Timor, the most important of the chain of islands which stretch eastward from Java, has a length of 300 miles, an area of 12,264 sq. m., and pop. of about 500,000. A chain of wood-clad mountains runs throughout its entire length; one peak, Atlas, near the south coast, being 11,500 feet in height. It is less volcanic than its smaller neighbours of the Sunda group, but it contains some quiescent or extinct volcanoes. Magnetic iron, porphyry, gold, copper, and sulphur are found. Otherwise the natural wealth of the island is not great, the comparatively dry climate producing a much less luxuriant vegetation than in Java. The exports are mainly maize, sandalwood, wax, tortoise-shell, and trepang. Separated from the Australasian region by the Arafura sea, the island shows few Australian types amongst its fauna and flora, which resemble those of Java, Celebes, and the Moluccas. The population is mainly Papuan, mixed with Malay and other elements. The smaller western portion belongs to the Dutch, with its capital at Kupang; the eastern part is Portuguese, capital Deli; but native chiefs really govern the island.
See Wallace's Australasia (1878), Forbes's Eastern Archipelago (1885), and Bastiat's Indonesien (1885).