Everything about The Sunda Strait totally explained
The
Sunda Strait (
Indonesian:
Selat Sunda) is the
strait between the
Indonesian islands of
Java and
Sumatra. It connects the
Java Sea to the
Indian Ocean.
The strait stretches in a roughly north-east/south-west orientation, with a minimum width of 24 km (15 miles) at its north-eastern end between
Cape Tua on Sumatra and
Cape Pujat on Java. It is very deep at its western end but as it narrows it becomes much shallower, with a depth of only 20 m (65 feet) in parts of its eastern end. This makes it notoriously difficult to navigate, with sandbanks, very strong tidal flows and man-made obstructions such as
oil rigs off the Java coast. It has been an important shipping route for centuries, especially during the period when the
Dutch East India Company used it as the gateway to the
Spice Islands of Indonesia. The strait's narrowness, shallowness and lack of accurate charting make it unsuitable for many modern large ships, most of which use the
Strait of Malacca instead.
The strait is dotted by a number of small islands, including
Sangiang (Thwart-the-Way),
Sebesi,
Sebuku,
Panaitan (Prince's) and most notably, the
Krakatoa Islands:
Lang (Panjang or Rakata Kecil),
Verlaten (Sertung),
Krakatoa, and
Anak Krakatoa. The islands in the strait and the nearby surrounding regions of Java and Sumatra were devastated by the eruption of
Krakatoa in 1883, primarily due to intense pumice fall and huge
tsunamis caused by the collapse of the volcano. The eruption drastically altered the topography of the strait, with as much as 18-21 km³ of
ignimbrite being deposited over an area of 1.1 million km² around the volcano. Some areas have never been resettled (such as the coastal region of Java now incorporated into the
Ujung Kulon National Park), but much of the coastline is now very densely populated.
On
March 1,
1942, the
Battle of Sunda Strait - part of the larger
Battle of the Java Sea - took place when the Allied
cruisers
HMAS Perth and
USS Houston encountered a
Japanese amphibious landing force near
Bantam commanded by Rear Admiral
Kenzaburo Hara, which included
aircraft carriers three cruisers and ten
destroyers. The two Allied cruisers were sunk but a Japanese
minesweeper and a transport vessel were sunk by friendly fire.
Further Information
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