LOMBOK (called Tanah Sasak by the natives, and Saliparan or Selaparang by the Balinese, Lombok being properly the name only of a village on the north-east side), an island of the East Indian Archipelago, belonging to the Lesser Sunda group, and separated from Bali by the Strait of Lombok, from Sumbawa by the Strait of Alas. It stretches from about 115° 44' to 116° 40' E. long, and from 8° 12' to 9° 1' S. lat., and its area is estimated at 2080 square miles. Rising out of the sea with bold and often precipitous coasts, Lombok is mountainous towards the south, and in the north-east contains one of the principal volcanic summits of the whole archipelago—Rindjani or Peak of Lombok, 8688 feet according to Horsburgh’s measurement, 12,379 according to Melvill de Carnbée, and 11,834 according to Smits. There is no active crater in the island, but in 1815 it suffered severely from the eruption of Tombora on the neighbouring island of Sumbawa. Of the numerous streams by which it is watered none are navigable except by small boats; among the mountain lakes Segara Anak, lying some 9000 feet above the sea, is noteworthy in point of size. The best harbour is Ampanan (8° 34' 15" S. lat., 116° 3' 40" E. long.) on the west coast, often visited by European and American vessels; that of Labuhan Tring farther south is also good, but less frequented. Forest-clad mountains and stretches of thorny jungle alternating with rich alluvial plains, cultivated like gardens under an ancient and elaborate system of irrigation, make the scenery of Lombok exceedingly attractive; and to the naturalist it is of particular interest as the frontier island of the Australian region, with its cockatoos and megapods or mound-builders, its peculiar bee-eaters and ground thrushes. Rice is the principal ...