Bangka Island

Bangka
بڠک
邦加島

Topography of Bangka island
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Coordinates	2°15′S 106°00′E / 2.250°S 106.000°E / -2.250; 106.000Coordinates: 2°15′S 106°00′E / 2.250°S 106.000°E / -2.250; 106.000
Area	11,693.54 km2 (4,514.90 sq mi)
Area rank	68th
Highest elevation	699 m (2,293 ft)
Highest point	Mount Maras
Administration
Indonesia
Province	Bangka-Belitung Islands
Largest settlement	Pangkal Pinang (pop. 134082)
Demographics
Population	960,692 (2010 Census)
Pop. density	82.65 /km2 (214.06 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Malay Indonesians and Chinese, mostly Hakkas

Bangka (or sometimes Banka) is an island lying east of Sumatra, administratively part of Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of about 1 million. It is the main part of Bangka-Belitung Province. The provincial capital, Pangkal Pinang, lies on the island. The island is administratively divided into 4 regencies and a chartered city.

Bangka is an island province together with Belitung Island. Bangka lies just east of Sumatra, separated by the Bangka Strait; to the north lies the South China Sea, to the east, across the Gaspar Strait, is the island of Belitung, and to the south is the Java Sea. The size is about 12,000 km². Most of the geographical faces of the island consists of lower plains, swamps, small hills, beautiful beaches, white pepper fields and tin mines.

The largest town is Pangkal Pinang which also serves as the capital of Bangka-Belitung Province. Sungai Liat is the second largest city in Bangka island. Mentok (formerly called Muntok) is the principal port in the west. The other important town are Toboali in the southern region, Koba an important tin mining town, also located on the southern part of the island, and Belinyu a town famous for its seafood products. There are 4 sea ports in Bangka; Mentok on the far west, Belinyu on the far north, Sadai on the far south, and Pangkal Balam are the closest one to Pangkal Pinang. It is intended, that a nuclear power station be built there.