Krakatau, also known as Krakatoa or Rakata, is small volcanic island in southwestern Indonesia, in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. Before the night of August 26 1883 Krakatau had an area of about 47 sqare kilometres. A volcanic eruption and its consequent explosions destroyed most of the island, so the present area is only 16 sq km . The waves produced by the submarine earthquake that accompanied the eruption attained a height of 15 m and traveled some 12,875 km .They killed thousands of people along the coasts of Java and Sumatra and destroyed vast amounts of property. One explosion produced one of the loudest noises in history; it was heard at a distance of 4830 km. The rock ejected was in the form of fine dust, which was diffused by aerial currents throughout the upper atmosphere. The island displayed volcanic activity again in 1927, and the inhabitants were evacuated. the island krakatau is now uninhabited.

Mount Agung a volcano on the island of Bali. Agung is the highest of Bali's volcanic peaks, reaching a height of 3142 m It is situated 48 km southeast of Singaraja. In 1963 after it had been dormant for more than a century, 1500 people were killed, thousands more were homless, and the stratosphere contained its dust for a number of years.

Mount Merapi a volcano on the island of Java. Rises to a height of 2911 metres Mount Merapi is about 55 km north of Yogyakarta One of Java's many active volcanoes, Merapi erupts every five or six years.An early documented eruption was in 1006. More recently, Yogyakarta was severely damaged by an eruption in 1867. Merapi's last eruption was on November 22, 1994.Merapi is Malayo/Indonesian for fire mountain.

Tambora a dormant volcano in south central Indonesia, on the island of Sumbawa. On April 5, 1815, Tambora exploded in what has been the largest observed volcanic eruption of the last two centuries. Prior to the eruption, Tambora was about 4000 m tall. After the eruption, the mountain was 2743 m with a crater measuring about 30 sq km in area and 1300 m deep. The eruption shot more than 150 cu km of debris, depositing ash over everything within almost 1000 km of the mountain. Agricultural land was ruined, and up to 10,000 people were killed, including 8000 in nearby Tambora and Pekat. In addition, around 66,000 people either died later of starvation or disease or were forced to move to safer, land farther from the mountain. The debris flew into the stratosphere, from about 15 km to about 50 km above the earth, where it blocked one-fifth of the sun's light and heat. Today, a lake occupies Tambora's crater.

Home