Mount Soputan, one of Sulawesi island’s most active volcanoes, erupted again on Sunday
North Sulawesi’s Soputan volcano erupted on Sunday at about 6:00 am local time, ejecting a column of volcanic gases about 6km into the air.
However, no evacuation order was issued as the volcano did not pose an immediate danger, officials said.
“They nearest residents live some eight kilometers from the mountain and so evacuation is not yet necessary [since the current evacuation zone was set at a 6km radius around the volcano, a forested area that is uninhabited,]” spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.
“Last night, at around 11 pm, the mountain entered its eruption phase,” he said.
Mt Soputan is located about 2,160 km (1,340 miles) northeast of Indonesian capital Jakarta. The volcano had previously erupted in 2008.
Soputan volcano spews thick smoke and heat clouds in Minahasa on October 7, 2008. Source: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.
Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is home to 150 listed volcanoes, some 109 to 130 of which are regarded as active, according to various sources.
A Map of Listed Volcanoes of Indonesia.
Summary of Volcano Details
Country: Indonesia
Region Name: Sulawesi Island
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Last Known Eruption: 2008
Summit Elevation: 1,784 m
Location: 1.108°N, 124.73°E
Soputan on a restful day!
The small Soputan stratovolcano, seen here from the west, was constructed on the southern rim of the Quaternary Tondano caldera in northern Sulawesi Island. The youthful, largely unvegetated Soputan volcano is one of Sulawesi’s most active volcanoes. During historical time the locus of eruptions has included both the summit crater and Aeseput, a prominent NE flank vent that formed in 1906 and was the source of intermittent major lava flows until 1924. Photo (undated) by Agus Solihin (Volcanological Survey of Indonesia). Image and caption: GVP.
Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire is an area of frequent siesmic activity and volcanic eruptions caused by plate tectonic movements. Encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean, which contains oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts, the 40,000 km Ring of Fire is home to 452 volcanoes. About ninety percent of the world’s earthquakes including 80% of the world’s major earthquakes occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin form the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The trenches are shown in blue-green. The volcanic island arcs, although not labeled, are parallel to, and always landward of, the trenches. For example, the island arc associated with the Aleutian Trench is represented by the long chain of volcanoes that make up the Aleutian Islands. (Source: USGS.)
Other Volcanic Activity/ Unrest
- Ambrym, Vanuatu (SW Pacific)
- Kirishima, Kyushu
- Nabro, Eritrea
- Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Central Chile
[Source: Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for June 22 – 28]
Related Links
- Mount Soputan volcano erupts again! [October 7, 2008]
Fire Earth 