volcanoes in indonesia

Indonesia has more than 500 volcanoes, with at least 129 active, such as Merapi and Semeru in Java, Agung in Bali and Rinjani in Lombok. Australia also has many volcanoes but all of them are extinct – volcanoes that are dead and will never erupt again. One of the most famous is Mount Gambier in south Australia. Mount Gambier last erupted 4900 years ago, making it the youngest volcano on the continent of Australia. It is a very popular tourist resort area and the beautiful lake in the crater is famous for its deep blue color.

In Indonesia, however, the story is quite different. There are many volcanoes and many of them are still active. Perhaps one of the best – known volcanoes is Merapi. Merapi is in Central Java. There have been 68 historic eruptions since 1548. The current eruptions began in 1987. because of Merapi’s violent past and because it is close to Yogyakarta, it has been the target of increased research efforts. In late November 1994, the collapse of a lava dome at Merapi caused lava flows that killed 43 people. Smoke rose 6 miles or 10 km above the volcano. Over 6000 people were evacuated. The eruption also started fires. Of course, eruption such as Krakatoa and Tambora in the last century are well known.