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{{about|the Indonesian town|the community in California formerly with this name|Famoso, California|the defunct Canadian bank|Province of Ontario Savings Office|the Filipino rice cake|Pusô}}
{{Redirect|Posso|the made-up Possum language|DoggoLingo#Other_animals}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = Poso
| nickname                        = 
| settlement_type                 = [[Town]]
| image_skyline                   = Kota Poso (2015).jpg
| image_caption                   = Poso in 2015
| image_flag                      = 
| image_seal                      = 
| image_map                       = Poso Sentinel-2 L2A, True Color on December 5, 2020.png
| mapsize                         = 
| map_caption                     = [[Sentinel-2|Sentinel-2 L2A]] satellite image, featuring the city of Poso in December 2020
| pushpin_map                     = Indonesia Sulawesi
| pushpin_map_caption             = Location of Poso in Sulawesi
| pushpin_label_position          = 
| subdivision_type                = [[Countries of the world|Country]]
| subdivision_name                = {{flag|Indonesia}}
| subdivision_type1               = [[Provinces of Indonesia|Province]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[Central Sulawesi]]
| subdivision_type2               = [[Regencies of Indonesia|Regency]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Poso Regency|Poso]]
| leader_title                    = 
| leader_name                     = 
| area_magnitude                  = 
| area_total_km2                  = 66.8
| area_land                       = 
| area_water                      = 
| population_as_of                = mid 2024 estimate
| population_note                 = <ref name="Badan Pusat Statistik 2025">Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Poso Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204)</ref>
| population_total                = 47592
| population_footnotes            = 
| timezone                        = [[Central Indonesia Time]]
| utc_offset                      = +8
| timezone_DST                    = 
| utc_offset_DST                  = 
| coordinates                     = {{coord|1|24|S|120|45|E|region:ID|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m                     = 
| website                         = http://posokab.go.id/
| footnotes                       = 
}}
'''Poso''' ([[Van Ophuijsen Spelling System|Old Spelling]]: ''Posso'') is the administrative capital of [[Poso Regency]], Indonesia. It is the main port and transportation hub for the central-southern coast of [[Central Sulawesi]]. Its urban area consists of three districts, [[Poso Kota]], [[North Poso Kota]], and [[South Poso Kota]]. Poso lies in the middle of the province on the shore of the [[Gulf of Tomini]], right in the central part of [[Sulawesi]] Island. With a total population of 47,592 in mid 2024,<ref name="Badan Pusat Statistik 2025">Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Poso Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204)</ref> it is one of the biggest and oldest towns in the province.<ref name=PMK1>{{cite web|url=http://posokab.go.id/profil/profildaerah/selayangpandang|title=Selayang Pandang Kota Poso|website=[[Pemerintah Kabupaten Poso]]|language=id|date=February 8, 2016|access-date=January 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108083823/http://posokab.go.id/profil/profildaerah/selayangpandang|archive-date=January 8, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Poso began to develop as a small [[port town]] located at the mouth of the [[Poso River]] at the end of the 19th century—making it one of the oldest towns in Central Sulawesi, its presence was considered important for the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] to control the southern region of Tomini in the early days of their arrival. Poso was the administrative center of [[:id:Landschap Poso|Landschap Poso]], [[:id:Onderafdeling Poso|Onderafdeling Poso]], and later [[:id:Afdeling Poso|Afdeling Poso]] during colonial times. Amid [[World War II]], the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] made Poso one of their military posts. [[Post-independence Indonesia|Post-independence]], Poso was chosen as the capital of the newly formed Central Sulawesi in 1948 before the capital was moved to [[Palu]] in 1951.

Poso's central location has historically made it a strategic stopover point for travelers moving between the north and south, as well as the west and [[East Peninsula, Sulawesi|east]] of Sulawesi. This has contributed to a diverse population, comprising various ethnicities, religions, and cultural backgrounds. The inhabitants are dispersed from coastal areas to the mountainous regions, with trade and services serving as the primary economic activities.

Poso is crossed by [[Trans-Sulawesi Highway|the Trans-Sulawesi National Highway]] and served by [[Kasiguncu Airport]], linking it to other cities in Sulawesi such as Palu and [[Makassar]].

{{TOC limit|3}}

== Geography ==
=== Climate ===
Poso has a [[tropical rainforest climate]] (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.
{{Weather box
|width = auto
| location = Poso
| metric first = Yes
| single line  = Yes
| Jan high C = 30.6
| Feb high C = 30.7
| Mar high C = 30.9
| Apr high C = 31.0
| May high C = 31.1
| Jun high C = 30.3
| Jul high C = 29.7
| Aug high C = 30.8
| Sep high C = 31.2
| Oct high C = 32.2
| Nov high C = 31.8
| Dec high C = 31.1

| Jan mean C = 26.8
| Feb mean C = 26.8
| Mar mean C = 27.0
| Apr mean C = 27.0
| May mean C = 27.4
| Jun mean C = 26.6
| Jul mean C = 25.9
| Aug mean C = 26.6
| Sep mean C = 26.7
| Oct mean C = 27.5
| Nov mean C = 27.5
| Dec mean C = 27.1
| year mean C =
| Jan low C = 23.0
| Feb low C = 23.0
| Mar low C = 23.1
| Apr low C = 23.1
| May low C = 23.7
| Jun low C = 23.0
| Jul low C = 22.2
| Aug low C = 22.5
| Sep low C = 22.3
| Oct low C = 22.9
| Nov low C = 23.2
| Dec low C = 23.2
|rain colour=green
|Jan rain mm=162
|Feb rain mm=157
|Mar rain mm=247
|Apr rain mm=291
|May rain mm=253
|Jun rain mm=256
|Jul rain mm=219
|Aug rain mm=193
|Sep rain mm=201
|Oct rain mm=144
|Nov rain mm=197
|Dec rain mm=197
|source 1 = Climate-Data.org<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://en.climate-data.org/location/1066489/
|title = Climate: Poso
|publisher=Climate-Data.org
|access-date = 21 November 2020}}</ref>
}}

== Tourism and culture ==
Poso can be reached by plane from [[Palu]] or by bus from many other big cities on Sulawesi and is situated on the equator. It features tropical rain forest, seashore gardens, and other natural scenery. [[Sintuwu Maroso Square]] is the main [[town square]] and is located in central Poso. [[Rumah Katu Marine Park]] is a [[water park]] located 10&nbsp;km from the center of Poso.

[[Pamona people#Dance|Modero]] is a well-known traditional dance that is performed during the celebration of [[rice]] harvesting (Padungku), usually in the evenings.

==See also==
* [[2002 Poso bus attacks]]
* [[2005 Indonesian beheadings of Christian girls]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
==== Books ====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Atkinson|first=Jane Monnig|editor-last=Rosaldo|editor-first=Renato|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6YwDwAAQBAJ|title=Cultural Citizenship in Island Southeast Asia: Nation and Belonging in the Hinterlands|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6YwDwAAQBAJ&pg=134|chapter=Who Appears in the Family Album?: Writing the History of Indonesia's Revolutionary Struggle|year=1998|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=9780520227484|pages=134–161}}
* {{cite book|last=Schrauwers|first=Albert|url=https://archive.org/details/colonialreformat0000schr|url-access=registration|title=Colonial 'reformation' in the Highlands of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, 1892–1995|series=Anthropological Horizons (14)|year=2000|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=[[Toronto]]|isbn=978-0-80-208303-6|lccn=00698098}}
{{refend}}

==== Journals ====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal|last=Aragon|first=Lorraine|url=https://cip.cornell.edu/handle/seap.indo/1106940647|title=Communal Violence in Poso, Central Sulawesi: Where People Eat Fish and Fish Eat People|journal=Indonesia|year=2001|issue=72|publisher=[[SEAP Publications|Southeast Asia Program Publications]]|pages=45–79|doi=10.2307/3351481|jstor=3351481|hdl=1813/54240|hdl-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|last=Aragon|first=Lorraine|url=https://cip.cornell.edu/handle/seap.indo/1115148088|title=Mass Media Fragmentation and Narratives of Violent Action in Sulawesi's Poso Conflict|journal=Indonesia|year=2005|issue=79|publisher=Southeast Asia Program Publications|pages=1–55|jstor=3351332}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Sadi|last2=Agustino|first1=Haliadi|first2=Leo|url=http://jurnal.unpad.ac.id/cosmogov/article/view/11843|title=Thought of Local Politics in the History of the Establishment of Central Sulawesi Province|journal=COSMOGOV: Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan|year=2015|volume=1|issue=2|publisher=[[Andalas University]]|pages=354–376|doi=10.24198/cosmogov.v1i2.11843|doi-access=free}} {{Free access}}
{{refend}}

==== Reports ====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Gobée|first=Emile|translator-last=Coté|translator-first=Joost|author-link=Emile Gobée|url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=005790149485186;res=IELHSS|title=Colonising Poso: The Diary of Controleur Emile Gobee, June 1909 - May 1910|series=Working Papers|year=2007|issue=128|publisher=[[Monash University Publishing|Monash University Press]]|isbn=9781876924577}}
{{refend}}

==== Websites ====
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web|last=Elfarisi|first=Dimas|editor-last=Fembrian|editor-first=Widita|url=http://www.netralnews.com/news/olahraga/read/34194/lepas.marathon.42.km..menpora.ingin.poso.menjadi.kota.olahraga|title=Lepas Marathon 42 km, Menpora Ingin Poso Menjadi Kota Olahraga|trans-title=Open 42 km Marathon Race, Sports and Youth Minister Wants Poso to Become a Sports City|language=id|website=Netral News|date=November 5, 2016|access-date=April 16, 2018}}
* {{cite web|author=Fauzi|editor-last=Malaha|editor-first=Rolex|url=http://sulteng.antaranews.com/berita/32390/telkom-sulteng-poso-sudah-aplikasikan-smart-city|title=Telkom Sulteng: Poso Sudah Aplikasikan Smart City|trans-title=Telkom Sulteng: Poso is Applying Smart City|language=id|website=[[Antara (news agency)|ANTARA News Sulawesi Tengah]]|date=May 22, 2017|access-date=April 16, 2018}}
* {{cite web|author=Komunitas Historia Sulawesi Tengah|url=http://komunitashistoriasul-teng.simplesite.com/430649051/4269285/posting/poso|title=Poso, Calon Ibu kota Provinsi yang Tereliminasi|trans-title=Poso, the Eliminated Prospective Capital of the Province|language=id|website=Komunitas Historia Sulawesi Tengah|date=November 2, 2016|access-date=April 16, 2018}}
* {{cite web|author=Mansur|editor-last=Damanik|editor-first=Caroline|url=http://regional.kompas.com/read/2016/05/03/11304581/Penggusuran.Pasar.Diwarnai.Bentrokan.Lima.Pedagang.Diamankan.Polisi|title=Penggusuran Pasar Diwarnai Bentrokan, Lima Pedagang Diamankan Polisi|trans-title=Market Eviction Colored by Clashes, Five Traders Secured by the Police|language=id|website=[[Kompas.com|Kompas]]|date=May 3, 2016|access-date=April 16, 2018}}
* {{cite web|author=Pemerintah Kabupaten Poso|author-link=Pemerintah Kabupaten Poso|url=http://www.posokab.go.id/2011/04/10/selayangpandang/|title=Selayang Pandang Kabupaten Poso|trans-title=Overview of the Poso Regency|language=id|website=Pemerintah Kabupaten Poso|date=April 10, 2011|access-date=April 16, 2018}}
* {{cite web|last=Timparosa|first=Feri|editor-last=Malaha|editor-first=Rolex|url=http://sulteng.antaranews.com/berita/32530/poso-bangun-tpa-sampah-yang-representatif|title=Poso Bangun TPA Sampah yang Representatif|trans-title=Poso Build a Representative Waste Landfill|language=id|website=ANTARA News Sulawesi Tengah|date=May 28, 2017|access-date=April 16, 2018}}
* {{cite web|author=Weatherbase|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=602476&cityname=Poso-Central-Sulawesi-Indonesia|title=Poso, Indonesia Travel Weather Averages|year=2018|website=Weatherbase|access-date=April 16, 2018}}
{{refend}}

{{Central Sulawesi}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in Central Sulawesi]]
[[Category:Regency seats of Central Sulawesi]]