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Report on Kie Besi (Indonesia) — August 1988


Kie Besi

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 8 (August 1988)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Kie Besi (Indonesia) Weak steam emission and seismicity

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1988. Report on Kie Besi (Indonesia) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 13:8. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198808-268070



Kie Besi

Indonesia

0.32°N, 127.4°E; summit elev. 1357 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Smaller explosions continued until early August, then activity steadily decreased. Weak emissions of white steam reached more than 100 m above the crater rim during August. About 17 volcanic and seven tectonic earthquakes were registered daily.

Geological Summary. Kie Besi volcano, forming the 10-km-wide Makian island off the west coast of Halmahera, has been the source of infrequent, but strong eruptions that have devastated villages on the island. The large 1.5-km-wide summit crater, containing a small lake on the NE side, gives the peak a flat-topped profile. Two prominent valleys extend to the coast from the summit crater on the north and east sides. Four cones are found on the western flanks. Eruption have been recorded since about 1550; major eruptions in 1646, 1760-61, 1861-62, 1890, and 1988 caused extensive damage and many fatalities.

Information Contacts: VSI.