The Kapuas River or the Kapuas Buhang river or the Batang Lawai (Laue) river is a river located in West Kalimantan. This river is the longest river on the island of Kalimantan and is also the longest river in Indonesia with a length of 1,143 km.
The name of the Kapuas river is taken from the name of the Kapuas area (now Kapuas Hulu) so the name of the river that flows from Kapuas Hulu to its mouth is called the Kapuas river, but the Banjar Sultanate calls it Batang Lawai which refers to the name of the area Lawie or Lawai (now Melawi Regency) so that the name of the river flows from Melawi Regency to its estuary around the city of Pontianak called Sungai / Batang Lawai.
The Kapuas River is home to more than 700 species of fish with around 12 types of rare fish and 40 species of fish that are endangered. The potential of freshwater fisheries in the Kapuas river is up to 2 million tons. Forests that are still well protected make the Kapuas river preserved.
However, recently the Kapuas River has been contaminated with heavy metals and various types of chemicals, due to gold and silver mining activities in the middle of this river. Even though it has been polluted by heavy metals, the Kapuas River remains the lifeblood of the community (especially the Dayak and Malays along the river. As a cheap means of transportation, the Kapuas River can connect one area to another in West Kalimantan, from the coast. West Kalimantan reaches the hinterland of Putussibau in the upper reaches of this river, and besides that, the Kapuas River is also a source of livelihood to increase family income by being a fisherman / catcher of fish traditionally.
Another Kapuas River is also found in Central Kalimantan province, precisely in Kapuas Regency. This river stretches for approximately 610 km, from Kapuas Hulu sub-district to Selat sub-district which finally empties into the Java Sea.
Source : wikiwand
