Indonesia’s landscape are often rugged. The mountains and geological structures are mainly volcanic , where most of them are still active for this country lies on the Ring of Fire - the pattern of volcanic and earthquake activity that encircles the Pacific Ocean which includes Japan, New Zealand and the western coast of the Americas.

Indonesia is estimated to have over 200 active volcanoes. Of these the best known is Krakatau, an island between Java and Sumatra. Its eruption in 1883 coloured skies worldwide for more than a year and sent tsunamis to ravage coasts all over Southeast Asia, at an appalling cost in human lives. The sound of the explosion was heard nearly 5,000 km away. The island literally blown to bits, but is being slowly rebuilt by continuing volcanism. Other volcanoes includes Agung situated in Bali, dormant for nearly a century and a half before its violent eruption in 1963, Merapi located near Yogyakarta in Java, whose frequent eruptions are tolerated by local inhabitants because despite the destruction, they add considerably to the agricultural value of the soil. Galunggung in western Java, whose eruption in the late 1970s sent a mass of ash into the upper atmosphere and nearly swatted a passenger plane from the skly. Kelud near Kediri, also in Java, eruptions of this last can be especially lethal because the waters of its crater lake mix with the ash to form swiftly moving lahars or mudflow. Kelud and Merapi are both popular with climbers as are Semeru in Java, Rinjani in Lombak and the twin volcanoes, Pangrango and Gede located in Jaca. Jakarta the capital of the country, Bandung and other big cities have active mountaineering clubs.

As an island nation, Indonesia has always dependent upon the sea than its rivers for transportation and communiction. Only Kalimantan and Irish Jaya are sufficiently large to substain major rivers. The shallow seas around the archipelago are important for Indonesia’s climate and as a source of food.

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