Gede-Pangrango Volcano

Updated: May 21, 2025 13:33 GMT - refresh

Stratovolcano

West Java (Indonesia), -6.78°S / 106.98°E

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Summit height: 2958 m (9,705 ft)

Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Gede volcano near Bogor is one of the most prominent volcanoes in western Java. Together with older Pangrango volcano to the NW it forms a twin volcano, with Pangrango volcano having the highest point at 3019 m.

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News/Updates | Earthquakes | Images

Typical eruption style: Explosive. During the last centuries, mainly small explosive eruptions of short duration.
Gede-Pangrango volcano eruptions:

1747-48. 1761, 1832, 1840, 1843, 1845, 1847, 1848, 1852, 1853, 1866, 1870, 1885(?), 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889(?), 1891, 1899, 1909, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1955(?), 1956, 1957

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location
May 15, 05:23 pm (Universal Time)	2.3 10 km	16 km (10 mi) to the E	2.1 km west of Cianjur, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat, Indonesia	Info
Sunday, May 11, 2025 GMT (2 quakes)
May 11, 07:24 pm (Universal Time)	1.6 10 km	13 km (8 mi) to the SE	6.8 km west of Cianjur, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat, Indonesia	Info
May 11, 10:30 pm (Jakarta)	3.0 10 km	23 km (15 mi) to the S	Kabupaten Sukabumi, 10.6 km southeast of Sukabumi, Indonesia 1 report	Info

View recent quakes

Background

Gede volcano is also known as Gedeh, Ageung or Agung. The Gede-Pangrango complex dominates the cities of Cianjur, Sukabumi, and Bogor lying below to the east, south, and NW, respectively.
The 15,196 ha Mt Gede Pangrango National Park is a popular weekend destination for the city population nearby and famous for its many scenic rivers, waterfalls, lakes, warm springs, as well a unique mountain fauna and flora ranging from rainforest, elfin woodland to subalpine grassland.
Geologically, Pangrango volcano was built over the NE rim of an older 3 x 5 km caldera, and is now considered extinct. Younger Gede volcano has erupted many andesitic lava flows on its flanks including historical ones. Active vents at the summit of Gede have migrated about 1 km to the NNW over time, leaving 7 summit craters: Baru, Gumuruh (2,927 m), Lanang (2,800 m), Kawah Leutik, Ratu (2,800 m), Sela (2,709 m) and Wadon (2,600 m). Kawah Lanang and Kawah Wadon are the most active craters at present and have hydrothermal activity.
Historic activity: Gede has had at least 21 eruptions between 1747 and 1957, most of them small to moderate in size (VEI 2-3). The eruption in 1840 was the largest and generated pyroclastic flows. The 1947-1948 and 1955 eruptions were phreatic. The eruptions in 1840 and 1852 caused damage but no fatalities. Gede's most recent eruption on 13 April 1957 ejected ash to 3 km above the crater and formed two small cones on the north flank, 11 km from the summit.
It has been noted that the city of Cianjur lies on the deposits of a giant debris avalanche deposit originating from Gede, showing that the volcano underwent phases of massive flank failure. Historical activity has been recorded since the 16th century and consited mainly of small and short-lived explosions.

Seismic observations at Gede volcano
Iguchi et al. (*) conducted seismic measurements at several of West Java's volcanoes including Gede volcano in August 1997. They found that volcanic earthquakes, A-type earthquakes with clear P and S-waves, were concentrated in a vertical zone beneath the summit crater at depths ranging between 2-8 km.

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Sources:
1) (*) Masato Iguchi, Gede Suantika, Cecep Sulaeman, Asep Wildan, Igan S. Sutawidjaja, Estu Kriswati, Kristianto, Agus Solihin, Surono and Hetty Triastuty, "Source Mechanisms of Volcanic Earthquakes at Some Volcanoes in Indonesia", www.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~kazan/13k02/iguchi.pdf
2) Heather Katherine Handley, Colin G. Macpherson, Jon P. Davidson "Geochemical and Sr–O isotopic constraints on magmatic differentiation at Gede Volcanic Complex, West Java, Indonesia", Contrib Mineral Petrol, 1 Nov 2009
3) GVP, Smithsonian Institution

Gede-Pangrango Volcano Photos

The diffuse gray ash plume from the third eruption drifts far below the now very diffuse plume of the first and second explosion, colored red by the setting sun. (Photo:...

After an extended period of stable crust and relative inactivity, the now heavy crust starts to overturn and sink back into the liquid lake, causing very violent fountain...

The mouth of the creek forms a vast pebble beach. The ash plume from the eruption in the previous picture is seen drifting NW towards Alaid. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

After a prolonged lunch and a good coffee, we continue our walk, having a look at the spectacular formation of Mavro Vouno (black mountain), an eroded rest of submarine b...

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Significant volcanic eruptions: Gede-Pangrango volcano

In the past 10,000 years, Gede-Pangrango has had at least 22 confirmed eruptions, all documented by historical records or observations.
Additionally, there are 4 uncertain or discredited eruptions from Gede-Pangrango volcano.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Gede-Pangrango volcano since around 1800. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Gede-Pangrango can be found on the news page of Gede-Pangrango volcano.

Date	Note	VEI
1957 Mar 13	Historical obs./docs.	2
1956 Apr 28	Historical obs./docs.	2?
?? 1955 Jul 21 - Aug 2	Uncertain Eruption	1
1948 Nov 15 - 1949 Feb 5	Kawah Leutik (Kawah Ratu) Historical obs./docs.	2
1947 Sep 2 - 1948 Jan 28	Kawah Ratu?, Kawah Lanang Historical obs./docs.	2
1909 May 2	Historical obs./docs.	1
1899 May 1 - May 14	Historical obs./docs.	2
1891	Historical obs./docs.	2
?? 1889 May 8 or before	Uncertain Eruption	1
1888	Historical obs./docs.	2?
1887 Oct 22	Historical obs./docs.	2
1886 Jun 10 - Aug 16	Historical obs./docs.	2
?? 1885 Jan - Feb	Uncertain Eruption	2?
1870 Aug - Oct 3	Historical obs./docs.	2
1866 Sep 18	Historical obs./docs.	2
1853 Mar 14	Historical obs./docs.	3?
1852 May 28	Historical obs./docs.	2
1848 May 8	Historical obs./docs.	2
1847 Oct 17 - Oct 18	Historical obs./docs.	2
1845 Jan 23 - Mar 5	Historical obs./docs.	2
1843 Jul 28	Historical obs./docs.	2
1840 Nov 12 - Dec 11	Historical obs./docs.	3
?? 1839	Uncertain Eruption	?
1832 Aug 29	Historical obs./docs.	3

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Eruptions of Gede-Pangrango volcano

1991 seismic swarm
Seismicity increased slowly since February 1991 and peaked in an earthquake swarm at Gede volcano between 29 April and 1 May 1991, but was not followed by an eruption. On its peak on 29-30 April, about 100 volcanic earthquakes (40 deep and 60 shallow) were recorded per day, an increase of a factor of 10 compared to normal levels. On 30th April 3 shocks were felt. Seismic activity returned to normal levels in May.

Gede-Pangrango Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Gede-Pangrango volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Gede-Pangrango occurred in 1957.

+How often does Gede-Pangrango volcano erupt?

Since 1747, Gede-Pangrango volcano has had at least 22 historically documented eruptions. This means that it erupts on average every 12.6 years.

+How active is Gede-Pangrango volcano at present?

Gede-Pangrango volcano is occasionally active: Since 1900, it has had 6 eruptions, and been active during 6 years out of 126 as of now. This means, Gede-Pangrango has been in eruption one in 21 years on average. The last eruption was in 1957 and ended 68 years ago.

+When was the largest eruption of Gede-Pangrango volcano?

The largest eruption of Gede-Pangrango volcano in historic times occurred in 1853. It ranks as a "vulcanian" eruption with a magnitude 3 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale.

Latest satellite images

See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

Latest satellite images

Gede-Pangrango Volcano Maps

Below is a selection of maps showing the location and surroundings of the volcano at various resolutions based on aerial-imagery / terrain maps. Feel free to use them for non-commercial purposes on your blog or website as long as you credit them with a link back to this page (click to copy it).