Mount Merapi

Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi, is a conical volcano 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 very close to the city of Yogyakarta, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1700 m above sea level.

Although smoke can be seen emerging from the mountain top at least 300 days a year, several eruptions have caused fatalities. Hot gas from a large explosion killed 64 people on November 22 in 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.

Merapi is the youngest in a group of volcanoes in southern Java. It is situated at a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian Plate is sliding beneath the Eurasian Plate. It is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire – a section of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and South East Asia. Stratigraphic analysis reveals that eruptions in the Merapi area began about 400,000 years ago, and from then until about 10,073 years ago, eruptions were typically effusive, and the outflowing lava emitted was basaltic. Since then, eruptions have become more explosive, with viscous andesitic lavas often generating lava domes. Dome collapse has often generated pyroclastic flows, and larger explosions, which have resulted in eruption columns, have also generated pyroclastic flows through column collapse.

Climbing

You can access the highest peak, named Garuda Peak, passing 3 route:

Track I (north track) : [Surakarta – Boyolali – Selo] – Lencoh – Watu Pecah – Pasar Bubrah - Merapi Peak.

Track II (South track) : [Jogja – Kaliurang – Kinahrejo] – Kendit – Merapi Peak.

Track III (West track) : [Yogyakarta – Muntilan – Babadan] – Klatakan – Merapi Peak.

 Mount Merapi Picture

Country: Indonesia 
Subregion Name: Java (Indonesia) 
Volcano Number: 0603-25= 

Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status: Historical 
Last Known Eruption: 2008 
Summit Elevation: 2968 m 9,737 feet 
Latitude: 7.542°S 7°32'30"S 
Longitude: 110.442°E 110°26'30"E