Earth from Space: Komodo Island, Indonesia

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures a cloud-free view over the island of Komodo in southeastern Indonesia.

Zoom in or click on the circles to explore this image at its full 10 m resolution.

Komodo is part of the Indonesian Lesser Sunda Islands and lies on the Sape Strait between the larger islands (not pictured) of Flores to the east and Sumbawa to the west. The island is of volcanic origin and, as visible in the image, its terrain is generally rugged, with sparse vegetation, featuring rounded hills that reach a maximum elevation of 825 m. The only village, Komodo, sits on the central bay on the east coast.

The turquoise colour in the water along the coasts and around the surrounding islets reveal the presence of shallow waters and coral reefs. Komodo is in fact part of the so-called Coral Triangle, one of the eight major coral reef zones in the world, that contains some of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth. For this reason, the Coral Triangle is also referred to as the ‘Amazon of the seas’ and is considered a global priority for conservation.

Komodo and the surrounding islands are home to several stunning beaches, which can be seen in the image as thin, light strips scattered along the coasts. Few small segments also have a pinkish tint, resulting from the red coral fragments mixed with the white sand. The most famous is the Pink Beach, or Pantai Merah, on the easternmost tip of the central bay on Komodo’s east coast.

Komodo Island is part of the Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. The park is dedicated to protecting the rich local biodiversity, including the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest living lizard, which is named after the island. This giant lizard, which is found only on Komodo and a few neighbouring islands, grows to 3 m in length and can reach a weight of about 135 kg.

In 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) placed the Komodo dragon on its red list of endangered species because climate models suggested that the lizard’s suitable habitat would be reduced between 30 and 70 percent by 2040 due to increases in sea level.