On Mount Semeru

On Mount Semeru

I am writing in response to the photo and caption published on
the front page of The Jakarta Post on April 17. The photo
displays Mount Semeru, located southeast of Surabaya. The
caption states that Indonesia lies along the geologically
active "Pacific Ring of Fire" and has more than one hundred
active volcanoes.

The picture and caption suggest that the eruption of Mount
Semeru is related to Indonesia being located on "the Pacific Ring
of Fire". This implication is not correct, nor is the comment on
"the Pacific Ring of Fire" relevant.

A quick glance at a map of Indonesia will reveal that the
island of Java is not a Pacific Island. While lying between
the "Ring of Fire" along the northeastern islands adjacent to
and including New Guinea, Indonesia lies between the Alpide
belt along the south and west from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores
and Timor islands. Consequently, Mount Semeru is part of the
Alpide belt, not the "Ring of Fire."

BRUCE MACGREGOR
Bruce MacGregor
Jakarta