Atambua
Town in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atambua is a town which serves as the regency seat of Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia.
Atambua | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Atambua Location in Timor, Lesser Sunda Islands and [
Indonesia  Atambua Atambua (Lesser Sunda Islands)  Atambua Atambua (Indonesia) | |
| Coordinates: 9°6′22″S 124°53′33″E | |
| Country |  Indonesia |
| Region | Lesser Sunda Islands |
| Province | East Nusa Tenggara |
| Regency | Belu Regency |
| Area | |
• Total | 63.80 km2 (24.63 sq mi) |
| • Land | 63.80 km2 (24.63 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.0 km2 (0 sq mi) 0% |
| Elevation | 350 m (1,150 ft) |
| Population (2024 estimate) | |
• Total | 79,157 |
| [1] | |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (ICST) |
| Area code | (+62) 389 |
| Climate | Aw |
| Website | belukab |
The town stretches 8.5 km from north to south and 5 km from east to west, and is in the north of the western half of Timor Island. The town is located at an altitude of about 350 m above sea level with temperatures ranging between 23 and 35 degrees Celsius.
Administration
The town has no single level of government, but consists of three of the districts of Belu Regency, each district being composed of four urban villages (kelurahan).
| Kode Wilayah | Name of District (kecamatan) | Area in km2 | Pop'n Estimate 2024 | Villages (kelurahan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53.04.12 | (Kota) Atambua [2] (Central Atambua) | 25.80 | 32,119 | Fatubenoa, Atambua, Manumtin, Tenukiik |
| 53.04.21 | Atambua Barat [3] (West Atambua) | 22.27 | 20,339 | Beirafu, Berdao, Tulamalae, Umanen |
| 53.04.22 | Atambua Selatan [4] (South Atambua) | 15.73 | 26,699 | Fatukbot, Lidak, Manuaman, Rinbesi |
| Total Atambua town | 63.80 | 79,157 |
History
Atambua was founded by the Dutch in October 1916, having moved from Atapupu, a port village in Kakuluk Mesak District in the north of the regency. Atambua was briefly occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1942 to 1943. They planted many trees, which can be seen in Hutan Jati Nenuk. After Independence, Indonesia's first president, Sukarno went to Atambua and planted more trees in the place now called Lapangan Umum. The most notable tree planted there is the banyan tree. In September 1999, more than 250,000 refugees arrived here from East Timor, after their vote for independence and the following violence. As late as 2002, an estimated 60,000 refugees remained in camps.[5]
Transportation
Air
There is an airport in Atambua, A. A. Bere Tallo Airport, about 5 kilometers from the town centre. The airport's runway is 1600m long.
Water
Atambua has two sea ports, Atapupu for cargo and oil, and Teluk Gurita for passengers (ferry port). There is a weekly Atambua-Kalabahi (Alor) ferry service.
Climate
Atambua has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) with moderate to little rainfall from April to October and heavy rainfall from November to March.
| Climate data for Atambua | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.9 (84.0) |
29.2 (84.6) |
28.9 (84.0) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.5 (83.3) |
29.3 (84.7) |
29.9 (85.8) |
29.1 (84.4) |
28.7 (83.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.7 (78.3) |
25.2 (77.4) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.1 (77.2) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.5 (74.3) |
24.1 (75.4) |
25.2 (77.4) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.0 (77.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.9 (73.2) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.3 (70.3) |
20.6 (69.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.7 (67.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.2 (73.8) |
21.4 (70.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 293 (11.5) |
237 (9.3) |
257 (10.1) |
113 (4.4) |
51 (2.0) |
35 (1.4) |
19 (0.7) |
6 (0.2) |
11 (0.4) |
37 (1.5) |
135 (5.3) |
238 (9.4) |
1,432 (56.2) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[6] | |||||||||||||