ABSTRACT
The island of Sumatra (Sumatera in Indonesian) is the largest island entirely within Indonesia and the sixth largest island in the world. The provinces of the island have an area of 480,793m. sq km (185,635 sq miles—only the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan cover more territory). Lying west of the Malay Peninsula (mainly consisting of Malaysia, with Singapore at the tip), Sumatra is the westernmost of the Greater Sunda Islands, the largest of which is Borneo (Kalimantan), east beyond the Natuna Sea (part of the South China Sea) and the Karimata Strait, and the nearest of which is Java (Jawa), beyond the strait at the south-eastern tip of Sumatra. The Sunda archipelago runs eastwards from Java. Sumatra itself extends north-westwards, tapering in the north. The Nicobar Islands, part of India, lie only 120 km north-west of the northern tip of Sumatra. The provinces of Sumatra include a mess of islands to the west and a parallel chain, the Mentawai Islands, off the western shore. To the west is the Indian Ocean, while much of the eastern coast lines the strategic, ancient shipping route of the Malacca Strait (modern Melaka lies on the opposite shore, in Malaysia). The Equator bisects the island, through West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat), Riau and Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau) provinces.
