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Mount Galunggung (Indonesian: ''Gunung Galunggung'', formerly spelled ''Galoen-gong'', ) is an active
stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
in
West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, around southeast of the West Java provincial capital,
Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
(or around to the northwest of the West Java town of
Tasikmalaya Tasikmalaya (also known as Tasik) is a landlocked city in West Java, Indonesia. The city is sometimes dubbed ''kota santri'' (city of religious learners) or "the City of a Thousand Pesantrens" for its abundance of Islamic boarding schools. Locat ...
). Mount Galunggung is part of the Sunda Arc extending through Sumatra, Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands, which has resulted from the subduction of the
Australian Plate The Australian plate is or was a major tectonic plate in the eastern and, largely, southern hemispheres. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, Australia remained connected to India and Antarctica until approximately when Indi ...
beneath the Eurasian Plate. For the first time since 1982 after eruptions finished and conditions seemed normal, on February 12, 2012, the status was upgraded to Alert based on changes in conditions. On May 28, 2012, it was lowered from 2 back to 1 (on a scale of 1–4).


1822 eruption

Galunggung had its first historically documented eruption in 1822. It produced
pyroclastic flows A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...
and lahars that killed 4,011 people.


Hazardous eruption of 1982

The last major eruption on Galunggung was in 1982, which had a
Volcanic Explosivity Index The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) is a scale used to measure the size of explosive volcanic eruptions. It was devised by Christopher G. Newhall of the United States Geological Survey and Stephen Self in 1982. Volume of products, eruption c ...
of 4 and indirectly killed 18people in traffic accidents and by starvation. This eruption also brought the dangers of
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...
to aviation to worldwide attention after two
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
passenger jets flying downwind of the eruption suffered temporary engine failures and damage to exterior surfaces, with both planes being forced to make emergency landings at
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
airport. One plane— British Airways Flight 009, carrying 248 passengers and 15 crew traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to
Perth, Australia Perth () is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the ...
, on June 24, 1982—accidentally entered the ash cloud at night, about downwind of the volcano. All four engines failed due to the build-up of volcanic ash, and the aircraft descended for 16minutes, losing of its altitude, until the crew managed to restart the engines and land in Jakarta. Three weeks later, on July 14, a
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA or SQ) is the flag carrier of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Changi Airport. Considered to be one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked ...
airplane with approximately 230passengers aboard also inadvertently entered the cloud at night, and three of its four engines stopped. The crew succeeded in restarting one of the engines after descending . Both aircraft suffered serious damage to their engines and exterior surfaces.


Historical avalanche deposits

A hummock deposit known as the Ten Thousand Hills of
Tasikmalaya Tasikmalaya (also known as Tasik) is a landlocked city in West Java, Indonesia. The city is sometimes dubbed ''kota santri'' (city of religious learners) or "the City of a Thousand Pesantrens" for its abundance of Islamic boarding schools. Locat ...
attracted the attention of early-20th-century
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
s. Houses were built on the hummocks since they provided good defence against hostile people, and being above the paddy fields were free of
mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
es and
rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...
s. Originally it was thought that either it had been formed by a
lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...
caused by the release of the waters of the
crater lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ) is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is a tourist attraction for its deep blue color and water clarity. T ...
, or that it was man-made, composed of rocks and boulders dumped there after being cleared from paddy fields. However, in the light of the Mount St. Helens eruption of 1980 and from examination of the
Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( ; Shasta people, Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk language, Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a Volcano#Volcanic activity, potentially active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. A ...
deposits, it has become clear that the hummocks are a debris-avalanche deposit. Like these mountains, Galunggung has a horseshoe-shaped crater indicating a massive
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...
, and examination of shattered lava blocks revealed them to be similar to deposits on the other two volcanoes. According to
radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...
dating of samples taken from a lava flow, the landslide happened within the last 23,000 years.


See also

*
Volcanoes of Java The Indonesian island of Java (island), Java is almost entirely of Volcanoes, volcanic origin, and contains numerous volcanoes, 45 of which are considered active volcanoes. As is the case for many other Indonesian islands, volcanoes have played ...
*
List of volcanoes in Indonesia The geography of Indonesia is dominated by volcanoes that are formed due to subduction zones between the Eurasian plate and the Australian plate, Indo-Australian plate. Some of the volcanoes are notable for their eruptions, for instance, Krak ...
* List of volcanic eruptions by death toll


References


External links

* *
NOAA facts and figures about Galunggung

Volcanological Survey of Indonesia

Official website of Indonesian volcanoes at USGS
{{Authority control Stratovolcanoes of Indonesia Subduction volcanoes Volcanoes of West Java VEI-5 volcanoes Active volcanoes of Indonesia 20th-century volcanic events 19th-century volcanic events Holocene stratovolcanoes Ciwulan basin Citanduy basin