Indonesia

Indonesia — page 1
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING INDONESIA VAST NATION RAINFOREST AND FARMLAND Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia It is known as a land of wild rainforest Over 60 percent of Indonesia is covered in and isolated tribes But it also offers tourist thick tropical rainforest which supports a beaches and busy cities Huge plantations huge range of plants and wildlife Many of these species aren't found anywhere else in grow rubber and other materials in demand around the world the world However much of this rainforest has been taken over to provide land for ENORMOUS COUNTRY agriculture Indonesia s rich fertile soil The Indonesian archipelago has more than is partly due to its location in the Pacific 13 000 islands 7 000 more islands are or Ring of Fire see sidebar Almost half of uninhabited It sprawls over 3 000 miles all Indonesians work in agriculture Staple 5 000 km from east to west It lies on the crops include rice cassava and corn equator and has a warm and humid tropical climate all year round Lush rice fields on the Indonesian island of Bali DESTRUCTIVE EARTH Indonesia lies on the Ring of Fire the approximately circles the Pacific Ocean In this area massive rock plates push against or slide past each other which causes earthquakes and forms volcanoes Indonesia has approximately 130 active volcanoes some erupt continuously Indonesia is struck by hundreds of earthquakes each year On December 26 2004 an earthquake deep under the Indian Ocean created a huge tsunami It struck the Indonesia province of Aceh and killed more than 100 000 people As many as half a million people became homeless