Merapi Mountain

The Merapi volcano (2,912 m) is one of the most dangerously active volcanoes in the world. This particular volcano also holds an important part in the Java history and also in the area’s ecosystem and economy.
 
First of all, the top of the mountain may be plain without any vegetation due to the frequent shower of ashes covering the area, yet its flanks are rich in vegetation and the volcanic ash increase the richness of the soil. As a consequence, many villages were set up in the Merapi’s flanks, regardless of the lurking dangers of constant pyroclastic flows and lahar (a mudflow-like mixture of pyroclastic material and water, usually caused by showers of rain).

 Aside from taking advantage of the fertile soil of Merapi, the density of inhabitants nearby the Merapi volcano also produces a number of historical and cultural objects, the most renowned of all probably the Borobudur Temple which is located just among the shadows of the volcano, and also the Prambanan Temple just a few kilometers away.

In fact, the whole area is a popular tourist site, with its fresh air and the beautiful sceneries which could be found in nearby villages such as the Kaliurang village and Tunggularum village. These villages provide routes directing to the Merapi volcano.  The volcano even resides a mere 30 km distance from Yogyakarta, Central Java’s capital city which has a population of over 500,000. 

Nevertheless, Merapi still poses a constant threat for its surroundings. The mountain, which is located in a subduction zone where the Indo-Australian Plate slides under the Eurasian plate, constantly experience considerably small eruptions of gas and lava every 2-3 years and several large and fatal eruptions have also been recorded and the whole of them accumulates to a tragically large death toll.

The Merapi’s peak is originally in the form of a crater, yet usually the crater would be filled with a certain amount of thick lava, which is called a dome. When the dome collapses, the lava that have been building up inside the crater could cause immensely dangerous pyroclastic flows. Several fatal eruptions of Merapi that have been recorded are in 1006, 1786, and 1822. 1872 was noted as Merapi’s most violent eruption and in 1930 its eruption caused 1400 fatalities.

In 1992, Merapi volcano experienced an eruption which continues for ten years. In 1994, the volcano’s dome nearly collapsed entirely and the pyroclastic flow traveled for miles, resulting in the death of at least 40 people. The latest activity of the Merapi volcano has been going on since April 2006 and the villagers nearby had been advised to evacuate from the area, yet most of them insist on staying in the fertile soil of Merapi, no matter how hazardous it may be.