Komodo (island)

Komodo
New 7 Wonders of Nature

Northern tip of the island
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Coordinates	8°33′S 119°27′E / 8.55°S 119.45°E / -8.55; 119.45Coordinates: 8°33′S 119°27′E / 8.55°S 119.45°E / -8.55; 119.45
Archipelago	Lesser Sunda Islands
Area	390 km2 (150 sq mi)
Administration
Indonesia
Province	East Nusa Tenggara
Demographics
Population	c. 2000
Ethnic groups	Bugis, others

Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that compose the Republic of Indonesia. The island is particularly notable as the habitat of the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth, which is named after the island. Komodo Island has a surface area of 390 square kilometres and a human population of over two thousand. The people of the island are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed with Bugis from Sulawesi. The people are primarily adherents of Islam but there are also Christian and Hindu congregations.

Komodo is part of the Lesser Sunda chain of islands and forms part of the Komodo National Park. In addition, the island is a popular destination for diving. Administratively, it is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province.

Komodo is part of the Lesser Sunda chain of islands and forms part of the Komodo National Park. It lies between the substantially larger neighboring islands Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east. The island's surface area covers 390 square kilometres.

The earliest stories of a dragon existing in the region circulated widely and attracted considerable attention. But no one visited the island to check the story until official interest was sparked in the early 1910s by stories from Dutch sailors based in Flores in East Nusa Tenggara about a mysterious creature. The creature was allegedly a dragon which inhabited a small island in the Lesser Sunda Islands (the main island of which is Flores).