(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-09 19:13

It has settled into a pattern of a gentle eruption every seven or eight years, scientists said.

"Maybe in hundreds of years it will blow, but I will be long gone by then," said Cahya Patria, among the scientists at the Center for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation who keep watch on the mountain from a hill on the mainland.

Krakatau is only just visible from their station, so the staff members monitor it with a seismograph and an array of other equipment installed on its slopes, including a camera that takes photos posted on the center's Web site.

As the volcano keeps up a steady stream of thunderous explosions, scientists at the station log each eruption and its intensity.

Visitors to Anak from Jakarta normally pass through the resort towns of Anyer and Carita, which were devastated by the series of tsunamis triggered by the 1883 eruption. There are few signs of that horror, aside from the foundations of a Dutch-built lighthouse that was scythed down by the sea.

The park where its replacement now stands is a popular meeting point for young lovers, who sit on benches straining to catch a glimpse of Anak Krakatau as it billows mushroom clouds of smoke into the sunset.

While most Indonesians are Muslims, many also follow pre-Islamic animist beliefs and worship ancient spirits. Often at full moons, people trek to crater rims and throw in rice, jewelry or live animals to appease the volcanoes.

"The Javanese see nature as a friend because it gives then food and life," said Bagong Suyanto, a professor of rural sociology at the University of Surabaya. "They trust it, they do not see it as a threat like volcanologists do."

   1 2 3   

   1 2 3