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The '''Ijen volcano complex''' is a group of [[stratovolcano]]es, in [[East Java]], [[Indonesia]]. It is inside a larger [[caldera]] Ijen, which is about 20 kilometers wide. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex. The name of this volcano resembles that of a different volcano, [[Mount Merapi]] in central [[Java]], also known as Gunung Merapi. The name "Merapi" means "fire" in the Indonesian language.
The '''Ijen volcano complex''' is a group of [[stratovolcano]]es, in [[East Java]], [[Indonesia]]. It is inside a larger [[caldera]] Ijen, which is about 20 kilometers wide. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex. The name of this volcano resembles that of a different volcano, [[Mount Merapi]] in central [[Java]], also known as Gunung Merapi. The name "Merapi" means "fire" in the Indonesian language.


West of Gunung Merapi is the Ijen volcano, which has a one-kilometer-wide turquoise-colored acid [[crater lake]]. The lake is the site of a labor-intensive [[sulfur]] mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor. Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of post-caldera cones forms an east/west-trending zone across the southern side of the caldera. The active crater at Kawah Ijen has an equivalent radius of {{convert|361|m|ft}}, a surface of {{convert|41|km2|sqmi}}. It is {{convert|200|m|ft}} deep and has a volume of {{convert|36|hm3|acre·ft}}.
West of Gunung Merapi is the Ijen volcano, which has a one-kilometer-wide turquoise-colored acid [[crater lake]]. The lake is the site of a labor-intensive [[sulfur]] mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor. Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of post-caldera cones forms an east/west-trending zone across the southern side of the caldera. The active crater at Kawah Ijen has an equivalent radius of {{convert|361|m|ft}}, a surface of {{convert|0.41|km2|sqmi}}. It is {{convert|200|m|ft}} deep and has a volume of {{convert|36|hm3|acre·ft}}.


In 2008, explorer [[George Kourounis]] took a small rubber boat out onto the acid lake to measure its acidity. The [[pH]] of the water in the crater was measured to be 0.5 due to [[sulfuric acid]]. <ref>http://www.stormchaser.ca/Volcanoes/Kawah_Ijen/Kawah_Ijen.html Measuring the acidity of Kawah Ijen crater lake</ref>
In 2008, explorer [[George Kourounis]] took a small rubber boat out onto the acid lake to measure its acidity. The [[pH]] of the water in the crater was measured to be 0.5 due to [[sulfuric acid]]. <ref>http://www.stormchaser.ca/Volcanoes/Kawah_Ijen/Kawah_Ijen.html Measuring the acidity of Kawah Ijen crater lake</ref>

Revision as of 17:09, 25 August 2011

Ijen
Ijen caldera
Highest point
Elevation2,799 m (9,183 ft)
ListingSpesial Ribu
Coordinates8°03′29″S 114°14′31″E / 8.058°S 114.242°E / -8.058; 114.242
Geography
LocationJava, Indonesia
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Last eruption1999
1937 Dutch map of the Ijen Plateau

The Ijen volcano complex is a group of stratovolcanoes, in East Java, Indonesia. It is inside a larger caldera Ijen, which is about 20 kilometers wide. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex. The name of this volcano resembles that of a different volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, also known as Gunung Merapi. The name "Merapi" means "fire" in the Indonesian language.

West of Gunung Merapi is the Ijen volcano, which has a one-kilometer-wide turquoise-colored acid crater lake. The lake is the site of a labor-intensive sulfur mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor. Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of post-caldera cones forms an east/west-trending zone across the southern side of the caldera. The active crater at Kawah Ijen has an equivalent radius of 361 metres (1,184 ft), a surface of 0.41 square kilometres (0.16 sq mi). It is 200 metres (660 ft) deep and has a volume of 36 cubic hectometres (29,000 acre⋅ft).

In 2008, explorer George Kourounis took a small rubber boat out onto the acid lake to measure its acidity. The pH of the water in the crater was measured to be 0.5 due to sulfuric acid. [1]

Ijen 3D

Sulfur mining at Ijen

Map of Ijen Crater, where sulfur is mined

An active vent at the edge of the lake is a source of elemental sulfur, and supports a mining operation. Escaping volcanic gasses are channeled through a network of ceramic pipes, resulting in condensation of molten sulfur. The sulfur, which is deep red in color when molten, pours slowly from the ends of these pipes and pools on the ground, turning bright yellow as it cools. The miners break the cooled material into large pieces and carry it away in baskets. Miners must carry loads, which range from 70 kilograms (150 lb) to 100 kilograms (220 lb), up 200 metres (660 ft) to the crater rim and then several km (miles) down the mountain. Most miners make this journey twice a day. A nearby sugar refinery pays the miners by the weight of sulfur transported; as of September 2010, the typical daily earnings were equivalent to approximately $13 US. The miners often use insufficient protection while working around the volcano[2] and complain of numerous respiratory afflictions.

Media

Ijen and its sulfur mining was featured as a topic on the 5th episode of the BBC television documentary Human Planet. In the documentary film War Photographer, journalist James Nachtwey visits Ijen and struggles with noxious fumes while trying to photograph workers.

See also

References

  • "Ijen". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.

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