Barisan Mountains

Much of the mountain range is protected through a network of national parks, including Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat, and Bukit Barisan Selatan. Together, these parks form the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra, recognized in 2004 for its exceptional biodiversity and importance as habitat for critically endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and Sumatran rhinoceros.

The name Bukit Barisan actually means "row of hills" or "hills that make a row" in Malay, for the range stretches end to end along the island of Sumatra.

There are 35 active volcanoes in Bukit Barisan. The largest is the supervolcano Toba within the 100 km (62 miles) × 30 km (19 miles) Lake Toba, which was created after a caldera collapse (est. in 74,000 Before Present). The eruption is estimated to have been at level eight on the VEI scale, the largest possible for a volcanic eruption.

List of volcanoes

The following list of active volcanoes in Bukit Barisan is sourced from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.