Volcano Journal Entry

Lava Thunders Down Merapi (January 3, 2002)

Fiery lava avalanches again thundered down the slopes of Indonesia's Merapi volcano. More than 100 avalanches were detected over the past two weeks. A pyroclastic flow of rocks, cinders, and ash reached the upstream portion of the Bebeng River.

Merapi is one of the most active of Indonesia's many volcanoes. It towers over central Java, one of the most heavily populated areas on Earth. The volcano sits just north of the city of Yogyakarta where about one-million people live.

Merapi's most violent eruption this century was in 1930 when 1,300 people were killed. An eruption in 1994 killed 60 people and flattened a nearby village. In 1998, lava flowing down Merapi's slopes forced thousands of people to flee.

Many volcanoes occur in subduction zones where one of Earth's tectonic plates plunges below another. The Indo-Australian plate dives under the Eurasian plate along the Java trench. The trench is found in the Indian Ocean off Java's southern coast.