Report on Karangetang (Indonesia) — August 1979
Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 4, no. 8 (August 1979)
Managing Editor: David Squires.
Karangetang (Indonesia) Explosion from new flank vent
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1979. Report on Karangetang (Indonesia) (Squires, D., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 4:8. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN197908-267020
Karangetang
Indonesia
2.781°N, 125.407°E; summit elev. 1797 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
On 31 May at about 0200 an explosion produced a new crater at about 1,300 m elevation on the NNW flank. A 600-m eruption column and a loud noise were reported. Gas emission from three vents in the new crater was continuing in mid-Aug and the 784 inhabitants of nearby villages remained on alert.
Geological Summary. Karangetang (Api Siau) volcano lies at the northern end of the island of Siau, about 125 km NNE of the NE-most point of Sulawesi. The stratovolcano contains five summit craters along a N-S line. It is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, with more than 40 eruptions recorded since 1675 and many additional small eruptions that were not documented (Neumann van Padang, 1951). Twentieth-century eruptions have included frequent explosive activity sometimes accompanied by pyroclastic flows and lahars. Lava dome growth has occurred in the summit craters; collapse of lava flow fronts have produced pyroclastic flows.
Information Contacts: A. Sudradjat, VSI.
