Solor Archipelago

The Solor Archipelago (Indonesian: Kepulauan Solor) is a group of islands in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia, lying to the east of Flores and to 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 own regency (kabupaten), the Lembata Regency, within the province of East Nusa Tenggara; the latter has an area of 473.5 sq mi (1,226.38 km2) and a population of 127,563 (2014 official estimate).[1]

In addition to the national language of Indonesian, the population also speak Lamaholot as a lingua franca. There are also many local languages, for example Adonara which is spoken on Adonara and Solor.

The village of Lamakera was until recently known for its hunting of sperm whales from small open boats, permitted under International Whaling Commission rules as aboriginal whaling.

References

Coordinates: 8°25′00″S 123°27′00″E / 8.41667°S 123.45°E / -8.41667; 123.45


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