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Report on Banda Api (Indonesia) — July 1989


Banda Api

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 14, no. 7 (July 1989)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Banda Api (Indonesia) Weak white fumes from summit, N, and S craters

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1989. Report on Banda Api (Indonesia) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 14:7. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198907-265090



Banda Api

Indonesia

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


By July 1989, the volcano's activity approached background level. White weak fumes reached 25-35 m above the summit crater and 5-10 m above the N and S craters during the last week in July. Three volcanic A-type, 49 volcanic B-type, one degassing, and 165 tectonic earthquakes were recorded.

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.