Mount Merapi Erupts Repeatedly

Mount Merapi erupted at least six times Friday, spewing ash and lava

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano erupted repeatedly on Friday, spewing ash and lava, reports say.

The plume reportedly rose to a height of  about 1,500 meters (~ 5,000 feet).

Mount Merapi volcano spewed lava for the first time in its latest round of activity which began Tuesday.  Photo: AFP/ Getty Images. Image may be subject to copyright.

Mount Merapi, located north of the Yogyakarta, on the densely populated island of Java, is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes.

Mount Merapi volcano eruption in 2006. Photo: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Mount Merapi rumbled for many hours before spewing smoke on Tuesday. Photo shows volcano from Balerante, Central Java, Indonesia. Merapi last erupted in 2006. About 1,400 people have been killed as a result of 3 previous eruptions since 1930. Image Credit: AP. Caption: Fire-Earth.

Merapi, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, lies in one of the world’s most densely populated areas and dominates the landscape immediately north of the major city of Yogyakarta. Merapi is the youngest and southernmost of a volcanic chain extending NNW to Ungaran volcano. Growth of Old Merapi volcano beginning during the Pleistocene ended with major edifice collapse perhaps about 2000 years ago, leaving a large arcuate scarp cutting the eroded older Batulawang volcano. Subsequently growth of the steep-sided Young Merapi edifice, its upper part unvegetated due to frequent eruptive activity, began SW of the earlier collapse scarp. Pyroclastic flows and lahars accompanying growth and collapse of the steep-sided active summit lava dome have devastated cultivated lands on the volcano’s western-to-southern flanks and caused many fatalities during historical time. The volcano is the object of extensive monitoring efforts by the Merapi Volcano Observatory. Photo by Yustinus Sulistiyo, 1994 (Volcanological Survey of Indonesia); caption: GVP

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