A major explosive eruption just occurred at the Lewotobi volcano in Indonesia, causing multiple square miles to be incinerated, and sending a plume of ash to an altitude of 72,000 feet. This involved both a plinian and sub-plinian eruption which both occurred on July 7th (2025). Thankfully, there were no fatalities due to prior evacuations before the eruption commenced across a 6-to-7-kilometer radius surrounding the volcano. Today's video discusses this latest eruption through the perspective and analysis of a geologist. Thumbnail Photo Credit: Frame grab from a video by Shakhy Puka (OXel), Posted on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/reel/3223006811201540, Used with Permission A special thanks to the Extreme Pursuit YouTube channel for granting me permission to use clips of his footage! Video Sources from the Extreme Pursuit YouTube channel: [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr2yclq4Fm0 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwPvCJPpOzg Subscribe to Extreme Pursuit at: https://www.youtube.com/@ExtremePursuit NASA EOSDIS Worldview satellite imagery Copyright © 2012-2025 United States Government as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. All Rights Reserved. Associated license for NASA EOSDIS Worldview: https://github.com/nasa-gibs/worldview/blob/main/LICENSE.md We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). We acknowledge the use of imagery from the NASA Worldview application (https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/), part of the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). If you would like to support this channel, consider using one of the following links: (Patreon: http://patreon.com/geologyhub) (YouTube membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeGh5VML5XPr5jYnzh3J6g/join) (Gemstone & Mineral Etsy store: http://prospectingarizona.etsy.com) (GeologyHub Merch Etsy store: http://geologyhub.etsy.com) Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers This video is protected under "fair use". If you see an image and/or video which is your own in this video, and/or think my discussion of a scientific paper (and/or discussion/mentioning of the data/information within a scientific paper) does not fall under the fair use doctrine, and wish for it to be censored or removed, contact me by email at [email protected] and I will make the necessary changes. Various licenses used in sections of this video (not the entire video, this video as a whole does not completely fall under one of these licenses) and/or in this video's thumbnail image (and this list does not include every license used in this video and/or thumbnail image): Public Domain: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Sources/Citations: [1] PVMBG (Indonesia) (Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi) (Indonesia) [2] Photo Credit: NASA Worldview, EOSDIS Worldview, (Satellite imagery: NOAA-20 / VIIRS), (Thermal signatures: Terra / MODIS, NOAA-20 / VIIRS, Aqua / MODIS), at https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/ [3] USGS Denver Library Photographic Collection [4] VEIs, dates/years, composition, tephra layer name, DRE estimates, and bulk tephra volume estimates for volcanic eruptions shown in this video which were assigned a VEI 4 or larger and are not the 2025 Lewotobi eruption are sourced from the LaMEVE database (British Geological Survey © UKRI), https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/vogripa/view/controller.cfc?method=lameve, Used with Permission [5] Source of Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) methodology and criteria: Newhall, C. G., and Self, S. (1982), The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) an estimate of explosive magnitude for historical volcanism, J. Geophys. Res., 87(C2), 1231–1238, doi:10.1029/JC087iC02p01231. 0:00 Lewotobi Erupts 1:54 Pyroclastic Flows 2:37 Eruption VEI 3:19 Volcanic Plug 4:07 Eruption Cycle