Lesser Sunda Islands

The Lesser Sunda Islands, known within Indonesia as Nusa Tenggara, are an archipelago of roughly 975 islands stretching southeast of Java across Indonesia and Timor-Leste. The northern chain is volcanic, having begun forming in the Pliocene about 15 million years ago where the Australian and Sunda plates collide, while the southern islands are non-volcanic and sit on the Australian Plate itself. The chain runs west to east through Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Savu, Rote and Timor, and it is home to Mount Rinjani on Lombok, which rises to 3,726 meters. The Wallace Line, a major biogeographic boundary, passes between Bali and Lombok, and the islands are home to the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard.