Geography
The topography of the municipality of Balikpapan is generally hilly (85%), with only small areas of flatland (15%), particularly along the coast and surrounding the hilly areas. The hills are less than 100 meters higher than the adjacent valleys. The altitude of Balikpapan ranges from 0 to 80 meters above sea level.
Most of the soil in Balikpapan contains yellow-reddish podsolic soil andalluvial and quartz sand, making it extremely prone to erosion.
Transportation
Balikpapan's airport is the Sepinggan International Airport. This is the busiest airport in Kalimantan and permits large aircraft.
Airlines currently using the airport are Lion Air, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Batavia Air, Trigana Air, Kartika Airlines,Sriwijaya Air (domestic routes), and Garuda Indonesia, AirAsia, and Silk Air (International routes).
The airport is one of the five principal sites in Indonesia where Muslims begin the pilgrimage to Mecca, the "Hajj". Between 1996 and 1997, the airport served over 4,500 East Kalimantan pilgrims, and from 1997 to 1998, it served pilgrims from East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi.
Other than the airport, Balikpapan also has a seaport called "Semayang" which has many destinations to Surabaya,Makassar, Jakarta, Pare Pare, and Manado. In 1990s, transportation using ships was very popular. But after the booming of so many new airlines with very cheap price, people now prefer travelling using airplanes to the ships.
The ferry is also another alternative for travelling to other places within coastal areas in East Kalimantan, such as Penajam.
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