Ramu River
Overview
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in northern Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range
Kratke Range
Kratke Range is a mountain range in Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea, at about . Several rivers, including Ramu River originate in the mountains. Many endemic birds live in the mountains....
from where it then travels approximately 640 kilometres (398 mi) north-west to the Bismarck Sea
Bismarck Sea
The Bismarck Sea lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean to the north of the island of Papua New Guinea and to the south of the Bismarck Archipelago and Admiralty Islands. Like the Bismarck archipelago, it is named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck...
.
Along the Ramu's course it receives numerous tributaries from the Bismarck Range
Bismarck Range
The Bismarck Range is a mountain range in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea. The range is named after the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. From the 1880s to 1914 this part of the island was a German colony....
to the south and the Finisterre
Finisterre Range
Finisterre Range is a mountain range in north-eastern Papua New Guinea, at . The unnamed highest point of the range , which is ranked 45th in the world by prominence, is usually quoted at 4,175 m, but SRTM data suggests that it is nearer to 4,120 m...
and Adelbert Range
Adelbert Range
Adelbert Range is a mountain range in Madang Province, north-central Papua New Guinea, at . Highest point of the mountains is at 1716 m. As other mountain ranges in Papua New Guinea it is cloaked in rainforest and is home to many rare species of fauna and flora and is highly biodiverse. Adelbert...
s from the north. During the wet season the Ramu and Sepik Rivers join across the flood plain.
Local villagers have lived along the river for many millennia and the river has formed the basis for food, transport and culture.
The area encompassed by the Ramu was part of Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland was part of the German New Guinea, the South Pacific protectorate of the German Empire. Named in honor of Wilhelm II, who was the German Emperor and King of Prussia, it included the north-eastern part of the present day Papua New Guinea. From 1884 until 1918, the territory...
when Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
established German New Guinea
German New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
in 1884.
