A cooled lava flow on the way to Lokon crater from Kinilow. This photograph was taken and copyrighted by Karl-Heinz Haefele.
Lokon is a stratovolcano in Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is located just a few kilometers west of Mahawu crater on Lokon. It has had 21 eruptions in historic times. Lokon and its twin volcano, Empung, rise about 800 m above the plain of Tondano. Lokon is higher than Empung, and the summits are only 2.2 km apart. The two volcanoes are among the most active volcanoes of Sulawesi.
All the photos on this page were taken on 16 January 1996.
On Sept. 12 (1510), an ash plume rose ~7.6 km a.s.l and then drifted W.
After April 1st eruption, activity decreased for 5 days. Seismicity was dominated by tremor due to gaseous release and a "white-thick ash plume" rose to low levels. It remained at an Alert Level 2.
This information was summarized from the GVP/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
April 8, 2003
Volcanic earthquake activity was high. On the 1st, an explosion produced a ~1.5 km-high ash column and also ejected incandescent material. Tremor earthquakes were recorded up to April 3rd and the Alert Level stayed at a 2.
This information was summarized from the GVP/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
April 1, 2003
Fewer ash explosions occurred and there was a significant decrease in the number
of emission earthquakes. On the 27th, an explosion ejected material 400 m-1.5
km high. The Alert Level at Lokon-Empung was lowered to a 2.
This information was summarized from the GVP/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
From March 10-16, low ash clouds were observed and volcanism remained at relatively high levels. Emission and tremor earthquakes dominated seismicity and the Alert Level stayed at 3.
This information was summarized from the GVP/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
March 11, 2003
Activity continued with 12 explosions producing 300 m-high "white-gray
ash columns." On the 2nd, an explosion, including volcanic earthquake activity
and tremor, sent an ash column 1.5 km high. Lokon-Empung remained at an Alert
Level 3.
This information was summarized from the GVP/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
February 25, 2003
An eruption on the 23rd produced a 2.5 km-high ash cloud and, on the following day, two more small eruptions sent clouds 200 m above the crater. The volcano was at an Alert Level 3.
This information was summarized from the GVP/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
February 18, 2003
A significant increase in volcanic earthquakes was recorded and four explosions
producing ash clouds occurred throughout the report week. On Feb. 12th, the
Alert Level was raised from a 3 to a 4 and continuous tremor was recorded until
the 13th.
This information was summarized from the GVP/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report
April 30, 2002
The level of activity remained high at Lokon this week. The volcano remained in alert level 3.
This information was summarized from Smithsonian Institution's Preliminary Notices of Volcanic Activity.
April 23, 2002
Several eruptions occurred in the last two weeks. The eruption of a dark cloud rising about 1 km above the volcano occurred on April 10th. On the 13th and 14th, thirteen gas-and-ash explosions were observed. This increased in activity led VSI to raise the Alert level from 2 to 3 (on a scale 1 to 4).
This information was summarized from Smithsonian Institution's Preliminary Notices of Volcanic Activity.
This week, observers saw small volcanic plumes rising 50 to 150 m above the crater rim. The volcano remained at Alert Level 2 (on a scale of 1-4).
This information was summarized from Smithsonian Institution's Preliminary Notices of Volcanic Activity.
24 April 2001
On 20 May, an eruption occurred at the Lokon Volcano. Ash rose 900 m above the volcano and fell over a wide region around the volcano. The eruption was also accompanied by tremor.
This information was summarized from Smithsonian Institution's Preliminary Notices of Volcanic Activity.
On 26 March, an eruption sent an ash plume 1,500 m above Lokon's crater. The ash fell on several villages ~3.5 km from the crater. After the explosion, volcanic tremor was recorded.
This information was summarized from Smithsonian Institution's Preliminary Notices of Volcanic Activity.
On 28 January, explosions began and produced glowing volcanic bombs that fell on the North slope of the volcano. Strong sulphurous odors were detected. On 29 January, an ash plume rose up to 300 m above the crater. The Alert Level at the volcano was raised from level 2 to 3 (on a scale of 1-4). For more information on Indonesia's volcanoes, visit the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia Web site.
This information was summarized from Smithsonian Institution's Preliminary Notices of Volcanic Activity.
A cooled lava flow on the way to Lokon crater from Kinilow. This
photograph was taken and copyrighted by Karl-Heinz Haefele.
A view of the crater of Lokon north of the peak of Lokon. This
photograph was taken and copyrighted by Karl-Heinz Haefele.
A view of the crater of Lokon.
Another view inside the crater of Lokon.
Captions provided by Karl-Heinz Haefele
Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the world: Geoscience Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.
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