Account from The Geology of Indonesia (1949) — Tapa Tuan
Tapa Tuan as a geological reference-point
The mineral localities of the West-Atjeh coast that are located by reference to Tapa Tuan include:
- Kuto Buloh (No. 9 in Van Bemmelen’s Fig. 41): 27 km North of Tapa Tuan — an iron-ore locality (no particulars available).
- A. Pentuwa Gade (No. 8): 68 km SE of Meulaboh — an iron-ore locality (no particulars available), in the same general region as Kuto Buloh.
The Tapa Tuan cluster of West-Atjeh iron-ore localities is, in contrast to the more substantially-documented NW-of-Meulaboh cluster (the Kr. Ligan 700-m-long deposit, the Kr. Rigaih and Alu Talu scattered-ore localities, and the Kwala Boe and Tjot Plaj bog-iron deposits), recorded only as points on the map without detailed geological description. The Tapa Tuan cluster accordingly represents the southern, less-well-documented end of the West-Atjeh iron-ore zone, in contrast to the better-documented northern end around Meulaboh.
Significance
Tapa Tuan is significant for the encyclopedia of Acheh history because it is the geographical reference-point for the southernmost cluster of West-Atjeh iron-ore occurrences recorded in the colonial geological literature — the Kuto Buloh locality (27 km North of Tapa Tuan) and the A. Pentuwa Gade locality (in the same general region). The Tapa Tuan cluster represents the southern end of the West-Atjeh iron-ore zone as recorded in the colonial geological literature, and its inclusion in Van Bemmelen’s Fig. 41 key — despite the absence of detailed geological description — establishes it as part of the documented colonial-era iron-ore record of Atjeh.
See Also
- Acheh
- Pulo Duo
- Laboh Haji
- A. Pentuwa Gade
- Atjeh’s Westkust
- Iron ores in Atjeh
- Kr. Ligan (Babah Loh)
- Kr. Rigaih
- Kuto Buloh
- Kwala Boe Tjot Plaj
- Meulaboh
- Van Bemmelen’s The Geology of Indonesia (1949)
- 1922
Source
The Achehnese, Vol. II, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.
The Geology of Indonesia, by R. W. van Bemmelen, Vol. II: Economic Geology (The Hague: Government Printing Office; Martinus Nijhoff, 1949), p. 208 (key to Fig. 41, No. 9, with the Kuto Buloh locality description referencing Tapa Tuan).