Makian (also Machian), known to local people as Mount Kie Besi, is a
volcanic island
Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...
, one of the
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
within the province of
North Maluku in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. It lies near the southern end of a chain of volcanic islands off the western coast of the province's major island,
Halmahera
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Hal ...
, and lies between the islands of
Moti and
Tidore to the north and
Kayoa
Kayoa (also Kaioa), or in the native language Pulau Urimatiti, is a group of 66 islands, part of the Maluku Islands. It is located in South Halmahera Regency, part of North Maluku Province of Indonesia.
Geography
The Kayoa Islands are near the ...
and the
Bacan
The Bacan Islands, formerly also known as the Bachans, Bachians, and Batchians, are a group of islands in the Moluccas in Indonesia. They are mountainous and forested, lying south of Ternate and southwest of Halmahera. The islands are administe ...
Group to the south. The island, which forms two districts (''Pulau Makian'' and ''Makian Barat'') within
South Halmahera Regency
South Halmahera Regency ( id, Kabupaten Halmahera Selatan) is a regency of North Maluku Province, Indonesia. It lies partly on Halmahera Island and partly on smaller islands to the west and south of Halmahera. It covers a land area of 8,779.320&nb ...
of North Maluku Province, covers an area of 84.36 sq.km, and had a population of 12,394 at the 2010 Census, which rose to 14,000 at the 2020 Census.
The island is wide, and its high summit consists of a large wide crater, with a small lake on its Northeast side. There are four
parasitic cone
A parasitic cone (also adventive cone or satellite cone) is the cone-shaped accumulation of volcanic material not part of the central vent of a volcano. It forms from eruptions from fractures on the flank of the volcano. These fractures occur ...
s on the western slopes of Makian. Makian volcano is also known as Mount Kiebesi (or Kie Besi).
Volcanic history
Makian
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
has had infrequent, but violent
eruptions that destroyed villages on the island.
Its first recorded eruption was in the 1550s.
The eruptions of July 19, 1646, September 22, 1760 and December 28, 1861 are rated 4 on the
Volcanic Explosivity Index.
[ Since the first known eruption in the 1550s, it has erupted seven times, four of which caused fatalities.
The 1760 eruption of the volcano killed about three thousand inhabitants. It erupted in 1890, and was then dormant until July 1988, when a series of eruptions forced the temporary evacuation of the island's entire population, then about fifteen thousand people.
]
Languages
There are 2 unrelated languages spoken in this island, Taba and West Makian languages. Taba or East Makian belongs to the Austronesian language family, while West Makian belongs to the West Papuan language family.
See also
* List of volcanoes in Indonesia
References
External links
*
Makian As It Appears from the Side of Ngofakiaha
from 1670
{{Maluku-islands
Islands of the Maluku Islands
18th-century volcanic events