Continuing the exploration of the most deadliest and scariest volcanoes in the world, we will travel to Columbia and Indonesia, where you will learn about active volcanoes that have a million years of destruction linked to their existence. In this article, you will meet Galeras and Mount Merapi.
4) Galeras (Colombia)
In the past, the active stratovolcano now called Galeras, was once known to the indigenous people as ‘Urcunina.’ Located close to the city of Pasto, the volcano displays a summit that reaches 14,029 feet above sea level. Galeras has caught the attention of volcano watchers because of its frequent eruptions that have been going on since the Spanish Conquest. To date, the first record depicting an historical eruption for the volcano was on December 7th, 1580.
Galeras made the Decade Volcanoes list in 1991 because it has possessed a history of violent eruptions. It is also located close to about 450,000 people that live in Pasto. The decision was also solidified in regards to an eruption that took place in 1993, nine people lost their lives. Sadly, six scientists were amongst the dead, as they were trying to collect samples of gases from the volcano’s crater and were traveling inside at the time.
It is estimated that the volcano has been active for at least a million years with two major caldera-forming eruptions taking place , the first one about 560,000 years ago. During this eruption, close to 15 cubic kilometers of material came as a result. Between 40,000 and 150,000 years ago, a second eruption occurred. While it was noted as smaller, the amount of material that followed was greater.
Within the last 5,000 years, Galeras has produced six large eruptions, such as the one that took place in 1886. Throughout the years, as far back as the 1500s, a variety of small to medium sized eruptions have occurred , at least 20.
5) Mount Merapi (Central Java, Indonesia)
Situated on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Mount Merapi is a conical volcano that holds the title for most active volcano in Indonesia. With routine, recorded eruptions that date back to 1548, the volcano has been dubbed the ‘Mountain of Fire.’ Since it is rather close to a city that houses thousands of people (especially those who have made a home on the flanks of the volcano) and poses a great threat to residents, it is certainly worthy for a place on the Decade Volcanoes list.
Mount Merapi (the youngest member of a chain of volcanoes dwelling in southern Java) is deadly with smoke escaping the top of the mountain at least 300 days a year. Many eruptions attached to the volcano have caused loss of life. In 1994, hot gas that came with a fierce explosion took the lives of 43 people, which mostly affected the town of Muntilan, which is situated west of the volcano. In 2006, another sizable eruption took place that preceded the Yogyakarta earthquake.