The Mystery of Javas Volcanoes : Indonesia

The Mystery of Javas Volcanoes : Indonesia

 

 

 

          The island of Java in Indonesia lies above four tectonic plates: the Eurasian, Pacific, Australian, and Philippine Sea plates. This mighty convergence gives rise to one of the most volcanically active places on earth. When the volcanic island of Krakatau last erupted in the late 19th century, it sent shockwaves seven and a half times around the earth. Marvel at glorious footage close to the mouth of this mighty volcano and witness Ijen volcano emit an unearthly blue flame in the dark night as its magma rises close to the earth's surface. Here, the mysteries of this Land of Fire Mountains are revealed.

          Mount Batur (Gunung Batur) is an active volcano located at the center of two concentric calderas north west of Mount Agung, Bali, Indonesia. The south east side of the larger 10×13 km caldera contains a caldera lake. The inner 7.5-kilometer-wide caldera, which was formed during emplacement of the Bali (or Ubud) ignimbrite, has been dated at about 23,670 and 28,500 years ago.

          The southeast wall of the inner caldera lies beneath Lake Batur; Batur cone has been constructed within the inner caldera to a height above the outer caldera rim. The Batur stratovolcano has produced vents over much of the inner caldera, but a NE-SW fissure system has localized the Batur I, II, and III craters along the summit ridge. Historical eruptions have been characterized by mild-to-moderate explosive activity sometimes accompanied by lava emission. Basaltic lava flows from both summit and flank vents have reached the caldera floor and the shores of Lake Batur in historical time. The caldera contains an active, 700-metre-tall stratovolcano rising above the surface of Lake Batur. The first historically documented eruption of Batur was in 1804, and it has been frequently active since then. The substantial lava field from the 1968 eruption is visible today when viewed from Kintamani, a town that stradles the southwest ridge of the greater caldera.

Mount Bromo (Indonesian: Gunung Bromo), is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif, in East Java, Indonesia.

Mount Batur, Bali, Indonesia  and Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta City, Indonesia

          Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi (literally Fire Mountain in Indonesian/Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the large Yogyakarta city, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

          Smoke can be seen emerging from the mountaintop at least 300 days a year, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

Mount Bromo (Indonesian: Gunung Bromo), is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif, in East Java, Indonesia.

Mount Bromo at Night

Satellite image of Gunung Bromo, Indonesia 

Mount Bromo seen from viewpoint on Mount Penanjakan

          Mount Bromo (Indonesian: Gunung Bromo), is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif, in East Java, Indonesia. At 2,329 metres (7,641 ft) it is not the highest peak of the massif, but is the most well known. The massif area is one of the most visited tourist attractions in East Java, Indonesia. The volcano belongs to the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The name of Bromo derived from Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu creator god.

          Mount Bromo sits in the middle of a vast plain called the "Sea of Sand" (Javanese: Segara Wedi or Indonesian: Lautan Pasir), a protected nature reserve since 1919. The typical way to visit Mount Bromo is from the nearby mountain village of Cemoro Lawang. From there it is possible to walk to the volcano in about 45 minutes, but it is also possible to take an organised jeep tour, which includes a stop at the viewpoint on Mount Penanjakan (2,770 m or 9,088 ft) (Indonesian: Gunung Penanjakan). The viewpoint on Mount Penanjakan can also be reached on foot in about two hours. From inside the caldera, sulfur is collected by workers.

          Depending on the degree of volcanic activity, the Indonesian Centre for Volcanology and Disaster Hazard Mitigation sometimes issues warnings against visiting Mount Bromo.

The Toruists at Mount Bromo

Mount Bromo at Night

The Crater of Mount Bromo, Surabaya, Indonesia

The Crater of Mount Bromo

The Crater of Mount Bromo, Surabaya, Indonesia
 

Mount Bromo, Indonesian island of Java
On Java, locals climb volcanoes to offer live sacrifices in thanks for the peaks' help in precipitating rain and fertilising plants with ash.

Kawah Ijen volcano and crater lake, Java, Indonesia

Kawah Ijen volcano and crater lake, Java, Indonesia

          The Ijen volcano complex is a group of stratovolcanoes in the Banyuwangi Regency of East Java, Indonesia. It is inside a larger caldera Ijen, which is about 20 kilometers wide. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex. The name "Gunung Merapi" means "mountain of fire" in the Indonesian language (api being "fire"); Mount Merapi in central Java and Marapi in Sumatra have the same etymology.

          West of Gunung Merapi is the Ijen volcano, which has a one-kilometer-wide turquoise-colored acid crater lake. The lake is the site of a labor-intensive sulfur mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor. The work is paid well considering the cost of living in the area, but is very onerous.  Workers earn around Rp 50,000 - 75,000 ($5.50-$8.30) per day and once out of the crater, still need to carry their loads of sulfur chunks about three kilometers to the nearby Pultuding Valley to get paid.

Kawah Ijen volcano and crater lake, Java, Indonesia

Kawah Ijen volcano and crater lake, Java, Indonesia

Sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor at Kawah Ijen volcano.

Mining for sulfur inside a volcano
Think your work environment is bad?   Ivan Watson sees how miners in Indonesia deal with toxic fumes, low visibility and heavy loads as they work inside Mount Ijen.
Source: CNN

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