Mount Merbabu ( Indonesian : Gunung Merbabu ) is a dormant stratovolcano in Central Java province on the Indonesian island of Java . Loosely translated, Gunung Merbabu could mean 'Mountain of Ash' from the Indonesian word babu . The active volcano Mount Merapi is directly adjacent on its south-east side, while the city of Salatiga is located on its northern foothills. A 1,500m high broad saddle lies between Merbabu and Merapi [ 1 ] , the site of the village of Selo and highly fertile [ citation needed ] farming land. There are two peaks; Syarif (3,119 m) and Kenteng Songo (3,145 m). Three U-shaped radial valleys extend from the Kenteng Songo summit in northwesterly, northeastly and southeastly directions. Two known moderate eruptions occurred in 1560 and 1797. The 1797 event was rated 2: Explosive , on the Volcanic Explosivity Index . [ 2 ] An unconfirmed eruption may have occurred in 1570 [ 3 ] . Geologically recent eruptions originated from a North Nort...