Sepik River
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Location of the Sepik River |
The
Sepik River is the longest river in
Papua New Guinea (although the
Fly River also claims to be the longest). The Sepik originates in the Central Ranges between
Papua (province of
Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea, it flows 1,126 km to the sea. It begins in Papua New Guinea, heads northwest and goes into Indonesian Papua before turning back north east into Papua New Guinea for the rest of its length. Like the
Amazon River it is a serpentine river winding through the lowlands. The Sepik has a huge 77,700 km
2 catchment. Unlike many other large rivers, the Sepik has no delta whatsoever, but flows straight into the sea in northern New Guinea, about 100 km east of the town of Wewak.
The tribes living along the river are noted for their magnificent carvings and elaborate manhood initiation ceremonies involving scarification of designs of a crocodile on a riverbank.
The Sepik is navigable for most of its length and is surrounded by grasslands and rainforest. It is largely undisturbed as there are no large mining or forestry activities in the river catchment.* http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/png/about_destin/sepik.html
* http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/sepikriv/sepikmrv.htm |
Korogo Village, Sepik River, PNG, 1975. Franz Luthi |
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Sepik River initiation - crocodile scarification. Korogo village, 1975. Franz Luthi |
