Major Islands of the World
Major Islands of the World : Australia
| Baffin | Borneo | Ellesmere
| Great Britain | Greenland
| Hawaii | Honshu
| Java | Lombok
| Luzon | Madagascar
| Male Island | New
Guinea | North Island |
Ross Island
| South Island | Sri
Lanka | Sulawesi | Sumatra
| Taiwan | Victoria
Java
Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia. With a population of 124 million, it is the most populous island in the world; it is also one of the most densely populated regions on Earth.
Formed mostly as the result of volcanic events, Java is the 13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island of Indonesia. A chain of volcanic mountains form an east-west spine along the island. It has three main languages, and most residents are bilingual, with Indonesian as their second language. While the majority of Javanese are Muslim, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs and cultures.
Geography
Java (8° S 110° E) is part of the Sunda Island Arc, which includes Sumatra to the northwest and Bali to the east. Borneo lies to the north and Christmas Island to the south. It is the world's 13th largest island.
Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin; it contains no fewer than thirty-eight mountains forming and east-west spine which have at one time or another been active volcanoes. The highest volcano in Java is Mount Semeru (3,676 m). The most active volcano in Java and also in Indonesia is Mount Merapi (2,914 m). See Volcanoes of Java. Further mountains and highlands help to split the interior into a series of relatively isolated regions suitable for wet-rice cultivation; the rice lands of Java are among the richest in the world.
The island's longest river is the 600 km long Bengawan Solo River. The river rises from its source in central Java at the Tawu volcano, flows north then eastwards to its mouth in the Java Sea, near the city of Surabaya.
The island is administratively divided into four provinces (Banten, West Java, Central Java, and East Java), one special region (Yogyakarta), and one special capital district (Jakarta).
Popular tourist destinations include the city of Yogyakarta, the huge Buddhist stupa complex of Borobudur, the Hindu temples at Prambanan, and Mount Bromo in East Java.
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