NIAS ISLAND
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Nīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatera,
Indonesia. Nias (Kepulauan Nias) is also the name of the archipelago, including
the small Hinako Islands.
Nias Island covers an area of 5,121.3 km2 (1,977.3 sq mi)
(including minor offshore islands). It is mostly a lowland area rising to
around 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. There were 756,338
inhabitants on the island (including minor offshore islands) at the 2010
Census. The latest estimate for January 2014 is 788,132.
It is located in a chain of islands parallel to the west
coast of Sumatra; Simeulue is
about 140 km (87 mi) northwest, and the Batu
Islands (which are administered as part of Nias and have an ethnically
similar population) are located about 80 km (50 mi) southeast. This
chain, which resurfaces in Nusa
Tenggara in the mountainous islands of Sumba and Timor, is theforearc of
the South Sumatra Basin along
the Sunda Trench subduction
zone.
At Nias the oceanic plate is being obliquely subducted
under the Asian Plate at the rapid rate of 52 mm
(2.0 in) a year (Milsom).
Nias is the largest of the islands off Sumatra that are
part of North Sumatra province. This archipelago
consists of 131 islands, of which Nias Island is the biggest. The population in
this area was 756,762 inhabitants at the 2010 Census, including Ono Niha (the
indigenous inhabitants of the island), Malay, Batak,
and Chinese; in January 2014 the population had risen
to 788,132.
Until 2003 Nias was
an administrative regency (kabupaten) covering the entire
island, part of the province of North
Sumatra. In 2003 it was split into two regencies, Nias and Nias Selatan
(South Nias). Subsequently the
island was divided further, with the creation of two further regencies from
parts of the former Nias Regency – Nias Barat (West Nias) and Nias Utara (North
Nias) – and the designation of Gunungsitoli as an autonomous city independent
of the four regencies. Gunungsitoli remains the capital city of Nias
regency and it is the center of administration and business affairs of the Nias
regency. Teluk Dalam is the capital of Nias Selatan.
All parties in the North Sumatra Legislative Council
have agreed to the formation of a Nias Island province
(comprising Nias, Nias Selatan, Nias Utara and Nias Barat regencies, and
Gunungsitoli municipality). It has been approved at a regional plenary session
on 2 May 2011, but still awaits approval from Central government, which has not
yet enacted the grand design for additional provinces. The new province will
thus cover an area identical to the original Nias Regency prior to the latter's
division in 2003. Apart from Nias Island itself,
the province will include the smaller Batu
Islands (Pulau-pulau Batu) to the south, lying between Nias and Siberut; the Batu
Islands form two districts within South Nias Regency.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nias
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