Straits of Sunda

Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait
Coordinates	5°55′S 105°53′E / 5.92°S 105.88°E / -5.92; 105.88Coordinates: 5°55′S 105°53′E / 5.92°S 105.88°E / -5.92; 105.88
Type	strait
Basin countries	Indonesia
Min. width	24 km (15 mi)
Max. depth	−20 m (−66 ft)

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 name comes from the Indonesian term Pasundan, meaning "West Java". It also comes from the name of the Sundanese people, the native people of West Java, with the Javanese people being found mostly in Central and East Java.

The strait stretches in a roughly north-east/south-west orientation, with a minimum width of 24 km (15 mi) 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 to the east it becomes much shallower, with a depth of only 20 m (65 feet) in parts of the eastern end. This makes it notoriously difficult to navigate, with sandbanks, very strong tidal flows and man-made obstructions such as oil platforms off the Java coast. It had 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 (1602-1799). However, the strait's narrowness, shallowness, and lack of accurate charting makes it unsuitable for many modern large ships, most of which use the Strait of Malacca instead.

The strait is dotted by a number of strait islands, many of which are volcanic in origin. They include: Sangiang (Thwart-the-Way), Sebesi, Sebuku, and Panaitan (Prince's). The most famous volcano, however, is Krakatoa, which exploded in 1883 in one of the deadliest and most destructive eruptions of all time. The islands in the strait and the nearby surrounding regions of Java and Sumatra were devastated in that eruption, 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. Aside from Krakatoa's sole remaining peak, Rakata, the Krakatau archipelago consists of the islands of Lang (Panjang or Rakata Kecil), Verlaten (Sertung), and most recently, Anak Krakatau, which emerged in 1927 from the original Krakatoa's shattered remains.