The Marapi ( Jawi: ماراڤي), or Mount Marapi (, , Jawi: ڬونوواڠ ماراڤي), is a

complex volcano A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano or a volcanic complex, is a mixed landform consisting of related volcanic centers and their associated lava flows and pyroclastic rock. They may form due to changes in eruptive habit or ...

West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...

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, ...

, and is the most active

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. Like that of its quasi-homonym on

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, its name means "Mountain of Fire". Its elevation is . Several cities and towns are situated around the mountain including

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi (, Jawi script, Jawi: , formerly ) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 121,028 in 2020.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. An official es ...

Padang Panjang Padang Panjang (sometimes written as Padangpanjang, and spelt as Padang Pandjang in the Dutch East Indies era, , Jawi: ), is a city located at in the highlands of West Sumatra, around 80 Km inland from the provincial capital Padang. It sits on ...

, and

Batusangkar Batusangkar (''batu'': stone, rock, ''sangkar'': cage) is the capital of the Tanah Datar regency of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is known as "the city of culture". History The town is near the former seat of the Minangkabau people, Minangkabau roy ...

. The volcano is also popular among hikers.

Mythology

According to legend, the mountain is the site first settled by the

Minangkabau people Minangkabau people (; ; ) are an Austronesian people, Austronesian ethnic group native to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra, Western Sumatra region on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Minangkabau's West Sumatera homelands was th ...

after their ship landed on the mountain when it was the size of an egg and surrounded by water. There are large numbers of upright burial stones in the region which are oriented in the direction of the mountain, indicating its cultural significance.

Eruptions

The volcano has a known history of eruptions. Marapi underwent a significant eruption in September 1830. In January 1975 an eruption occurred with mudflows and

lahars A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are often extremely destructiv ...

that caused fatalities in the surrounding area. A significant eruption occurred in 1979, which killed 60 people. At least one person was killed during an eruption in 1996. In April–May 2018 ashfalls to the southeast occurred. Since 2011, the volcano has been at the second level of a four-tier alert system set up by the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia. Predicting the volcano's behavior is described as difficult as the source of its sudden eruptions are shallow and near its peak, while its eruptions are not caused by a deep movement of magma that can be detected as

volcanic earthquake A volcano tectonic earthquake or volcano earthquake is caused by the movement of magma beneath the surface of the Earth. The movement results in pressure changes where the rock around the magma has a change in stress. At some point, this stress ca ...

s on seismic monitors. Nevertheless, there are about 1,400 people living on its slopes in the villages of Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, about 5 to 6 kilometers from the summit.

2023 eruption

On 3 December 2023, the volcano erupted, leaving 23 climbers dead. Three people were injured and rescued. The ash reached to a height of and fell in nearby regions. A exclusion zone was announced. On 22 December, the volcano erupted again, emitting volcanic ash that forced the cancellation of flights at

Minangkabau International Airport Minangkabau International Airport is an airport serving the province of West Sumatra on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located at Ketaping, Padang Pariaman Regency which is about 23 km north-west of Padang, Indonesia, Padang city ...

. As of January 2024, at least 113 eruptions have occurred on Marapi since its initial activity in December, with the latest eruption occurring on 23 January. Ash has risen at least 1300 meters into the air and residents within a radius of 4.5 kilometers have been urged to evacuate their homes. At 12:13 a.m. local time on 27 March, Marapi erupted again, emitting a volcanic ash column with a height of 1.5 kilometers. Flights at Minangkabau International Airport were cancelled again due to the eruption.

2025 eruption

At 9:43 a.m. local time on 04 January, Marapi erupted, emitting a volcanic ash column with a height of 1 kilometers.

Lahar flows

On 11 May 2024, heavy rain triggered mudslides and

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 ...

flows from the volcano, killing at least 67 people and leaving 20 others missing.

References

External links

Indonesian Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marapi Stratovolcanoes of Indonesia Subduction volcanoes Volcanoes of Sumatra Complex volcanoes Active volcanoes of Indonesia Mountains of Sumatra Landforms of West Sumatra Holocene stratovolcanoes