Sangeang Api, Indonesia

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In 1985, the small Indonesian island of Sangeang Api off the northeast coast of Sumbawa began to erupt. Within a month, the 1,250 inhabitants had evacuated to Sumbawa. The eruption lasted until 1988. The lava and pyroclastic flows -- the wide channel running west from the summit -- are still easily traced on this image taken by space shuttle astronauts aboard STS-112 in October 2002. Today, the island's summit crater, which is 1,949 meters (6,394 feet) high, produces intermittent steam clouds.

Astronaut photograph S112-E-05628 was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.