Dawn Nelson, age 13, of Tacoma, Wash., for her question:
WHERE IS JAVA?
Java is the most important island in the Republic of Indonesia. About two thirds of the country's entire population lives there. Although it is not the largest island, it is the country's cultural, political and economic center.
Java is near the Equator. The Indian Ocean is to the south and the Java Sea is to the north. To the northwest is the island of Sumatra, separated from Java by the narrow Sunda Strait. Across the Java Sea to the north is the island of Borneo. To the east is the island of Bali.
The size of Java is about like that of Alabama. The island of Java is 661 miles long and its from 40 to 124 miles wide. The area is about 50,000 square miles.
A range of volcanic mountains runs the full length of the island, from east to west. Only 13 of the more than 100 volcanoes on Java are still active. From time to time, one of them erupts and spreads ashes, soot and lava on the nearby countryside. Volcanic ash has made the soil of Java very fertile.
Java has very high temperature the year round, averaging about 80 degrees Fahrenheit near the coast and a bit cooler in the interior highlands. Rainfall is heavy.
The people of Java are Malays, a branch of the Mongoloid race. They are short and well built and have straight dark brown hair, dark eyes and brown skin. Most of the people of Java are Muslims.
Java is very crowded. Its average of more than 1,350 persons per square mile is one of the highest in the entire world.
Most of the people in Java live in small villages. In recent years, however, many people have moved to the city. As a result, the population of the cities has grown rapidly. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, has over 6 million people while Yogyakarta has almost 3 million.
About 2,000 years ago, Indian traders and merchants came to the island of Java and ruled the people for many centuries. They also brought Buddhism and Hinduism and built many temples. Moslem traders from the Middle East began arriving in the 7th century A.D. Slowly the Javanese changed to the Moslem faith.
The Portuguese, the first Europeans to reach Java, began shipping spices from Java to Europe in the 16th century. In 1611 the Dutch East India Company opened a trading post at Jakarta and soon Java became headquarters for Dutch rule of the East Indies.
Except for a five year period of British rule between 1811 and 1816, the Dutch controlled Java until 1942. After the Japanese rule in Java during World War II, the Dutch never fully regained control. The Indonesians gained independence in 1949 and the Dutch left the island.
Farming is the leading occupation in Java. Rice is the leading crop. Other crops include corn, coffee, tea, sugar, cacao, rubber, peanuts and cassava, from which tapioca is made.
Java exports rubber, sugar, teak, quinine and tea.