Digul

The Digul (Dutch: Digoel) is a major river in southern Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea.[1]

Sungai Digul Oewamba Rivier, Digoel-rivier, Oewimboe, Digoel Oewimboe, Digoel-Kian, Uwimbu, Digul
NASA Landsat image (enhanced) of the Digul Estuary, looking roughly east. Dolak can be seen towards the south.
Location of river mouth Show map of Indonesia Digul (Papua (province)) Show map of Papua (province)
Native name	Digul River
Location
Country	Indonesia
Province	Papua
Physical characteristics
Source	Maoke Mountains
Mouth
• location	Arafura Sea
• coordinates	7°7′S 138°42′E
Length	525 km (326 mi)

History

The swamplands upstream were known by the name "Boven-Digoel" (Above the Digul, in Dutch) and hosted a penal colony at Tanahmerah (Red Earth) in the early 20th century, when Indonesia was a colony of Holland. As a result of the abortive 1926 revolt by the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), the Dutch exiled 823 of the most troublesome revolutionaries here.[2]

Hydrology

Rising on the southern slopes of Maoke Mountains, the Digul flows first south and then west to empty into the Arafura Sea. For much of its length it travels across a low region of extensive swamps and creates a delta near Dolak (Frederik Hendrik) Island. The river has a length of 525 kilometres (326 mi) and is navigable as far as Tanahmerah.

Geography

Sungai Digul
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     464     25 19     396     22 20     342     23 22     346     24 23     249     24 21     178     22 18     28     22 20     51     24 21     93     25 22     235     25 23     336     25 21     355     25 23 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [3]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     18     77 66     16     72 68     13     73 72     14     75 73     9.8     75 70     7     72 64     1.1     72 68     2     75 70     3.7     77 72     9.3     77 73     13     77 70     14     77 73 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

The river flows in the southern area of Papua with predominantly tropical monsoon climate (designated as Am in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification).[4] The annual average temperature in the area is 22 °C. The warmest month is April, when the average temperature is around 24 °C, and the coldest is June, at 20 °C.[3] The average annual rainfall is 3072 mm. The wettest month is January, with an average of 464 mm rainfall, and the driest is July, with 28 mm rainfall.[5]

References

1. Sungai Digul - Geonames.org.
2. Brackman, A.C., Indonesian Communism: A History, 1963, Praeger Press
3. "NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index". NASA. 30 January 2016.
4. Peel, M C; Finlayson, B L; McMahon, T A (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification". Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 11. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007.
5. "NASA Earth Observations: Rainfall (1 month - TRMM)". NASA/Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission. 30 January 2016.