Merapi Volcano, Java

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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.