Ijen
{{Short description|Volcano complex in East Java, Indonesia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox mountain|name=Ijen|photo=Sulfur mining in Kawah Ijen - Indonesia - 20110608.jpg|photo_caption=Ijen volcano|map=Indonesia Java|map_caption=Location in Java|location=Border on between Banyuwangi Regency and Bondowoso Regency,
East Java, Indonesia|label_position=left|elevation_m=2,769|elevation_ref=|prominence=|listing=Spesial Ribu|range=|coordinates={{coord|8.058|S|114.242|E|type:mountain}}|topo=|type=Stratovolcano|age=|last_eruption=1999|first_ascent=|easiest_route=|relief=1}}
File:Bergelut dengan asap nan beracun.jpg mining at Ijen. This image shows the dangerous and rugged conditions the miners face, including toxic smoke and high drops, as well as their lack of protective equipment. The pipes over which they are standing serve to guide sulfur vapors and condense them, thereby facilitating production.{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/photos-from-inside-the-volcanic-sulphur-mines-of-indonesia/news-story/27daa23f607d4358314fd0a4c5335985|title=Photos from inside the volcanic sulphur mines of Indonesia|publisher=news.com.au|date=February 9, 2015|access-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111022805/http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/photos-from-inside-the-volcanic-sulphur-mines-of-indonesia/news-story/27daa23f607d4358314fd0a4c5335985|archive-date=November 11, 2016|url-status=live}}]]
The Ijen volcano complex is a group of composite volcanoes located on the border between Banyuwangi Regency and Bondowoso Regency of East Java, Indonesia. It is known for its blue fire, acidic crater lake, and labour-intensive sulfur mining.
It is inside an eponymous larger caldera Ijen, which is about {{convert|20|km|mi}} wide. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex. The name "Gunung Merapi" means 'mountain of fire' in the Indonesian language; Mount Merapi in central Java and Marapi in Sumatra have the same etymology.
Ijen Geopark stretches across the entire regency which is specifically in the Mount Ijen area, Pulau Merah Beach, and Alas Purwo National Park. It has various geological, biological, and cultural sites. It became part of UNESCO Global Geoparks in 2023.
West of Gunung Merapi is the Ijen volcano, which has a {{convert|1|km|mi|spell=in|adj=mid|-wide}} turquoise-coloured acidic crater lake. The lake is the site of a labour-intensive sulfur mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor. The work is paid well considering the cost of living in the area, but is very onerous.{{cite news |first=Megan |last=Lane |title=Sulphur mining in an active volcano |work=BBC News |date=9 February 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12301421}} Workers earn around US$13 per day and, once out of the crater, still need to carry their loads of sulfur chunks about three kilometers to the nearby Paltuding Valley to get paid.{{cite news |first=Indra |last=Harsaputra |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/19/kawah-ijen-between-potential-threat.html |title=Kawah Ijen: Between potential and threat |newspaper=The Jakarta Post |date=19 December 2011}}
Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of post-caldera cones runs east–west across the southern side of the caldera. The active crater at Kawah Ijen has a diameter of {{convert|722|m|ft}} and a surface area of {{convert|0.41|km2|sqmi}}. It is {{convert|200|m|ft}} deep and has a volume of {{convert|36|hm3|acre·ft}}.
The lake is recognised as the largest highly acidic crater lake in the world.{{cite gvp|name=Ijen|vn=263350|access-date=2021-06-24}} It is also a source for the river Banyupahit, resulting in highly acidic and metal-enriched river water which has a significant detrimental effect on the downstream river ecosystem.{{cite web|url=http://www.falw.vu.nl/en/Images/94_tcm24-29686.pdf|title=University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Natural Pollution Caused by the Extremely Acidic Crater Lake Kawah Ijen, East Java, Indonesia|access-date=9 December 2013}} During a scientific expedition in 2001, the pH of the lake was measured at <0.3. {{Cite journal|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15859115/#:~:text=The%20Kawah%20Ijen%20crater%20lake,river%20Banyupahit%20(45%20km).|doi = 10.1065/espr2004.09.118|title = Natural Pollution Caused by the Extremely Acid Crater Lake Kawah Ijen, East Java, Indonesia (7 pp)|year = 2005|last1 = Löhr|first1 = Ansje|last2 = Bogaard|first2 = Thom|last3 = Heikens|first3 = Alex|last4 = Hendriks|first4 = Martin|last5 = Sumarti|first5 = Sri|last6 = Bergen|first6 = Manfred van|last7 = Gestel|first7 = Kees C.A.M. van|last8 = Straalen|first8 = Nico van|last9 = Vroon|first9 = Pieter|last10 = Widianarko|first10 = Budi|journal = Environmental Science and Pollution Research International|volume = 12|issue = 2|pages = 89–95|pmid = 15859115| bibcode=2005ESPR...12...89L |s2cid = 128470417}} On July 14–15, 2008, explorer George Kourounis took a small rubber boat out onto the acid lake to measure its acidity. The pH of the water at the lake's edges was measured to be 0.5 and in the middle of the lake 0.13 due to a high concentration of sulfuric acid.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOUN2hXvn6Y Boating on acid]
Blue fire crater
{{See also|Blue lava}}
Since National Geographic mentioned the electric-blue flame of Ijen, tourist numbers have increased.{{Cite web|url=http://bromoeastjava.com/blue-flame-ijen-crater-volcano.html|title=Blue Flame Ijen Crater Volcano | website=bromoeastjava.com |date=4 June 2016 }} The phenomenon has long been known, but midnight hiking tours are a more recent offering. A two-hour hike is required to reach the rim of the crater, followed by a 45-minute hike down to the bank of the crater.
The blue fire is ignited sulfuric gas, which emerges from cracks at temperatures up to {{convert|600|°C|°F|abbr=on}}. The flames can be up to {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|spell=in}} high; some of the gas condenses to liquid and is still ignited.{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140130-kawah-ijen-blue-flame-volcanoes-sulfur-indonesia-pictures/ | work=National Geographic | date=30 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207100020/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140130-kawah-ijen-blue-flame-volcanoes-sulfur-indonesia-pictures/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 February 2014 |title=Stunning Electric-Blue Flames Erupt From Volcanoes |first=Brian Clark |last=Howard |access-date=13 June 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2014/02/21/how-to-visit-indonesia-blue-fire-volcano-kawah-ijen/ |title=The Dark Secret of Indonesia's Blue-Fire Volcano |first=Robert |last=Schrader | work=Leave Your Daily Hell |access-date=13 June 2014}}
Ijen is the largest blue flame area in the world. Local people refer to it as Api Biru (Blue Fire).{{Cite web|title=Gunung Ijen - Selain Rahasia Api Biru, Inilah 4 Fakta Menarik tentang Gunung Berapi Aktif Ini| date=27 December 2016 |url=https://travel.tribunnews.com/2016/12/27/gunung-ijen-selain-rahasia-api-biru-inilah-4-fakta-menarik-tentang-gunung-berapi-aktif-ini|access-date=2020-06-08|website=Tribunnews.com|language=id-ID}} The other location at which blue fire can be seen is in Dallol Mountain, Ethiopia.{{Cite web|last=tourbanyuwangi.com|date=2019-11-08|title=Blue Fire Ijen Crater - Tour Banyuwangi|url=http://tourbanyuwangi.com/blue-fire-ijen-crater/|access-date=2020-06-08|website=paket wisata banyuwangi, paket tour banyuwangi|language=en-US}}
Sulfur mining at Ijen
An active vent at the edge of the lake is a source of elemental sulfur and supports a mining operation. Escaping volcanic gases are channeled through a network of ceramic pipes, resulting in condensation of molten sulfur.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}
The sulfur, which is deep red when molten, pours slowly from the ends of these pipes and pools on the ground, turning bright yellow as it cools. The miners break the cooled material into large pieces and carry it away in baskets. Miners carry loads ranging from {{convert|75|to|90|kg|lb}} up {{convert|300|m|ft}} to the crater rim, with a gradient of 45 to 60 degrees, and then {{convert|3|km|miles}} down the mountain for weighing. Most miners make this journey twice a day.
A nearby sulfur refinery pays the miners by the weight of sulfur transported; as of September 2010, the typical daily earnings were equivalent to approximately $13 US. The miners often receive insufficient protection while working around the volcano{{cite web | title=Kawah Ijen by night | date=8 December 2010 | author=Olivier Grunewald | website=Boston.com | url=http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/kawah_ijen_by_night.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231080147/http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/kawah_ijen_by_night.html | archive-date=31 December 2011 | url-status=dead }} and complain of numerous respiratory afflictions. There are 200 miners, who extract 14 tons per day — about 20% of the continuous daily deposit.{{cite news |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/19/kawah-ijen-between-potential-threat.html |title=Kawah Ijen: Between potential & threat | author=Indra Harsaputra |newspaper=The Jakarta Post |date=19 December 2011}}
Media
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}
Ijen and its sulfur mining was featured in the 1991 IMAX film Ring of Fire, and as a topic on the 5th episode of the BBC television documentary Human Planet.
In the documentary film War Photographer, journalist James Nachtwey visits Ijen and struggles with noxious fumes while trying to photograph workers. Michael Glawogger's film Workingman's Death is about sulfur workers.
Gallery
File:Kawah Ijen volcano, Java.jpg|Kawah Ijen volcano and crater lake, Java, viewed from Landsat 8
File:The cauldron of Ijen Mountain, Indonesia.jpg|The sulfuric lake of Kawah Ijen Mountain's cauldron, Indonesia
File:Mount Merapi Ijen A.JPG|Mt. Merapi, Ijen
File:Ornament of sulfur.jpg|Sulfur ornaments from Ijen mines
File:The blue fire of Kawah Ijen 1.jpg|The "blue lava" of Kawah Ijen
File:Kawah Ijen sulfur mining - Indonesia.jpg|Kawah Ijen sulfur mining
File:Kawah Ijen sulfur miner - Indonesia.jpg|Kawah Ijen sulfur miner
File:Kawah Ijen - Indonesia.jpg|Kawah Ijen
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Ijen}}
{{Wikivoyage|Banyuwangi}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20091221025503/http://www.kawahijen.com/ Ijen Gallery]
- [http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/ Volcanological Survey of Indonesia]
- [http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Indonesia/ Official website of Indonesian volcanoes at USGS]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070711053447/http://www.smm.org/omni/RofF/RofFPressReleaseAdventure.doc The Adventures Behind Filming Ring of Fire]
- [http://www.sarbort.cz/galerie/indonesie-kawah-ijen Large photogallery from Kawah Ijen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801204527/http://www.sarbort.cz/galerie/indonesie-kawah-ijen |date=1 August 2020 }}
- [http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/sulfur_mining_in_kawah_ijen.html Sulfur mining in Kawah Ijen (The Big Picture photo gallery at Boston.com)]
- {{Cite web
| title = Traditional sulfur mining in Kawah Ijen
| work = Yahoo! News
| date = 11 October 2013
| url = https://news.yahoo.com/photos/traditional-sulfur-mining-in-kawah-ijen-1381485234-slideshow/
}}
- [http://www.ijendiscovery.com/ijen-crater.php More sulfur mining pictures at Ijen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924081915/http://ijendiscovery.com/ijen-crater.php |date=24 September 2010 }}
- [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/blue-lava-volcano-photos-kawah-ijen-indonesia-_n_4610337.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl6|sec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D431398 Spectacular Neon Blue Lava Pours From Indonesia's Kawah Ijen Volcano At Night (PHOTOS)]
{{Tourist attractions in Indonesia}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Active volcanoes of Indonesia
Category:Volcanic crater lakes
Category:Mountains of East Java
Category:Stratovolcanoes of Indonesia