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Lawu

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Primary Volcano Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  •  
  • 7.625°S
  • 111.192°E

  • 3265 m
    10712 ft

  • 263260
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

Most Recent Bulletin Report: May 1979 (SEAN 04:05) Citation IconCite this Report

Earthquake swarm during late 1978

The Indonesian newspaper Kompas reported that the first earthquakes of a swarm in the vicinity of the Lawu volcanic complex were felt on 10 December 1978. Area residents reported 14 felt shocks in December, five in January, two in February, six in March, and eight in April. The earthquakes were usually preceded by thunder-like rumbling from the direction of Lawu.

Seismicity became more frequent in late April and early May. At least four felt events occurred on 26 April, including a 10-second earthquake at 1900 that damaged a temple and a transmitting station. On 4 May a landslide in Lawu's Candradimuka Crater (in the S part of the complex) was followed by emission of a thick vapor cloud that was accompanied by a sulfur odor. Between the evening of 4 May and 0700 the next morning, nine events were felt. A total of 27 felt shocks occurred on 5 May, 37 on the 6th, and 35 on the 8th. A series of five earthquakes lasting 4-6 seconds each took place at about 1230 on 9 May. During a 12-hour period 14-15 May, there were more than 1,000 recorded events, more than 50 of which were felt. A VSI team is investigating the seismicity.

Further Reference. Tjia, H.D., and Hamidi, S., 1981, An earthquake swarm around Lawu volcano in Java: Berita Geologi, v. 13, p. 108-111.

Information Contacts: Kompas, Jakarta.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Lawu.

Bulletin Reports - Index

Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.

05/1979 (SEAN 04:05) Earthquake swarm during late 1978




Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


May 1979 (SEAN 04:05) Citation IconCite this Report

Earthquake swarm during late 1978

The Indonesian newspaper Kompas reported that the first earthquakes of a swarm in the vicinity of the Lawu volcanic complex were felt on 10 December 1978. Area residents reported 14 felt shocks in December, five in January, two in February, six in March, and eight in April. The earthquakes were usually preceded by thunder-like rumbling from the direction of Lawu.

Seismicity became more frequent in late April and early May. At least four felt events occurred on 26 April, including a 10-second earthquake at 1900 that damaged a temple and a transmitting station. On 4 May a landslide in Lawu's Candradimuka Crater (in the S part of the complex) was followed by emission of a thick vapor cloud that was accompanied by a sulfur odor. Between the evening of 4 May and 0700 the next morning, nine events were felt. A total of 27 felt shocks occurred on 5 May, 37 on the 6th, and 35 on the 8th. A series of five earthquakes lasting 4-6 seconds each took place at about 1230 on 9 May. During a 12-hour period 14-15 May, there were more than 1,000 recorded events, more than 50 of which were felt. A VSI team is investigating the seismicity.

Further Reference. Tjia, H.D., and Hamidi, S., 1981, An earthquake swarm around Lawu volcano in Java: Berita Geologi, v. 13, p. 108-111.

Information Contacts: Kompas, Jakarta.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 1 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1885 Nov 28 - 1885 Nov 28 Confirmed Eruption Max VEI: 1

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
1885 Nov 28 - 1885 Nov 28 Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Ash weak or small
1885 Nov 28    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

[ 1752 May 1 ] Discredited Eruption

Deformation History

There is data available for 1 deformation periods. Expand each entry for additional details.


Deformation during 2006 - 2009 [Uplift; Observed by InSAR]

Start Date: 2006 Stop Date: 2009 Direction: Uplift Method: InSAR
Magnitude: Unknown Spatial Extent: Unknown Latitude: Unknown Longitude: Unknown

Remarks: Shallow-sourced inflation at Lawu has so far not resulted in eruption.

Figure (see Caption)

Averaged 2006?2009 LOS velocity map of the west Sunda volcanic arc, Indonesia, from ALOS InSAR time series, overlaying SRTM V4 DEM. Only pixels with a temporal coherence larger than 0.6 are shown. Black arrows: relative plate convergence rates at the Sunda trench (red line). Insets: zoom into 7 deforming volcanic centers, upper left: inflating volcanoes, lower right: deflating volcano.

From: Chaussard and Amelung 2012.


Reference List: Chaussard and Amelung 2012.

Full References:

Chaussard E, Amelung F, 2012. Precursory inflation of shallow magma reservoirs at west Sunda volcanoes detected by InSAR. Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L21311. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL053817

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Lawu.

GVP Map Holdings

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included. The maps database originated over 30 years ago, but was only recently updated and connected to our main database. We welcome users to tell us if they see incorrect information or other problems with the maps; please use the Contact GVP link at the bottom of the page to send us email.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Lawu in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites