Star Mountains

The Star Mountains (Dutch (colonial): Sterrengebergte; Indonesian: Pegunungan Bintang) are a mountain range in western Papua New Guinea and the eastern end of Papua province, Indonesia, stretching from the eastern end of Indonesia to the Hindenburg Range in Papua New Guinea.

Star Mountains
The Star Mountains, from space. Telefomin and Tabubil can be seen clearly in this image.
Highest point
Elevation3,702 m (12,146 ft) 
Geography
StatePapua New Guinea
Range coordinates5°S 141°E
Parent rangeIsland of New Guinea

In Indonesia, Pegunungan Bintang Regency is named after the mountain range (Pegunungan Bintang is the Indonesian name for the Star Mountains), while Star Mountains Rural LLG in Papua New Guinea is named after it.

History

The earlier Western expedition to the mountains was led by Jan Sneep, a Dutch colonial civil servant who operated from the Sibil Valley. The expedition, which started in April 1959, mapped the terrain and collected anthropological data of the people who lived in the area. The expedition used two small Bell helicopters, but the altitudes severely limited their effectiveness and one of them crashed, forcing the expedition to rely more on traditional man power. Climbers from the expedition reached the peak of Puncak Mandala on 9 September.[1]

Climate

The Star Mountains have an annual rainfall of more than 10,000 mm/year, and although no official scientific weather station has ever been established it has been claimed to be one of the wettest places on earth.[2]

Languages

In terms of the number of independent language families, the Star Mountains are one of the most linguistically diverse regions in New Guinea.[3][4] These language families and isolates include:

References

  1. Jansen Hendriks, Gerda. "Sterrengebergte" (in Dutch). NPO. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  2. McKinnon, Rowan, Carillet, Jean-Bernand, Starnes, Dean (2008). Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Lonely Planet. p. 204. ISBN 1-74104-580-0.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. Foley, William A. (2018). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  4. Foley, William A. (2018). "The languages of Northwest New Guinea". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 433–568. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
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