Question: Mount Soputan volcano, which erupted on 16th December, 2018, is located in which of the following country?
(a) Indonesia
(b) Philippines
(c) Malaysia
(d) Japan
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- On 16th December, 2018; an active volcano Mount Soputan located in northern part of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia erupted spewing ash about 7.5 km high in the sky.
- Twice eruption of Mount Soputan in a day forced local residents to move to safe places. Prior to this, a massive earthquake of 7.5 and tsunami struck Sulawesi Island killing at least 1,948 people.
- Mount Soputan is one of the 129 active volcanoes of Indonesia. Kelud and Merapi are the most active volcanoes of Indonesia.
- Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire making it highly proned to earthquakes and volcanoes.
- Pacific Ring of Fire:
- A large area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean is known as the Ring of Fire or circum-Pacific belt where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
- This area is stretched in horseshoe shape covering a distance of about 40,000 km (25,000 miles). In this zone more than 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes are located.
- This belt is a zone of nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements.
Links:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/10/03/volcano-eruption-rocks-indonesia-after-devastating-earthquake-tsunami/1507607002/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/indonesias-soputan-volcano-erupts-ejecting-thick-ash/2018/12/16/d68a7c4e-010b-11e9-a17e-162b712e8fc2_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c3dcd32124e1
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/indonesia-earthquake-tsunami-latest-updates-181003060041729.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire