Mount Ruang

About Mount Ruang:

• It is a stratovolcano located in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province. Its summit stands 10,932 feet above sea level, with a caldera that is about two miles wide.

What is a Stratovolcano?

• It is a tall, steep and cone-shaped type of volcano. Unlike flat shield volcanoes, they have higher peaks.
• They are typically found above subduction zones, and they are often part of large volcanically active regions, such as the Ring of Fire that frames much of the Pacific Ocean. 
• It comprises the largest percentage (~60%) of the Earth's individual volcanoes, and most are characterized by eruptions of andesite and dacite, lavas that are cooler and more viscous than basalt.
• These more viscous lavas allow gas pressures to build up to high levels. Therefore, these volcanoes often suffer explosive eruptions.
• They are usually about half-half lava and pyroclastic material and the layering of these products gives them their other common name of composite volcanoes.
• At the peak, stratovolcanoes usually have a small crater. The crater may be filled with water or ice, or it may contain a volcanic dome during a period of relative inactivity.