Gamalama

Last updated
Gamalama
Pulau Ternate
Pulau Ternate and Gamalama Volcano from the North-west Coast of Pulau Tidore (Tidore Island), The Moluccas (Maluku) (15199602802).jpg
Highest point
Elevation 1,715 m (5,627 ft) [1]
Prominence 1,715 m (5,627 ft) [2]
Listing Ultra
Ribu
Coordinates 00°48′33″N127°20′00″E / 0.80917°N 127.33333°E / 0.80917; 127.33333 [2]
Geography
Indonesia relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Gamalama
Location in Indonesia of the island
Location Ternate, Maluku Islands, Indonesia
Geology
Mountain type Stratovolcano
Last eruption 2022 (ongoing)

Gamalama is a near-conical active stratovolcano that comprises the entire Ternate island in Indonesia. The island lies off the western shore of Halmahera island in the north of the Maluku Islands. For centuries, Ternate was a center of Portuguese and Dutch forts for spice trade, which have accounted for thorough reports of Gamalama's volcanic activities.

Contents

Geology

Mount Gamalama is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. Between 1550 and 2015, 77 different eruptions have been documented. The 2015 eruption gave very short precursor signs (less than 24 hours). Eruptions range from basaltic effusive lava flows to more violent andesitic eruptions that are characterized with large and dangerous pyroclastic flows. [3]

An eruption in 1775 caused the deaths of approximately 1300 people. [4]

On December 4, 2011 Mount Gamalama erupted, ejecting material up to 2,000 meters into the air. Thousands of residents in nearby Ternate City fled due to ash and dust particles raining down on the town. [5] Finally on December 27 some 4 people died and dozens injured from debris falls (lahar) after a month of activity. [6]

More eruptions occurred in September 2012. [7]

An eruption on December 18, 2014, deposited five centimeters of ash on the runway of Babullah Airport in Ternate, closing the airport. [8]

Depiction of Gamalama erupting in the early 1700s with a Portuguese fort shown. Ternate.JPG
Depiction of Gamalama erupting in the early 1700s with a Portuguese fort shown.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Gamalama". Global Volcanism Program . Smithsonian Institution . Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  2. 1 2 "Mountains of the Indonesian Archipelago" Listed as Pulau Ternate. Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  3. ↑ Hidayat, Agung; Marfai, Muh Aris; Hadmoko, Danang Sri (February 2022). "The 2015 eruption of Gamalama volcano (Ternate Island–Indonesia): precursor, crisis management, and community response" (PDF). GeoJournal. 87 (1). Springer Nature B.V: 1–20. doi:10.1007/s10708-020-10237-w . Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "Eruption of the Gamalama volcano". earthquake-report.com. December 7, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12.
  5. ↑ "Thousands flee as Indonesian volcano erupts". ABC News. December 5, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Most Popular E-mail Newsletter". USA Today. 2011-12-28.
  7. ↑ "Indonesia's Mount Gamalama erupts spewing ash and lava". BBC News. 2012-09-17.
  8. ↑ "Babullah Airport Shut as Mount Gamalama Erupts". 2014-12-19.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.