Geography of Nusa Lembongan Island

Nusa Lembongan (Nusa = Island) is one of three neighbouring islands of Bali, approximately 12 miles from south east Bali and 20 miles from Lombok. The other two (2) islands are Nusa Penida being the bigger and Nusa Ceningan being the smaller.

Nusa Lembongan is a pristine tropical island, its highest point is 50 meters above sea level. Lembongan has an average rainfall of approximately 1000 mm per year. Little temperature variation from 30 degrees Celsius occurs between the only two seasons this island experiences being the wet and the dry. The wet season is from December to February and the dry is from March to November. As it has only three months of rainfall, this island is dry for the remainder of the year. Little cultivation occurs, as almost 2/3 of the island is infertile. Seeding is normally done on the wet season and only corn, cassava and peanuts are farmed. Also found on the island are cashew nuts, mangoes and coconut. Fresh water is limited and most of the supply is derived from wells up to 60 meters deep.

Nusa Lembongan is located on the Wallace line. Sir Alfred Wallace, a historic naturalist who conducted extensive studies of this area, determined the Wallace line. The Wallace line is still recognised as a biological division between Asia and Australia/Pacific. Many species of bird, animal and flora indigenous to Australia are not found West of this line, as the flora and fauna on the west ‘Asian’ side are not found to the east of this line. The ocean currents that funnel their way between these islands are rich in macrobiotic life that support abundant coral and fish life in shallow waters surrounding these islands.