Sumbawa

Island of western Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda Islands), Indonesia; population (2000) 1,130,000. The landscape is mountainous, and includes the active Tambora volcano (2,851 m/9,354 ft) in the northeast. The local economy is based on wet-rice farming and shifting cultivation in the interior, and livestock rearing. Main exports include teak, tamarind, and horses. Bima is the main port and town.

In 1815 Tambora erupted, ejecting material over an area of 700 sq km/270 sq mi, reducing the mountain's height by 1,250 m/4,101 ft. This eruption caused New England's notorious ‘year without summer’ by blocking the sun's warmth with dust in the upper atmosphere.