Alas Strait

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Alas Strait
Selat Alas (Indonesian)
Gunung Rinjani yang Terlihat dari Selat Alas.jpg
The Alas Strait, looking westwards with Mount Rinjani on Lombok in the background.
Sumbawa Topography.png
Red pog.svg
Alas Strait
Sumbawa island, with the Alas Strait to its left
Coordinates 8°40′S116°40′E / 8.667°S 116.667°E / -8.667; 116.667
Type strait
Basin  countries Indonesia
References Selat Alas: Indonesia National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD, USA

The Alas Strait is a strait that separates Lombok and Sumbawa, the two principal islands of Indonesia forming West Nusa Tenggara province.

The strait was bridged by land until about 14,000 years before present when sea level rose to about 75 meters below present sea level, [1] unlike Lombok Strait and Alor Strait which continued to be water gaps even during the Last Glacial Maximum, at each end of a 400-mile-long island including present-day Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Solor, Adonara, and Lembata.

Alas Strait between Lombok (middle) and Sumbawa (right), seen from the International Space Station ISS009-E-7470 - View of Indonesia.jpg
Alas Strait between Lombok (middle) and Sumbawa (right), seen from the International Space Station

See also

References

  1. "Pleistocene Sea Level Maps". The Field Museum.