Kelimutu

Kelimutu ([kəliˈmutu]) is a volcano, close to the small town of Moni in central Flores island in Indonesia. The volcano is around 50 km to the east of Ende, Indonesia, the capital of Ende regency in East Nusa Tenggara province.

Geological details

The volcano contains three striking summit crater lakes of varying colors. Tiwu Ata Bupu (Lake of Old People) is usually blue and is the westernmost of the three lakes. The other two lakes, Tiwu Ko'o Fai Nuwa Muri (Lake of Young Men and Maidens) and Tiwu Ata Polo (Bewitched or Enchanted Lake) are separated by a shared crater wall and are typically green or red respectively. The lake colors vary on a periodic basis. Subaqueous fumaroles are the probable cause of active upwelling that occurs at the two eastern lakes.

The lakes have been a source of minor phreatic eruptions in historical time. The summit of the compound 1639-m-high Kelimutu volcano is elongated two km in a WNW-ESE direction; the older cones of Kelido and Kelibara are located respectively three km to the north and two km to the south. The scenic lakes are a popular tourist destination.

On the spot

On the spot may refer to:

Kelimutu National Park

Kelimutu National Park (Indonesian: Taman Nasional Kelimutu) is located on the island of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It consists of a region with hills and mountains, with Mount Kelibara (1,731 m) as its highest peak. Mount Kelimutu, which has the three coloured lakes, is also located in this national park. This natural attraction is a destination for tourists.

Some endangered plant species are protected in this national park, such as: Toona spp., Anthocephalus cadamba, Canarium spp., Diospyros ferra, Alstonis scholaris, Schleichera oleosa, Casuarina equisetifolia and Anaphalis javanica. Some endangered animals can also be found here, such as: Javan rusa, wild boar sp., red junglefowl, Elanus sp. and drongo sp. (Dicrurus sulphurea).

The four endemic mammals in the park include two montane rodents: Bunomys naso and Hainald's rat (Rattus hainaldi).

In this area, there is also an arboretum, a mini jungle (4,5 ha) represent flora biodiversity of Kelimutu National Park. The arboterum consists of 78 types of tree plants which are grouped into 36 families. Some of the Kelimutu's endemic flora collections are uta onga (Begonia kelimutuensis), turuwara (Rhododendron renschianum), and arngoni (Vaccinium varingiaefolium).

National park

A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined "National Park" as its Category II type of protected areas.

While this type of national park had been proposed previously, the United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. Although Yellowstone was not officially termed a "national park" in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. The first area to use "national park" in its creation legislation was the US's Mackinac Island, in 1875. Australia's Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the world's third official national park. In 1895 ownership of Mackinac Island was transferred to the State of Michigan as a state park and national park status was consequently lost. As a result, Australia's Royal National Park is by some considerations the second oldest national park now in existence.