KALIMANTAN SELATAN

also called South Kalimantan provinsi (province), southeastern Borneo, Indonesia, bounded by the Makassar Strait on the east, the Java Sea on the south, and the provinces of Kalimantan Tengah on the west and Kalimantan Timur on the north. It covers an area of 14,280 square miles (36,985 square km) and includes the islands of Laut, Sebuku, and Balabalangan in the Makassar Strait. The low-lying Meratus Mountains run in a north-south arc that almost bisects the province; on its southern fringe is the Kusan mountain range. The Meratus range slopes to the east to merge into the flat coastal lowlands and to the west into the swampy basin formed by the Negara River. The eastern coast is marked by several small bays. The offshore island of Laut is nearly flat, with its northeastern coast marked by slightly rising uplands. The province's low mountains are covered with equatorial forests of teak and ebony and with ferns and other epiphytes; the swamps have mangrove trees and nipa palms. Most of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture based on the shifting cultivation of rice, corn (maize), and cassava. Rubber and copra are also produced. Industries process foods and beverages and manufacture furniture, chemicals, and rubber goods. Gold, iron ore, diamonds, and coal are mined; and oil, timber, rattan, rubber, and gutta-percha (latex from trees of the sapodilla family) are exports. Banjarmasin, the provincial capital, is linked by road with Martapura, Kandangam, and Amuntai. Tanjung and Banjarmasin have airports. The Dayak people are the largest ethnic group, and there are a few Banjar. Pop. (1989 est.) 2,453,800.