Geological Locations

SRTM Topography of Java. A 430 KB GIF image of Java island from Nasa's SRTM data set, 90 m. original resolution - reduced here by about a third. The original data is available at Shuttle radar Topography Mission [SRTM] and an explaination of SRTM at JPL NASA. The data was acquired in 2000 and released to the public in 2004.

This image is coloured to de-emphasise the modern alluvial coastal plain on the outline of Java. The island therefore appears quite different. Note that deep marine conditions persisted across most of central Java until only a few million years ago (where the low, white shaded areas nearly meet in this image), so until then "Java" was in fact two or more islands. The north volcano of Muriah was also an island during the Holocene, with the alluvium filling this area around Demak and prograding the shoreline by 30 metres a year (van Bemmelen (1949, p. 29).

Many of the classic works on the geology of Indonesia refer to locations that are hard to find. Spellings are variable, and there are few good maps. BAKOSURTANAL are preparing new detailed maps for Indonesia, but many are not yet available For old maps the grid may be marked in degrees east of a Batavia datum or from a Sorong datum. To convert these to degrees east of the Greenwich meridien the values for these datums are:
Batavia = 106º 48' 27.79' E (or 106.8077194ºE)
Sorong = 129º 48' 27.79" E (23º E of Jakarta datum or 129.8077194 ºE)

Although it is not acceptable to change the spelling of proper names of defined objects, such as the spelling of species, it has become necessary to transliterate the names of location upon which formation units have been established. Thus Nummulites djogjakartae stays the same, as do the Djogjakartae Beds because they are named after this fossil, but Djogjakarta is now written Yogyakarta, and the Djiwo Beds become the Jiwo Beds, etc.
The rules for changing between Dutch and Indonesia orthographies are as follows:

Dutch	English sound	Indonesian	example
tj	Ch	c	Tjiletuh => Ciletuh
dj	j	j	Djakarta => Jakarta
c	s	s	Ceram => Seram
oe	u	u	Bandoeng => Bandung
w	v	w	(Jawa)
j, as syllable	y	y	(Banjak => Banyak)
ij	y	i

Index to GRDC maping quadrangles, Index of old survey map quadrangles for western Java and eastern Java

KEY GEOLOGICAL LOCATIONS

Bayah. SW Java. Eocene clastics outcropping near the coast, west of Pelhabuhan Ratu.(Not to be confused with the Jiwo Hills Eocene near Bayat in Central Java).
Bantam, a region (based on an old administrative district) west of Priangan in SW Java in which the Bayah Eocene and younger deposits occur.
Locations beginning "Ci" [Tji] are based on the Sundanese word for river. Thus Cijengkol [Tji Djengkol], Cikalong [Tji Kalong] are examples of sections defined in West Java. In Central and East Java the Javanese word "Kali" replaces "Ci".
Cileteuh Bay, SW Java. Eocene sands outcropping on the coast south of Pelhabuhan Ratu.
Gamping, Djokja, A small Eocene outcrop just west of Yogyakarta that may have been lost due to use of the limestone for building (not to be confused with the Eocene Gamping at Jiwo)
Jiwo Hills [Djiwo], C. Java. Middle Eocene and basement. East of Yogyakarta, south of Klaten, near the village of Bayat (not to be confused with the Eocene at Bayah in west Java).
Kali Balong, one of the stream sections at Nanggulan (Eocene of Central Java).
Kali Guha [Goeha], a stream and surrounding area in the NE of the Lukulo [Loh Oelo] region (basement and Palaeogene of Central Java).
Kali Songo, one of the stream sections at Nanggulan (Eocene of Central Java).
Kali Watupuru [Watoe Poeroe], one of the stream sections at Nanggulan (Eocene of Central Java).
Karangkobar, north Central Java, just west of the Dieng Plateau and north of Lukulo.
Lukulo [Loh Oelo], a wide area around the River Lukulo [or Lukula on some modern maps] that occurs between Karangsambung, north of Kebumen, and Banjarnegara in Central Java. It is the largest outcrop of basement in Java, as well as transgressing Eocene sediments
Nanggulan [Nanggoelan], C. Java. One of the first found, and the most fossiliferous Eocene site in southeast Asia. Just west of Yogyakarta, NW of the village of Kenteng.
Priangan a region (old administrative district) south of Sukabumi, including the Ciletuh Bay Eocene and basement outcrops in the west. The Bantam region is to the west of Priangan
Sangiran Dome, C. Java. The second, but more prolific, "Java-man" site. Just north of Solo
Trinil, C. Java. The original "Java-man" site on the Solo River west of Ngawi.

Acronyms commonly encountered in reports on SE Asian Geology

AFTA

Apatite Fission Track Analysis A geo-thermometer tool that measures the length of time since a crystal of apatite has been below a known temperature limit. The temperature that re-sets fission tracks is conveniently close to the oil maturation window. The time calculated might be the age since the igneous formation of the apatite crystal, or the age since tectonic uplift and cooling.

BAKOSURTANAL

Badan Koordinasi Survey dan Pemetaan Nasional. The Indonesian Ordinance Survey.

BPM

Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij. A company that started operating in 1907 at the merger of Royal Dutch and Shell Oil Companies. Since 1890 the Royal Dutch had worked in the region under it's own name Koninklijke Maatschappij tot ontginning van Petroleum terreinen in Nederlandsch Indie [Royal Company for the exploration of oils fields in the Nederlands East Indies].

DPM

Dortsche Petroleum Maatschappij. Began operations near Surabaya, East Java in 1887.

GPTS

Geomagnetic polarity time scale. A time scale where biostratigraphic and other data has been calibrated to geomagnetic reversal anomalies. The latest review of this work is 1995 (Cenozoic by Berggren et al.)

NIAM

Nederlandsche Indische Aardolie Maatschappij. A venture between the BPM and Dutch Government in the Jambi area.

NKPM

Nederlandsche Koloniale Petroleum Maatschappij. A subsidiary of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, began operations in Indonesia in 1912.

NNGPM

Nederlandsche Nieuw Guinea Petroleum Maatschappij. A company formed in 1935 by the Shell Group under its affiliate BPM (40%), Standard Vacuum Oil Co. (40%), and Far Pacific investments (owned by Standard oil of California, 20%).

NPPM

Nederlandsche Pacific Petroleum Maatschappij. A 1931 subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co of California. Later to become Caltex.

SVPM

Standard Vacuum Petroleum Maatschappij, later to become Stanvac.