SEPIK RIVER

formerly Kaiserin Augusta River, one of the largest rivers on the island of New Guinea. It rises on the Victor Emanuel Range of the central highlands, near Telefomin in Papua New Guinea. The Sepik flows northwestward and then, turning east, follows the great Central Depression, receiving numerous tributaries draining from the Bewani and Torricelli mountains (north) and the Central Range (south) before entering the Bismarck Sea through a delta about 700 mi (1,100 km) from its source. It flows through East Sepik and West Sepik provinces. For most of its lower course the river meanders through a wilderness of sago and nipa palm swamp and lagoons with large floating islands of vegetation drifting in the channel. The amount of sediment carried down this channel is so great that the waters of the ocean are discoloured for 20 mi beyond the mouth, which is more than 1 mi wide. The river is navigable for more than 300 mi by vessels drawing 13 ft (4 m) of water or less. There are no settlements of great size along the Sepik; Angoram is the largest, and the entire lower basin is sparsely populated. The isolation of the river's small tribal groups, including the Arapesh, Iatmul, and Mundugumor, from external influences has given rise to one of the most original and extensive artistic traditions in Oceania. Characterized by the term Sepik River style, the ornamentation of household and cult objects, weapons, musical instruments, houses (high-gabled with decorated house posts), and canoe prows is highly developed. Masks and sculpture are characterized by a hooked, or beaked, style, with an elongation of the nose, and there is also a tradition of modeling faces in clay on human skulls. These arts are most fully developed in the lower reaches of the river and in adjacent areas of the lower Ramu River.