| Galunggung | |
|---|---|
| Gunung Galunggung | |
 Galunggung eruption in 1982 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,168 m (7,113 ft) |
| Listing | Ribu |
| Coordinates | 7°15′24″S108°04′37″E / 7.2567315°S 108.0770588°E /-7.2567315; 108.0770588 |
| Geography | |
  Galunggung Location on Java | |
| Location | West Java,Indonesia |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | January 1984[1] |
Mount Galunggung (Indonesian:Gunung Galunggung, formerly spelledGaloen-gong,Sundanese:ᮌᮥᮔᮥᮀ ᮍᮜᮥᮀᮍᮥᮀ) is an activestratovolcano inWest Java,Indonesia, around 80 km (50 mi) southeast of the West Java provincial capital,Bandung (or around 20 km (12 mi) to the northwest of the West Java town ofTasikmalaya). Mount Galunggung is part of theSunda Arc extending through Sumatra, Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands, which has resulted from the subduction of theAustralian Plate beneath theEurasian 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.[2][3]On 28 May 2012, it was lowered from 2 back to 1 (On a scale of 1–4).
Galunggung had its first historical eruption in 1822 that producedpyroclastic flows andlahars that killed 4,011 people.[4]
The last majoreruption on Galunggung was in 1982, which had aVolcanic Explosivity Index of 4 and indirectly killed 18 people intraffic accidents and by starvation. This eruption also brought the dangers ofvolcanic ash to aviation to worldwide attention, after twoBoeing 747 passengerjets flying downwind of the eruption suffered temporary engine failures and damage to exterior surfaces, both planes being forced to make emergency landings atJakarta airport.
One plane, aBritish Airways aircraft carrying 248 passengers and 15 crew traveling fromKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, toPerth, Australia, on 24 June 1982, accidentally entered the ash cloud at night, about 150 km (93 mi; 81 nmi) downwind of the volcano. All four engines failed due to the buildup of volcanic ash, and the aircraft descended for 16 minutes, losing 7,500 m (24,606 ft) of its 11,500 m (37,730 ft) altitude, until the crew managed to restart the engines and land in Jakarta.[5]
Three weeks later, on 14 July, aSingapore Airlines airplane with approximately 230 passengers 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 2,400 m (7,874 ft). Both aircraft suffered serious damage to their engines and exterior surfaces.[6]
Ahummocky deposit known as the Ten Thousand Hills ofTasikmalaya attracted the attention of early-20th-centurygeologists. Houses were built on the hummocks since they provided good defence against hostile people, and being above the paddy fields were free ofmosquitoes andrats.
Originally, it was thought that either it had been formed by alahar caused by the release of the waters of thecrater lake, or that it was man-made, composed of rocks and boulders dumped there after being cleared frompaddy fields.
However, in the light of theMount St. Helenseruption of 1980 and from examination of theMount Shasta deposits, it has become clear that the hummocks are a debris-avalanche deposit. Like these mountains, Galunggung has ahorseshoe-shaped crater indicating a massivelandslide, and examination of shatteredlava blocks revealed them to be similar to deposits on the other two volcanoes. According toradiocarbon dating of samples taken from alava flow, the landslide happened within the last 23,000 years.
Media related toGalunggung at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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| Geographic | |
