Guntur (Indonesia)

Status Normal Eruption 1847 2249m
Complex (Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km))

Guntur is a complex of several overlapping stratovolcanoes about 10 km NW of the city of Garut in western Java. Young lava flows, the most recent of which was erupted in 1840, are visible on the flanks of the erosionally unmodified Gunung Guntur, which rises about 1550 m above the plain of Garut. It is one of a group of younger cones constructed to the SW of an older eroded group of volcanoes at the NE end of the complex. Guntur, whose name means "thunder," is the only historically active center, with eruptions having been recorded since the late-17th century. Although it has produced frequent explosive eruptions in the 19th century, making it one of the most active volcanoes of western Java, it has not erupted since.

Gunung Guntur at the right center, the youngest cone of the Guntur volcanic complex, consists of a younger SW part with cones lying along a NW-SE trend, and an older, more eroded complex to the NW. Youthful lava flows can be seen on the lower right-hand flanks of Guntur, whose name means "thunder," a reflection of frequent eruptions in the 19th century. The complex volcanic massif is one of many volcanoes ringing the plain of Garut, one of the oldest tourist destinations in Indonesia, once known as the "Switzerland of Java."

Photo by Ruska Hadian, 1988 (Volcanological Survey of Indonesia).

Last updated 2024-04-17 23:01:33