Merapi Volcano,
Java
High-resolution
image (324 Kb)
At 2,911 meters
(9,551 feet), the summit of Merapi Volcano and its vigorous steam
plume rises above a bank of stratus clouds on its southern flank
on Aug. 24, 2003. One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, it has
been almost continuously active for nearly ten years, including
periodic pyroclastic flows and avalanches (see Global
Volcanism Network reports). The volcano is located less than
40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the city of Yogykarta in central
Java. More than 50,000 people live adjacent the treacherous southwestern
slope where volcanic material often sloughs from the unstable summit.
Note the deep ravines on the eastern slopes providing rich soils
and moisture to the agriculture below.
Additional
information about Merapi and its history of volcanic activity can
be found on the Global
Volcanism Network Web site.
Astronaut photograph
ISS007-E-13327
is provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory
at Johnson Space Center. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts
take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists
and the public, and to make those images freely available on the
Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can
be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway
to Astronaut Photography of Earth.
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