January 2013
Extensive flooding of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia is the result of heavy rains over recent days. Jakarta is the largest city in Indonesia on the island of Java. Jakarta lies at the mouth of the canalized Ciliwung (Tjiliwung) River, an inlet of the Java Sea. It is the administrative, commercial, industrial, and transportation center of the country.
In the early 17th century, the Dutch began to colonize Indonesia; Japan occupied the islands from 1942-1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender. The Netherlands transferred sovereignty in 1949 and free and fair elections took place for the first time in 1999. Indonesia is now the world's third most populous democracy; the world's largest archipelagic state, and home to the world's largest Muslim population.
The terrain of Indonesia is mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains. Its climate is tropical, hot and humid. Natural resources of Indonesia include: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, and silver. The natural hazards facing the islands include: occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, and forest fires.
CIA World Factbook; The Columbia Gazetteer, 1/2013; 1/2013
This map has also been used:
- Indonesia, September 2011