Agung, Mount, active volcano and highest mountain, 9,826 ft (2,995 m), of Bali, Indonesia; also called the Peak of Bali and Mt. Agoeng. A roughly symmetrical stratovolcano with a large crater on the E side of its summit, it towers over the surrounding landscape of E Bali. It is is regarded as a sacred peak by Bali's Hindus, whose most important temple is on Agung's SW slope. The volcano's 1963–64 eruption, during which the ashfall extended some 600 mi (1,000 km) from Agung at its height, was also marked by pyroclastic flows and lahars, and killed several thousand people.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Southeast Asia Physical Geography