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.

Solor Archipelago

Space Shuttle Photograph of Solor Archipelago

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.

On the South coast of Lembata, the village of Lamalera (pop. 2,500) is known for its hunting of the sperm whale and other deep-sea species. This is allowed under International Whaling Commission regulations around aboriginal whaling but conservationists worry that commercial whaling is also done.[2] Lamalera and Lamakera (on the neighbouring island of Solor) are the last two remaining Indonesian whaling communities.