The strategic location of Sumatra enables it to support a wide array of ecological biodiversity.

Due to the massive deforestation to open up new palm oil fields, Sumatra often causes a serious haze to neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. In fact, the palm oil industry is one of the reasons why this island is of great economic importance to Indonesia. Sumatra also produces oil in great quantity both from underground in the form of fossil fuel and above the ground in the form of palm oil. Sumatra is the number one coffee producer in Indonesia, with the Arabica variety commonly found in the highlands, and the Robusta in the lowlands. Other high-magnitude earthquakes that happened recently in Sumatra includes the 2005 Nias Earthquake and the 2010 Mentawai Earthquake. The greatest of these earthquakes that ever happened recently is the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, with more than 170.000 Indonesian casualties and lasting for more than 500 seconds. The entire island also lies between the Great Sumatran Fault and Sunda megathrust, which contributes to the earthquake and tsunami frequency in the area.

The earthquake comes from the high amount of volcanic activity, due to the Sumatra’s location on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The island of Sumatra is prone to earthquakes. The first recorded usage of the word Sumatra was in 1017, when the King of Srivijaya sent an envoy to China, bearing the title Haji Sumatrabhumi or King of Sumatra.

Because of this, Sumatra earns an epithet in Sanskrit Swarnadwipa and Swarnabhumi, which means Island of Gold and Land of Gold, respectively. In ancient times, people found quite a number of gold deposits in Sumatra’s highland. As such, Sumatra possesses a long history, interesting cultures, impressive natural beauties, and also endemic flora and fauna. A lot of traders from Arab and China stopped by in the northern part of this island during their voyage. Due to its strategic location in the Straits of Malacca, Sumatra has been interacting with the foreign world since ancient times.

Sumatra is the largest island in the western part of Indonesia and the sixth largest island in the world.

Sumatera indonesia