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Report on Banda Api (Indonesia) — August 1987


Banda Api

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 12, no. 8 (August 1987)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Banda Api (Indonesia) Local seismicity but no change in volcanic activity

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1987. Report on Banda Api (Indonesia) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 12:8. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198708-265090



Banda Api

Indonesia

4.523°S, 129.881°E; summit elev. 596 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 8 September, eight earthquakes were recorded at the Banda Api observatory post, the first seismic activity there since the 17 June regional earthquake. No change in the activity of the volcano was noted.

Geological Summary. The 3-km-wide island of Banda Api is the northern-most volcano in the Banda arc and has a long period of recorded observation because of its key location in the Portuguese and Dutch spice trade. The basaltic-to-rhyodacitic volcano is located in the SW corner of a mostly submerged 7 km caldera. At least two episodes of caldera formation are thought to have occurred, with the arcuate islands of Lonthor and Neira considered to be pre-caldera remnants. A conical peak rises to about 600 m at the center of the island. Eruptions have been recorded since 1586 CE, mostly consisting of Strombolian eruptions from the summit crater, but larger explosive eruptions have occurred and occasional lava flows have reached the coast.

Information Contacts: VSI.