Volcanoes of Indonesia

Abstract

Geography of Indonesia is dominated by about 150 volcanoes of all types and dimensions that were formed due to subduction processes occurring along the collision zone separating the Eurasian and the Indo-Australian tectonic plates. Some of the Indonesian volcanoes became especially notable for their eruptions, for instance, volcano of Lake Toba is famous for its super-eruption at c. 74,000 BC, which caused a long 6-year volcanic winter. Mount Tambora volcano is known for its most violent eruption in 1815, and the Krakatoa explosion in 1883 became noted for its global effects.

Figure 76 was reproduced from a monthly geographical journal edited by German cartographer H. Zollinger (1858). In the upper part of the panel, cross sections of three volcanic groups were plotted, namely of the southern part of the Indonesian archipelago: Tennger (East Java), Bator volcano (Bali), and Rinjani (Lombok). The profiles were accompanied by a map of the Indian islands or Malasia (the territory of present Malaysia and Indonesia), together with a part of New Guinea, Philippines, Formosa (=Taiwan), Hainan, and a substantial part of southeastern Asia.