Lorentz (river)
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Lorentz Undir, Unir |
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 Lorenz during the third South New Guinea expedition (1912-13) |
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| Data | ||
| location | Papua Province , Indonesia | |
| River system | Lorentz | |
| source | southeast of the Puncak Trikora in the Jayawijaya Mountains 4 ° 19 ′ 53 ″ S , 138 ° 47 ′ 56 ″ E |
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| Source height | approx. 3800 m | |
| muzzle | in the Flamingo Bay of the Arafura Sea Coordinates: 5 ° 32 ′ 32 ″ S , 138 ° 2 ′ 36 ″ E 5 ° 32 ′ 32 ″ S , 138 ° 2 ′ 36 ″ E
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The Lorentz ( Sungai Lorentz ), also northern river , Unir or Undir , is a river in Papua , the easternmost province of Indonesia on the island of New Guinea .
The river flows south of vast primeval forests and extensive swampy lowlands and has its origin in the island's highlands. The Lorentz flows into the Flamingo Bay ( Teluk Flamingo ) belonging to the Arafura Sea , an estuary of several rivers.
In the early 20th century, the navigable part of the river played an important role in exploring Dutch New Guinea in western New Guinea . Three large Dutch expeditions led from the estuary upstream to the - at that time still unexplored - central snow-capped mountains. The aim of the expeditions was to reach the Wilhelmina summit (today Puncak Trikora ) , which is covered by "eternal snow" . The first of the three southern New Guinea expeditions failed before the mountain could be reached. The second expedition reached the snow-covered foot of Wilhelmina, but it was not until the third expedition that the mountain could be conquered on February 21, 1913.
The name of the river was changed three times in the 20th century. At the time of the first two expeditions (1907-1910) it was referred to as the North River, a name it received during the first Dutch exploration of the south coast of New Guinea. After 1910 the name was changed to Lorentz, in homage to Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz , the leader of two of the expeditions mentioned; this name was valid for more than half a century. After the transfer of Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia, many topographical names of the Dutch colonial past were renamed and the river has been called Unir since then. Unir comes from the Asmat language - the Papuan ethnic group . The river still has the Dutch name Lorentz on many maps.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Soviet General Staff Map , accessed on August 19, 2012 from http://www.topomapper.com/