SALSETTE, an island In the Indian Ocean, close to the west coast of Ilinflustae, and included In the British presidency of Bombay. It a little to the north of the island of Bombay, with which it is united by a causeway which was constructed in 1805, but which is so narrow as to be rarely used by carriages. Salsette extends from 19' 4' to 19* 17' N. lat., 72' 50' to 73° 2' E. long., with an average length of abont 16 miles, and an average breadth of about 10 miles ; its area is therefore about 160 square miles.
The island consists for the most part of rocky hills, in some parts of considerable elevation, but covered with underwood to their tope ; in the valleys there are groves of mangoes and palms, and some fine timber-trees. There are tigers in the jungle, and great numbers of monkeys and jungle-fowl. The soil is said to be fertile, but little care is bestowed on its cultivation. An excellent road has been formed round the island by the Bombay government. Tannah and Gorabunder are the only towns. Gorabunder is little better than a poor village, but Tannah ie a neat and flourishing town on the eastern coast of the island, chiefly inhabited by descendants of Portuguese and by Hindoos. There is a small but regular fortress, with a con siderable cantonment of Brit eh troops at Tannah. The hills are inhabited by a wild race of people, who are charcoal-burners, and have little or no intercourse with the Hindoos, who inhabit the lower grounds.
The chief objects of curiosity in Saleette are the temple caves of Kennery, which resemble those of Elora and Elephants. They are for the most part small, and are cut in two of the sides of a hill, at different heights and of various forms. The largest cave is a Buddhist temple, a rectangle about 50 feet long by 20 feet wide, terminated by a semicircle. The entrance ie formed by a lofty portico, over which, but detached and a little to the left, is a high octagonal column, with three lions sculptured on the top, seated back to back. A colossal statue of Buddha, with his hands raised in supplication, is on the east side of the portico. The temple is entered by a large door, above which are throe windows contained in a semicircular arch. A colonnade of octagonal pillars surrounds the temple on every side except the entrance. The ceiling of the cave is a semicircular arch, curiously ornamented with slender ribs of teak-wood, of the came curve as the coiling, which they seem to support; this however is not the case.
Salsette is supposed to contain about 50,000 inhabitants, who are chiefly occupied in fishing, of whom about 10,000 are of Portuguese origin. The Portuguese obtained possession of the island in the 16th century, bnt it was taken from them by the Mahrattas in 1750, and conquered from the Mahrattas by the British in 1774.