North Pagai
Nordpagai ( Indonesian Pagai Utara ) is part of the Mentawai Islands, a group of islands belonging to Indonesia southwest of Sumatra.
Geography
The island is 134.7 kilometers off Sumatra, located in the south, separated by the narrow Strait of Sikakap, Südpagai, in the north Sipora. For the two Pagai Islands sometimes also the name Pageh used. Nordpagai is mostly flat, the highest elevation is 336 meters above the sea. The island is about 40 km long and up to 27 km wide; the land area of 622.3 km ² is covered in part by tropical rain forests.
Management
Nordpagai forms ( with Südpagai ) the sub-district ( Kecamatan ) Pagai Utara Selatan, which belongs to 1999 formed government district ( kabupaten ) Mentawai islands and the capital Tua Pejat (on Sipora ), which in turn is part of the province of Sumatera Barat ( West Sumatra ).
Population
After the last ice age, the island was separated by rising sea levels of Sumatra. BC before 1000 Nordpagai was settled over the northern neighboring island Sipora. The residents differ in language and customs of the inhabitants of Sumatra. In North and Südpagai lived together 20 974 inhabitants in 2000. Some settlements on Nordpagai are Pasapuat in the north, to the southeast and Sikakap Betumonga in the southwest.
History
1792 reached a ship of the British East India Company the Pagai Islands. Only in July 1864 Nordpagai part of the Dutch East Indies. 1901 taught German missionaries on the south coast a station. The first missionary was killed, and in 1915 converted the first indigenous people. From the mid- 1990s Australian surfers discovered with the other islands also Nordpagai for surfing. Tourism has a modest but growing extent.
After the earthquake off Sumatra in 2004, the seismic activity beneath the island has greatly increased. The tsunami due to the earthquake 25 October 2010 hit the island and caused much damage - the village Muntei Baru, for example, was destroyed to 80%.
Wildlife ( fauna)
Live on the island, some endemic species, including the Pagai macaque, whose existence is now under threat.