an island in the Malay Archipelago; the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda islands in Indonesia. Area, 5,600 sq km; population, about 1.8 million (1961). Main cities: Singaradja and Denpasar.
The island is mountainous; its highest part is the east, where the volcano Agung (3,142 m) is located. The coasts are steep and slightly dissected; only in the south does a relatively large peninsula protrude. The climate is tropical and monsoonal, with abundant summer precipitation (1,500 mm and more per year) and very dry winters. The island is covered with tropical forests (palms and teak), and there is plantation farming (rice, coffee, and cacao).
Bali is an ancient center of Indonesian culture (“the island of a thousand temples”) and folk art (dance, carving in wood, bone, stone, and horn; masks, utensils, jewelry, richly colored fabrics; and weaving with palm leaves, bamboo, and grasses). Architectural monuments include the royal tombs (11th century), with facades hewn in the rocks; the Elephant Cavern (circa 13th century), with a carved facade and fountain sculpture; and numerous temples (pura) with terraced courtyards, richly decorated gates, and tiered towers. The sculpture of Bali (figures of people and animals) is notably free, vital, and diverse in its themes; painting (contemporary artists are A. A. G. Sobrat and I. B. Made) is marked by decorative design and idyllic images in which human figures merge with luxuriantly colored natural settings.
an interisland sea of the Pacific Ocean between the eastern extremity of the island of Java and the islands of Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sulawesi, and Madura. The area of the sea is 119,000 sq km, the mean depth is 411 m, and the maximum depth is 1,590 m. The temperature of the water is 27° C or 28° C. The salinity is 33–34 parts per thousand. Tides are compound, up to 1.7 m. The main port is Sura-baja on Java.