THE PROVINCE OF GORONTALO (INDONESIA)

Gorontalo Province

(Indonesian: Provinsi Gorontalo) is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the north of the island of Sulawesi. The province's popualation is 1,038,590 (2010 census) and the capital is the city of Gorontalo. The province was established in December 2000 being split from the province of North Sulawesi

ETYMOLOGY

There are various suggestions of the derivation of the name Gorontalo:
from Hulontalangio, the name of a tribe that resided in the area
from Hua Lolontalango, which means cavemen who used to walk back and forth
from Hulutalangi, which means nobler
from Huluo Lo Tola, which means a place where snakehead fish breed
from Pongolatalo or Pohulatalo, which means: a waiting place
from Gunung Telu, which means three mountains
from Hunto, which means a place that is always flowed by water

GEOGRAPHY

Gorontalo lies on the northern Sulawesi arm, known as the Minahassa Peninsula. The province has an elongated shape area, stretching from west to east almost horizontally on a map, with total area of 12,215.44 km2 (4,716.41 sq mi). To the north and the south of the province are the Sulawesi Sea and the Gulf of Tomini, respectively. Prior to 2000, Gorontalo province was part of North Sulawesi province on the eastern border. The western border of the province is Central Sulawesi province.

Topography of the province is relatively low (0—40o), with the elevation ranging between 0—2,400 m (7,900 ft) above sea level. Its coastline length is more than 590 km (370 mi). Counting the Exclusive Economic Zone to the north where Philippines is at the border, the total sea area of the province is more than 50,500 km2 (19,500 sq mi).There are some small islands around the north and the south of the province, 67 of which have been identified and named.

Its population has grown from 840,000 in the 2000 census to 1,038,590 for the 2010 census, with nearly half the population residing in Gorontalo Regency or City.