Lesser Sunda Islands

The Nusa Tenggara (lit. Southeast Islands), or Lesser Sunda Islands, are a group of islands in the middle-south part of Maritime Southeast Asia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands. The islands are part of a volcanic arc, the Sunda Arc, formed by subduction along the Java Trench. They are split into the independent state of East Timor (Timor-Leste) and the Indonesian provinces of Bali, West Nusa Teng... more

The Nusa Tenggara (lit. Southeast Islands), or Lesser Sunda Islands, are a group of islands in the middle-south part of Maritime Southeast Asia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands. The islands are part of a volcanic arc, the Sunda Arc, formed by subduction along the Java Trench. They are split into the independent state of East Timor (Timor-Leste) and the Indonesian provinces of Bali, West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) and East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur). The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two geologically distinct archipelagos. The northern archipelago, which includies Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and Wetar, is volcanic in origin. It began to be formed during the Pliocene, about 15 million years ago, as a result of the collision between the Australian and the Asian plates. The islands of the southern archipelago, including Sumba, Timor and Babar, are non-volcanic and appear to belong to the Australian plate. The geology... less