Sunda Islands, a name that bears in geography two interpretations. (1) It is applied, but not very correctly, to the long chain of islands which stretches from the Malay Peninsula south-east to the north coast of Australia, beginning with Sumatra and ending with Timor. (2) In the more proper sense of the term it means the islands that lie between the east end of Java and the north side of Timor, namely Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sandalwood Island, and some smaller ones. These have been already treated of in separate articles, with the exception of Lombok. This island, with an area of 2098 sq. m. and a pop. of 405,000, is traversed by two chains of mountains (highest summit, 11,620 feet), some of which show signs of volcanic activity, and yields rice, maize, cotton, tobacco, sugar, indigo, and coffee; three-fourths of the people are aborigines (Sassak); all, except 20,000 immigrant Balinese (Brahmans), profess Islam. The Dutch have exercised suzerainty over the native chiefs since 1840. The principal town on the island is Mataram on the west coast.
Sunda Strait is a passage, from 70 to 90 miles in breadth, lying between Sumatra and Java and connecting the Indian Ocean with the Sunda Sea. Several islands stud its waters, as Krakatoa (q.v.), Princes Island, Steers, and Calmeijer.