Rincah
Encyclopedia
Rinca, also known as Rincah and Rindja, is a small island
near Komodo
island, East Nusa Tenggara
, Indonesia
. The island is famous for komodo dragon
s, giant lizards that can measure up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) long. Rinca is also populated with many other species such as wild pig
s, buffalos
and many birds.
Being less known and less visited than Komodo it is an excellent place to see the Komodo Dragon in its natural environment with fewer people to disturb them. Day trips can be arranged from Labuanbajo on Flores
by small boat at the park headquarters.
The island's area is 198 square kilometres (76.4 sq mi).
and the Flores Sea
. Due to the large bodies of water and narrow gap, the waters between Rinca and Komodo are subject to whirlpools and currents
in excess of 10 knots.
In June 2008, five scuba divers (three British, one French and one Swedish) were found on the Southern coast of Rinca after having been missing for 2 days. The group had drifted 20 miles (32.2 km) from where their dive boat abandoned them. They survived on oysters and other shellfish.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
near Komodo
Komodo (island)
Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. The island has a surface area of 390 km² and over 2000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of the island are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed themselves with the Bugis from...
island, East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The island is famous for komodo dragon
Komodo dragon
The Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
s, giant lizards that can measure up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) long. Rinca is also populated with many other species such as wild pig
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
s, buffalos
Bubalus
Bubalus is a genus of bovines, whose English name is buffalo. Species that belong to this genus are:* Subgenus Bubalus** Water Buffalo, Bubalus bubalis*** Carabao, Bubalus bubalis carabanesis...
and many birds.
Being less known and less visited than Komodo it is an excellent place to see the Komodo Dragon in its natural environment with fewer people to disturb them. Day trips can be arranged from Labuanbajo on Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
by small boat at the park headquarters.
The island's area is 198 square kilometres (76.4 sq mi).
Sea conditions
Rinca and Komodo bracket a north-south passage between the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and the Flores Sea
Flores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....
. Due to the large bodies of water and narrow gap, the waters between Rinca and Komodo are subject to whirlpools and currents
Ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
in excess of 10 knots.
In June 2008, five scuba divers (three British, one French and one Swedish) were found on the Southern coast of Rinca after having been missing for 2 days. The group had drifted 20 miles (32.2 km) from where their dive boat abandoned them. They survived on oysters and other shellfish.