An island of great contrasts
Bali may be small, but
its physical geography is complex, creating an island of great
contrasts. In simple outline, three major areas emerge - the
mountains, the coastal lowlands and the limestone fringes. The
mountains are lofty and spectacular, dominated by Mt Agung and
its neighbors, Abang and Batur. Dramatic lava flows on the northeastern
flanks of Agung are Bali's newest landforms, showing what the
entire island probably looked like a million years ago.
The western mountains provide
the last major wildlife sanctuary. Cultivation is here limited
to coastal areas that are very dry in the north, but more prosperous
and fertile in the south. Coconut groves, cattle pastures and
rain fed fields line the foothills while rice fields are found
along the coast. Unique canals vanish into foothill tunnels
excavated as protection from landslides. In the extreme southwest,
the new Palasari Dam forms the island's only manmade lake. On
Bali's western tip, the coral reefs and clear waters around
Menjangan Island provide fantastic scuba diving.
The southern lowlands formed
the cradle of Balinese civilization. Here it is possible to
grow two or more irrigated rice crops per year. Based on this
agricultural surplus, eight small but powerful kingdoms arose,
symmetrically lining the parallel north-south river valleys
that shaped their early growth.
In contrast to the south,
the north coast hosted only a single kingdom, centered on the
less extensive but equally productive rice lands around Singaraja.
Terracing here continues well into the hills, on slopes which
elsewhere would be regarded as a severe erosion hazard. In Bali,
these terraces stand as firm as masonry because of peculiar
clay minerals within the soil. Further east, the dry coast is
relieved by several major springs which emerge from fissures
in the lava flows. The spring water is used for irrigating table
grapes, a crop that thrives here.
The southern limestone
fringes stand in complete contrast to the rest of Bali. These
are dry and difficult to cultivate. The Bukit Peninsula south
of the airport has impressive southern cliffs and many large
caves. Across the sea to the east, Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan
and Nusa Penida are dry limestone islands with scrubby vegetation
and shallow soils. Villagers on Penida have built ingenious
catchments to collect rainwater. Springs also emerge from the
base of its high southern cliffs, and villagers scramble down
precarious scaffolds to collect water. just as water is the
measure of richness in the interior, so is it the measure of
survival around the periphery. In Bali, water is truly sacred.
An Island Built by Volcanoes
Every aspect of Bali's
geography and ecology is influenced by the towering range of
volcanic peaks that dominate the island. They have created its
landforms, periodically regenerated its soils,and helped to
produce the dramatic downpours which provide the island with
life-giving water. The Balinese recognize these geophysical
facts of life, and the island's many volcanoes, lakes and springs
are considered by them to be sacred.
Bali is continually being
formed by volcanic action. The island lies over a major subduction
zone where the Indo-Australian plate collides with the rigid
Sunda plate with explosive results. A violent eruption of Mt.
Agung (3,142 m before the eruption; 3,014 in now) in 1963 showered
the mountain's upper slopes with ash and debris that slid off
as mudflows, killing thousands of people and laying waste to
irrigation networks and rice fields that had been built up over
many years. Mt Batur (1,717 in) to the west is also active,
with greater frequency but less violence.
A mild, equatorial climate
Lying between 8 and 9 degrees
south of the equator, Bali has a short, hot wet season and a
longer, cooler dry season. The mountains are wet year round,
averaging 2,500 to 3,000 mm (100 to 120 inches) of rain annually,
with warm days and cool nights. The lowlands are hotter and
drier, but fresh and persistent winds make the climate less
oppressive here than elsewhere in the equatorial zone.
The wet season lasts from
November to March, and though there are only five or six hours
of sunshine a day, this is also the hottest time of year (30-31"
C by day, 24-25o C at night). The dry season is from April to
October, when southeasterly winds blow up from the cool Australian
interior (28-29o C by day, and a pleasant 23" C at night),
with seven or eight hours of sunshine daily.
By itself, the rainfall
in the lowlands is not enough for wet rice cultivation. In other
parts of Indonesia, particularly Java, flood waters following
heavy rains can be collected behind dams, but the steep, narrow
valleys of Bali offer no good dam sites. Over the centuries,
the Balinese have instead devised many sophisticated irrigation
systems which optimize the water available from rain and rivers.
Bali's volcanic soils are
in fact not naturally well-suited to wet rice cultivation. They
are deep, finely textured and well-drained, so water soaks through
them rapidly. While this reduces the risk of floods, it wastes
precious water. Paradoxically, the solution is vigorous and
repeated plugging, which actually renders the soils less permeable.
Irrigated areas, moreover, receive a supply of nutrients from
river water enriched by domestic effluents.
Man has extensively modified
the natural vegetation of Bali. The moist primary forest which
is its natural vegetation now covers only 1,010 sq km or 19
percent of Bali's total area, mainly in the western mountains
and along the arc of volcanic peaks from Agung to Batukau. About
a quarter of the forest is protected in four nature reserves,
the largest of which is Bali Barat National Park (763 sq km.
Further reserves are planned to protect another quarter of the
island's forests.
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