Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano sent a cloud of hot ash as high as 3 km today, in its first big eruption since August last year.

Mount Sinabung

• It is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
• It is created by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Eurasian Plate.
• It erupted in 2010 after a 400-year-long hiatus and has been continuously active since September 2013.

Why frequent eruptions?

• Indonesia straddles the “Pacific ring of fire” with nearly130 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
• Sinabung had been inactive for centuries before it erupted again in 2010.

Try this PYQ:

Q.Consider the following statements:

1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar
3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2018)

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1 and 3

What is the Pacific ring of fire?

• The Pacific Ring of Fire is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
• It includes the Pacific coasts of South America, North America and Kamchatka, and some islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
• It is a direct result of plate tectonics: specifically the movement, collision and destruction of lithospheric plates under and around the Pacific Ocean.
• The collisions have created a nearly continuous series of subduction zones, where volcanoes are created and earthquakes occur.

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