The Solor Archipelago (Indonesian : Kepulauan Solor) is a group of islands in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia, lying to the east of Flores and the west of the Alor Strait and the Alor Archipelago. To the north is the west part of the Banda Sea, while to the south across the Savu Sea lies the island of Timor. The largest islands are, from west to east, Solor, Adonara, and Lembata (formerly known as Lomblen), although there are many small islands as well.
Administratively, the islands of Solor and Adonara are included within the East Flores Regency, while Lembata (with smaller offshore islands) forms its regency (kabupaten), the Lembata Regency. Both regencies lie within the province of East Nusa Tenggara. The islands are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census [1] and the 2020 Census, [2] and according to the official estimates for mid-2023, [3] together with the number of administrative districts (kecamatan) on each island.
Name | Area in km2 | Population Census 2010 | Population Census 2020 | Population Estimate mid 2023 | Number of districts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solor Island | 226.34 | 27,041 | 34,029 | 36,000 | 3 |
Adonara Island | 529.75 | 104,514 | 126,469 | 132,400 | 8 |
Lembata Island | 1,266.39 | 117,829 | 135,930 | 141,400 | 9 |
Totals | 2,022.48 | 249,384 | 296,428 | 309,800 | 20 |
In addition to the national language of Indonesian, the population also speaks Lamaholot as a lingua franca. There are also many local languages, for example, Adonara which is spoken on Adonara and Solor.
On the South coast of Lembata, the village of Lamalera (pop. 2,500) is known for its hunting of sperm whales and other deep-sea species. This is allowed under International Whaling Commission regulations around aboriginal whaling but conservationists worry that commercial whaling is being carried out in the garb of aboriginal whaling. [4] Lamalera and Lamakera (on the neighbouring island of Solor) are the last two remaining Indonesian whaling communities.
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. Including Komodo and Rinca islands off its west coast, the land area is 14,731.67 km2, and the population was 1,878,875 in the 2020 Census ; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 1,962,405. The largest towns are Maumere and Ende. The name Flores is of Portuguese origin, meaning "Flowers".
Alor is the largest island in the Alor Archipelago and is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia. It is located at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain that runs through southeastern Indonesia, which from the west include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores.
Natuna Regency is an islands regency located in the northernmost part of the Province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. It contains at least 154 islands, of which 127 of them are reported as uninhabited. This archipelago, with a land area of 1,978.49 km2 out of a total area of 264,198.37 km2 area, contains 17 administrative districts (kecamatan).
Adonara is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, located east of the larger island of Flores in the Solor Archipelago. To the east lies Lembata, formerly known as Lomblen. Adonara is the highest of the islands of the archipelago, reaching an altitude of 1,659 metres, and it has an area of 529.75 km2. It is situated administratively in the East Flores Regency of East Nusa Tenggara province.
Anambas Islands Regency is a small archipelago of Indonesia, located 150 nautical miles northeast of Batam Island in the North Natuna Sea between the Malaysian mainland to the west and the island of Borneo to the east. Geographically part of the Tudjuh Archipelago, it is administratively a regency within the Riau Islands Province. It covers a land area of 661.47 square kilometres (255.39 sq mi) and had a population of 37,411 at the 2010 Census and 47,402 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 50,140. The administrative centre is at Tarempa on Siantan Island.
The Alor Archipelago is part of Indonesia and is located in the eastern part of Lesser Sunda Islands.
The Lingga Regency is a group of 600 islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore and along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Province on Sumatra island. They are due south of the populated Riau Archipelago, known for the industrial island of Batam and the tourist-frequented island of Bintan, although the Lingga Islands themselves are rarely visited due to the infrequent local transportation. The equator goes through the northern tip of Lingga Island, the main island in the archipelago.
Pantar is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor. To the east is the island of Alor and other small islands in the archipelago; to the west is the Alor Strait, which separates it from the Solor Archipelago. To the south is the Ombai Strait, and 72 kilometres (45 mi) away, the island of Timor. To the north is the Banda Sea. Pantar is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-to-south, and varies from 11 to 29 kilometres in east–west width. It has an area of 776.12 square kilometres (299.66 sq mi). The main towns on the island are Baranusa and Kabir. Administratively, the island is part of the Alor Regency.
Bengkalis Regency is a regency of Indonesia in Riau Province. The regency was originally established in 1956 and then included most of the northern part of the province, but on 4 October 1999 it was divided up, with most of the territory being split off to form the new Rokan Hilir Regency, Siak Regency and the city of Dumai. On 19 December 2008 a further five districts were removed to create the new Meranti Islands Regency, leaving eight districts in the Bengkalis Regency. These eight districts has increased since 2010 to eleven by the splitting of existing districts on the Sumatran mainland.
Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of Flores island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, in the Solor Archipelago. The island supports a small population that has been whaling for hundreds of years. They speak the languages of Adonara and Lamaholot. There are at least five volcanoes on this island which measures only 40 kilometres by 6 kilometres. The island's area is 226.25 square kilometres, and it had a population of 34,029 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 35,929.
Lembata is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands, also known as Lomblen island; it is the largest island of the Solor Archipelago, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. It forms a separate regency of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. The length of the island is about 80 km from the southwest to the northeast and the width is about 30 km from the west to the east. It rises to a height of 1,533 metres.
Maumere is the administrative seat of the Sikka Regency and the second largest town on Flores Island, Indonesia. It lies on the north coast of the island and the port is in the north-west part of the town. Administratively the town is not a single district (kecamatan) within the regency, but is divided into three districts – Alok Barat, Alok and Alok Timur – although the latter two districts also include a number of substantial islands off the north coast of Flores.
Sumenep Regency is a regency of the East Java province, Indonesia. It has an area of 2,093.47 km2 and a population of 1,042,312 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ; the 2020 census resulted in a total of 1,124,436. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,142,210.
Bintan Regency is an administrative area in the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. Bintan Regency includes all of Bintan Island and also includes many outlying islands including the Tambelan Archipelago and Badas Islands situated between Bintan and West Kalimantan; altogether there are 273 islands comprising the regency.
Alor Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province of Indonesia. Established in 1958, Alor Regency administers the Alor Archipelago with its seat (capital) in Kalabahi on Alor Island.
West Manggarai Regency is one of the eight regencies which comprise the island of Flores, located in the province of East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia. The Regency was created on 25 February 2003 by the separation off of the western districts from Manggarai Regency. It covers a land area of 3,141.47 km2, and had a population of 221,703 at the 2010 census, rising to 251,689 at the 2015 Intermediate census and to 256,317 at the 2020 census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 276,349. The regency's capital is the town of Labuan Bajo.
East Flores Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958, the regency has its seat (capital) in Larantuka on Flores Island. It covers a land area of 1,812.58 km2, and it had a population of 232,605 as of the 2010 census and 276,896 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 288,310 - comprising 141,738 males and 146,572 females. The regency encompasses the eastern tip of the island of Flores, together with all of the adjacent islands of Adonara and Solor to the east of Flores, with some much smaller offshore islands. On 4 October 1999, the island of Lembata at the eastern end of the Solor Archipelago was separated from the East Flores Regency to create its own Regency.
Lembata Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established on 4 October 1999 from the most easterly part of East Flores Regency, the regency covers the island of Lembata, together with three small offshore islands together forming the eastern part of the Solor Archipelago, and has its administrative seat (capital) in Lewoleba. The population of the Regency was 117,829 at the 2010 decennial census and at the 2020 census was 135,930; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 141,391 - comprising 68,409 males and 72,982 females.
Meranti Islands is an archipelago, most of which forms a regency (kabupaten) of Riau Province and lies off the eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was created on 19 December 2008 by the separating of these large islands from the mainly mainland regency of Bengkalis. The regency comprises the islands of Tebing Tinggi, Rangsang, Padang, and Merbau, together with minor offshore islands, but does not include Bengkalis Island to the north, which is geographically part of the archipelago but remains within Bengkalis Regency. The principal town is Selat Panjang on Tebing Tinggi Island. The regency covers an area of 4,769.53 km2 and had a population of 176,290 at the 2010 Census and 206,116 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 211,611.
Banggai Sea Regency is a regency in the province of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The regency was established on 14 December 2012, partitioned from the Banggai Islands Regency. It comprises the southern part of the Banggai Islands archipelago, including the main island of Banggai itself, the islands of Labobo and Bangkurung to the southwest of Banggai Island, and the numerous small Bokan Islands to the southeast; it does not include the larger island of Peleng to the north which forms the Banggai Islands Regency. The new Banggai Sea Regency covers a land area of 725.67 km2, and the districts now comprising the new Regency had a population of 62,183 at the 2010 Census and 70,435 at the 2020 Census; the official population estimate at mid-2023 was 73,100.
8°25′00″S123°27′00″E / 8.41667°S 123.45°E