbers, shrimp, and lobster are abundant there. So not surprisingly, the Raja Ampat Islands majority work as fisherman.

In addition there are also carried cultured pearls, and seaweed is able to export commodities, and sold to Australia, New Zealand, China, and Japan. There are also people who manage the oil palm and coconut, Pam Island, Kofiau, and Salawati. Even some of the islands have the potential mining of gold, coal, petroleum, nickel, and friends - fellow course.

Location of Raja Ampat Islands is in the western part of the island of Papua, West Irian Jaya province, more precisely, at the head of birds of Papua. In a way, the location is 50 miles west of the Sea of Sorong.

Raja Ampat has been recognized by the world as one of the 10 best waters for diving dive alias. So, do not settle first when diving but not to the Raja Ampat! By the tourists who had to dive here, the waters of Raja Ampat considered comprehensive flora and fauna in the world. Coral (coral) reaches 537 species.