Madura Island : In News
At least five people were killed and 41 remain missing after a ferry carrying 271 passengers and crew caught fire off Indonesia’s Madura Island recently.
- Madura Island is an Indonesian island located off the northeast coast of Java.
- It’s separated from Java by the narrow Madura Strait.
- It is known as “The Salt Island” because it produces a lot of salt.
- Madura Island has a mostly flat landscape. There are no big mountains or huge changes in height.
- Most of these people are Madurese.
- The Madura people are the third largest people group in Indonesia.
- The main language spoken here is Madurese.
- It is famous for its bull races held each year after the harvest.
- The main towns on the island include Bangkalan in the west, followed by Sampang, Pamekasan, and Sumenep further east.
- The principal industries are cattle raising and salt panning, the latter a government monopoly.
- Kapok, copra, and coconut oil are important products, as is teak from forests in the northwest.
