The Indonesian island of Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin, and contains numerous volcanoes, 45 of which are considered active volcanoes. As is the case for many other Indonesian islands, volcanoes have played a vital role in the geological and human history of Java. Indeed, land is created on Java as a result of lava flows, ash deposits, and mud flows (lahars). Volcanoes are a major contributor to the immense fertility of Java, as natural erosion transports volcanic material as alluvium to the island's plains, forming thick layers of fertile sediment. The benefit is not just in the immediate vicinity of the volcano, with fine ash emitted from eruptions being dispersed over wide areas.
Central Java is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in the south, East Java in the east, and the Java Sea in the north. It has a total area of 33,750.37 km2, with a population of 36,516,035 at the 2020 Census making it the third-most populous province in both Java and Indonesia after West Java and East Java. The official population estimate in mid-2023 was 37,608,336 The province also includes a number of offshore islands, including the island of Nusakambangan in the south, and the Karimun Jawa Islands in the Java Sea.
Magelang is one of six cities in the Central Java Province of Indonesia that are administratively independent of the regencies in which they lie geographically. Each of these cities is governed by a mayor rather than a bupati. Magelang City covers an area of 18.56 km2 and had a population of 118,227 at the 2010 census and 121,526 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid-2023 was 122,150. It is geographically located in the middle of the Magelang Regency, between Mount Merbabu and Mount Sumbing in the south of the province, and lies 43 km north of Yogyakarta, 15 km north of Mungkid and 75 km south of Semarang, the capital of Central Java.
The Raung (ꦫꦲꦸꦁ), or Mount Raung is one of the most active volcanoes on the island of Java in Indonesia. It is located in the province of East Java and has a 2-kilometer-wide (1.2 mi) and 500-meter-deep (1,600 ft) caldera surrounded by a grayish rim. The difference in color of the rim and the flanks of the volcanoes is caused by the rim’s lack of vegetation compared with the healthy and extensive vegetation on the flanks. Raung, standing almost 3,332 metres (10,932 ft) above sea level, is the tallest volcano of this cluster. Its summit, in Bondowoso Regency, is also the highest point of the regency.
Magelang is a regency in Central Java, Indonesia, famous for its 9th century Buddhist temple of Borobudur. Its capital is Mungkid. It covers an area of 1,085.73 km2 and had a population of 1,181,723 at the 2010 Census and 1,299,859 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,330,656. These figures exclude the autonomous city of Magelang, which is separately administered but is geographically enclaved within the regency, which borders Temanggung Regency to the north, Semarang Regency to the northeast, Boyolali Regency to the east, the Special Region of Yogyakarta to the south and southeast, Purworejo Regency to the southwest, and Wonosobo Regency to the west.
Kedu Plain, also known as Progo River Valley, is the fertile volcanic plain that lies between the volcanoes Mount Sumbing and Mount Sundoro to the west, and Mount Merbabu and Mount Merapi to the east. It roughly corresponds to the present-day Magelang and Temanggung Regency of Central Java, Indonesia.
Mount Salak is an eroded volcano in West Java, Indonesia. It has several satellite cones on its southeast flank and the northern foot, along with two additional craters at the summit. Mount Salak has been evaluated for geothermal power development. According to a popular belief, the name "Salak" is derived from salak, a tropical fruit with scaly skin; however, according to Sundanese tradition, the name was derived from the Sanskrit word Salaka which means "silver". Mount Salak can be translated to "Silver Mountain" or "Mount Silver".
Mount Slamet is an active stratovolcano that summits in the Pemalang Regency of Central Java, Indonesia. It has a cluster of around three dozen cinder cones on the lower southeast and northeast flanks and a single cinder cone on the western flank. The volcano is composed of two overlapping edifices. Four craters are found at the summit. Mount Slamet is a location with the coldest average temperature on the island of Java and one of the areas with the highest annual rainfall in Indonesia, namely 8,134.00 millimeters (mm) per year.
Mount Sindoro, Mount Sindara or Mount Sundoro is a semi-active stratovolcano in Central Java, Indonesia. Parasitic craters and volcanic cones are found in the northwest-southern flanks; the largest is called Kembang. A small lava dome occupies the volcano's summit. Historical eruptions have been mostly mild to moderate.
Mount Gede Pangrango National Park is a national park in West Java, Indonesia. The park is centred on two volcanoes—Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango—and is 150 km² in area.
Temanggung Regency is an inland regency in the Central Java Province of Indonesia. It covers a land area of 870.65 km2 and had a population of 708,546 at the 2010 Census and 790,174 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 808,446, comprising 406,100 males and 402,346 females. Its capital is the town of Temanggung.
Borobudur Temple Compounds is the World Heritage designation of the area of three Buddhist temples in Central Java, Indonesia. It comprises Borobudur, Mendut, and Pawon. The temples were built during the Shailendra dynasty around the 8th and 9th centuries CE and fall on a straight line.
The Bodri River is a river in Kendal Regency, northern Central Java, Indonesia. The Bodri River flows from the south to north into the Java Sea.
The Progo River is a river in southern central Java, Indonesia. The river passes through two provinces; Central Java and Yogyakarta Special Region. The source of the river is on the slopes of Mount Sindoro, Central Java.
Liyangan is an archeological site in Indonesia, consisting of Hindu temples (candi) and the ruins of an ancient settlement. It is located at the west of Mount Sundoro, near the small village of Liyangan in the Ngadirejo district of Temanggung Regency, Central Java. It was discovered in 2008.
The Comal River is a river in Jawa Tengah, Indonesia. It rises in the North Serayu Mountains from Mount Slamet. The river has a length of around 109.18 km flowing from south to north, ending in Java Sea. It is the largest river in Pemalang Regency, Central Java, and flows through seven districts within that regency.
Moung Andong is a mountain in Magelang Regency, Central Java in Indonesia. Andong mountain is located between Ngablak and Tlogorjo, Grabag and has an altitude of around 1,463 meters. Andong Mountain is one of several mountains that encircle Magelang, adjacent to Mount Telomoyo. The mountain is on the border of the Salatiga, Semarang and Magelang regions.
The Western Java montane rain forests ecoregion covers the montane rain forest above 1,000 meters in the volcanic mountain ridges in the west of the island of Java in Indonesia. Several mammals and bird species are found only in this ecoregion, including the Javan mastiff bat (Otomops formosus) and the Volcano mouse (Mus vulcani). Only about one-fifth of the original rainforest remains in its original state, as human pressures are encroaching on the mountain slopes.
