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"t. [] ly by John Mak0ne

would have been killed immediately. But its effects were far more wide ranging than that. The Toba blast sent so much ash and sulphurous gas into the air, spreading over the whole planet, that scientists believe it must hree of the Earth's most waters surrounded by res- have blocked 90 percent violent volcanic explo- taurants, resorts, and tradi- of Earth's usual supply of 5i sions have occurred in tional villages. Evidence of its sunlight[ The results were Indonesia. Krakatau is the violent past is well hidden. devastating. Darkness covered most famous of the three-- But about 73,000 years the Earth's surface and perhaps the most famous of ago, there was not a lake but temperatures plummeted, all volcanoes. Most people a mountain--Mount Toba, perhaps by as much as 47 have never heard of the a caldera volcano--and it degrees Fahrenheit, and even other two, Mount Toba and exploded in a super enlpffon, more in the tropics. Such a Mount Tambora, but in some causing earth tremors that gigantic cold snap would have ways each of them was more would have measured 8 on caused many plants to die and destructive than Krakatau. the Richter scale. That's a brought extreme misery to the very serious earthquake. Toba inhabitants--both animal and The amount of material The most violent of these human--of our planet. hurled into the air was three volcanic eruptions It was like global warming massive, enough to bury the rÿ happened longest ago, at Toba in reverse, except the tempera- o whole of Australia under at in northern Sumatra. Today, ture change happened over six least 3 feet of ash! Lake Toba--62 miles long and years instead of over centu- Needless to say, anyone w around 1,400 feet deep--is a ries. And instead of warming anywhere near the blast thriving tourist paradise, its up after the skies cleared, the from the explosion and from Earth went into a thousand- Tambora (a stratovolcano, disease and famine caused yearqong winter followed by or composite volcano) had by contaminated water and an ice age. Some scientists been quiet for more than damage to crop lands. believe thai for 20,000 years 5,000 years. Then, possibly However, Tambora's effect after that blast, the human as early as 1812 it had started was not just local. Ash and population of our planet did giving off big puffs of steam. sulphurous gases spewed into not exceed a few thousanc] People living on nearby the air by the volcano were people. When the numbers islands kept hearing small carried around the planet by get this low, some species detonations. A large explosion the winds, smothering the just "give up" and die oÿut. occurred on April 5, 1815 and sunlight. The results were 'That was probably as close as ash fell on east Java--thunder- not as severe as when Mount humankind has ever come like sounds were heard up to Toba erupted, but they were to extinction, many hundreds of miles away. Six days later the big one serious. Global temperaÿres Tambora occurred. Tambora ripped dropped as much as The next super eruption took itself apart. 87 degrees Fahrenheit. In place more recently--April The explosion was heard Europe and North America, 1815. While the armies more than 1,000 miles away. 1816 was known as "the year of Napoleon (France) and Like the Battle of Waterloo the without a summer.' That was Wellington (England) were eruption had significant conse- the year that Mary Shelley fighting over the future quences. The casualties from wrote her spooky novel, of Europe at the Battle of both events were similar: !ÿ'ankenstein. Who knows, Waterloo, the little-known some 60,000 dead in Europe without the gloomy atmo- volcano of Tambora on the from war injuries, and about sphere created by Tambora, island of Sumbawa was pre- the same number in Asia she might not have written it. paring to blow up. (

Krakatau On Augu..st 24 the Krakatau is one of the. most small erÿpiioM gfew mtmh famous of all volcanoes-- stronger-and Chore frequent, right up there with Mount Three days later there were Vesuvius, which buried the four massive 'explosions in. ancient city of Pompeii. just under four hours,.'ÿe first Krakatauis the Titanic of vol- just before dawn. The fourth canoes, Though in the long explosion, at exactly 10:02 run it had much less impact A,M., tore Krakatau apart. It on our planet than Toba or is said to be the most violent Tambora, it earned its fame by explosion recorded and experi- the u)ay it created damage. enced in modern times--more Krakatau was actually violent even than a nuclear a small island with not bomb. The cloud of gas, An ittustrated view of Krakatau, one but three volcanoes, white-hot pumice stone, fire Auoust 26-28, 1883, from the front named Rakata, Danan, and and smoke was hurled almost page of the Illustrated London Perboewatan. The island lay 25 miles into the air, The News, September 8, 1883 in the Sundra Strait between explosion was heard several the large islands of Java and thousands of miles away, Sumatra..(It is no longer there, One hundred, sixty-five that height of water come as you will see.) villages were destroyed by crashing down on you. There The destruction of Krakatau, and 36,417 people is no way you or anyone could Krakaiau--which happened in were killed, But only about a survive..You can't run from August 1883--did not happen thousand of those people died such a massive wall of water. overnight: there were many from the suffocating gases and Not when it's traveling more warning signs. Severn earth- scalding heat of the eruption. than 18 miles.per hour. quakes occurred in the area The rest were killed by the By the time the tsunami up to seven years before the deadly sea waves or tsunamis reached Surabaya at the explosion, In 1880 a strong {incorrectly called "tidal eastern end of Java nearly earthquake shook the west wave s"--they have nothing 12 hours after the final explo- end of Java and there was to do wittÿ tides) that. swept sion, the reported wave was another one only tv(.o months villages of Java and Sumatra only 8 inches high, Yet a before the catastrophe. on either side of the Sunda woman in Ceylon (now Sri Ash and steam eruptions Strait. Lanka), about 3,000 miles began happening in late May How big were those away from Krakatau in the 1883. Within a few months, vÿaves? The tsunami that other direction, was swept off there were 11 separate destroyed one of the villages a harbor jetty by a huge wave volcanic vents spewing out in Sumatra was more than and died of her injuries-the ash and steam, Krakatau was 130 feet high! Look at a most distant death caused by gearing up for something big, 10-story building and imagine the eruption. what it would be like to have lÿ-ÿT-ÿ

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