| Geography
& Geology
Flores
island is one of the island on East Nusa Tenggara province. It
stretches between the east longitudes of 118° and 125°, and
between the latitudes of 8° and 11° south. The east Nusa
Tenggara cover the area 49,880 sq km and it has a population
of 3,500,000. Flores
becomes one of the biggest island on the territory of East Nusa
Tenggara or NTT which comprises 566 islands, including many
smaller islands which are not in-habitated and unnamed. The
three main islands are Flores, Sumba and Timor from which comes
the term 'Flobamor', which has been familiar as one of the names
of NTT.
Flores
is the volcanic island and has unique and
spectacular attractions. Mount Kelimutu has become a favourite
destination, with its three crater lakes of different colours.
Sumba is the island
famous for its arts, handicrafts, particularly the textile
weaving, and cultural assets. Timor,
being the principal island with Kupang as its capital, serves as
the centre of government and economic activities.
The
other permanently inhabitated islands are Lembata, Adonara,
Solor, Palue, Nules, Komodo, Rinca, Sumba, Sabu, Raijua, Rote,
Semau, Alor and Pantar.
Roughly 57 percent of the territory is hilly with mountains
rising to 2427m (Gunung Mutis) in Timor and 1792m (G. Kelimutu)
in Flores. The mountains of East Nusa Tenggara are not as high
as in West Nusa Tenggara where the highest mountain of all of
Nusa Tenggara is G. Rinjani in Lombok (3726m).
Geologically,
East Nusa Tenggara can be regarded as being divided into two
zones:
- a
volcanic inner curve formed by the islands of Rinca, Komodo,
Flores, Alor, Pantar, Adonara, Lembata and Solor, which have
fertile soils; and
- an
outer curve of limestone and other rock formations, made up
up of Sumba, Sabu, Rote, Semau and Timor.
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