Lake Sentani

Lake Sentani
Danau Sentani
Location	Jayapura Regency, Papua, Indonesia
Coordinates	2°37′S 140°34′E / 2.61°S 140.56°E / -2.61; 140.56Coordinates: 2°37′S 140°34′E / 2.61°S 140.56°E / -2.61; 140.56
Catchment area	600 km2 (230 sq mi)
Max. length	28 km (17 mi)
Max. width	19 km (12 mi)
Surface area	104 km2 (40 sq mi)
Max. depth	52 m (171 ft)
Residence time	Short
Surface elevation	73 m (240 ft)
Settlements	Jayapura

Lake Sentani is a tropical, shallow, and at low-altitude open lake located at the northeast extremity of the Jayapura Regency in the Indonesian province of Papua, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the provincial capital, Jayapura City.

The lake, which is considered by the local population as the home of the rainbows, is part of the Cyclops Strict Nature Reserve and contains several species of fish that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Lake Sentani lies at the foot of the Mesozoic mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Cyclops ophiolite mountains in a fault-controlled depression at an elevation of 73 metres (240 ft) above the level of the sea. Sentani is an irregularly shaped body with approximate maximum length extending from east to west of 28 kilometres (17 mi) and, from north to south, 19 kilometres (12 mi) of breadth. With a surface area of 104 square kilometres (40 sq mi), Lake Sentani is the largest lake of the Intan Jaya region.

Lake Sentani receives its water primarily from direct precipitation with an average annual rainfall around the lake of about 2 metres (6.6 ft), and by mountain streams. The average evaporation on the lake is about 0.4 metres (1.3 ft) with seasonal variation in inflow. The lake outflows into the Jafuri and Tami rivers to the Pacific Ocean near the Papua New Guinea border.

Lake Sentani, the best studied of Irian Jaya lakes, is relatively stable and intact. It is widely believed to have evolved by the tectonic damming and uplift of an arm of the sea, but such a connection has not been demonstrated yet.

...
Wikipedia