Pantar

Pantar (Indonesian: Pulau Pantar) is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor. To the east is the island of Alor and other small islands in the archipelago; to the west is the Alor Strait, which separates it from the Solor Archipelago. To the south is the Ombai Strait, and 72 km away, the island of Timor. To the north is the Banda Sea. The island is about 50 km north-to-south, and varies from 11 to 29 km in east-west width. It has an area of 728 km². The main towns on the island are Baranusa and Kabir. Administratively, the island is part of the Alor Regency.

The island consists of two distinct geographic zones. The eastern zone is dominated by a range of verdant hills which drop steeply to the coast of the Alor Strait. The western zone is relatively flat, consisting of a plain which gently slopes to the west from the 900 m active volcano, Mt. Sirung. The western zone is characteristically drier and much less densely populated than the eastern zone. Owing to its relatively low elevation, the entire island is drier than neighboring Alor. The dry season is long, interspersed with heavy rainfall during the rainy season, which peaks during January and February.