Danau Toba
Location:
2°20'-2°55'N, 98°3l'-99°09'E; 80 km south of Medan, North Sumatra.
Area:
c.135,000 ha.
Altitude:
900m.
Biogeographical Province:
4.21.12.
Wetland type:
14.
Description of site:
A very large volcanic caldera lake in northern Sumatra, about 90 km Ions and up to 30 km wide; the largest and deepest lake in Southeast Asia. The lake is surrounded by steep slopes (the old crater walls) and peaks rising to 2,150m. There is a large island, Pulau Samosir (63,000 ha), rising to 1,685m in the centre of the lake. The maximum depth is about 450m. The lake is fed by local run-off; its outlet at the southeast corner flows into the Asahan River which drains northeast into the Strait of Malacca. A 200m high waterfall on the Asahu River, upriver from Balige, is the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia.
Principal vegetation:
No information is available on the aquatic vegetation. The alluvial plain at the edge of the lake is under cultivation for rice, cloves and coconuts. Surrounding slopes are covered in grassland with some coniferous plantations.
Land tenure:
State owned.
Conservation measures taken:
None.
Conservation measures proposed:
None
Land use:
Outdoor recreation and tourism, particularly around the town of Prapat on the east shore and on Pulau Samosir, and fishing on a very small scale; agriculture and forestry in surrounding areas.
Disturbances and threats:
All mountain slopes around the lake have been cleared by burning, and soil erosion may be a problem. There is some pollution and littering near the main towns such as Prapat.
Economic and social values:
A very important area for tourism, and the home of the Taba Batak tribe (about one million people). The Taba Batak are possibly the descendants of the first Batak people, a group of wandering neolithic mountain-dwellers from northern Thailand and Burma who settled in the region about 1,500 years ago. Their former animist religion (now Christian), cannibalistic tendencies and interesting artefacts make the Bataks of great interest to anthropologists and the general public alike.
Fauna:
Very little information is available. The isolated nature of the lake would suggest that there may be some endemism in the fish fauna. Very few waterbirds were observed during a brief survey of Puiau Samosir in December 1986. However, the marshes along the southwestern shore of the lake could be of considerable importance for waterfowl.
Special floral values:
No information.
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b, 1e.
Source:
Duncan Parish.