
Kawah Ratu, which means “Queen’s Crater,” is today just a big gray hole which sometimes has a pool of water at its center. Do you see the sulphur vapor rising from a fissure near the bottom? Still now, poisonous gases sometimes accumulate in Kawah Ratu, thus making it somewhat of a risk to descend to the crater floor.
Beyond the saddle-shaped depression on the far side of Kawah Ratu is the still active Kawah Upas, the oldest crater on the mountain. It too has pockets of poisonous gases at times. On the very far western cliff your see a spot where all vegetation has been destroyed by constantly rising sulphurous vapor. On the crater walls, note the various layers of material consisting of rock, sand, and pebbles. Over time, newer craters have formed again and again in a rather consistent shift from west to east. The most well-known of these is the Domas Crater (see below), but also there are other, smaller ones in the jungle on the mountain’s northeastern flank.
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