The legend of mount Krakatau:
- Before the great eruption of Mount Krakatau in 1883, there were actually some eruptions prior to it.
- In around 416 A.D there was an eruption of Krakatau, which formed the three islands of Rakata, Panjang and Sertung and created a 4 mile(7km) wide caldera. The islands of Krakatau, Verlaten and Lang are remanants of this volcano.
- The earliest recorded eruption of Krakatau was between May 1680 and November 1681.
- The island is around 2m in diameter and is still around and growing bigger. the island is growing about an average of 6.8m a year. During the 1950s, the island could grow about 13cm a week!
- Mount Krakatau used to lie dormant for almost 200 years until some rumblings began in May, 1883. Then on August 26, the first major explosion was heard. On 27 August 1883, three more eruptions occured, and the fourth the most devastating of all.
- The Northern two thirds of the island was completely destroyed by the explosion. It was followed by the collapse of the unsupported volcanic chambers which formed the huge underwater caldera.
- The explosion and collapse of the volcano caused gigantic tsunami waves which reached 40m above the sea level.
- The islands were then formed from the ash, rock and lava. Further eruptions at the volcano have built a new island called Anak Krakatau.
Special Incident
This video shows a clay animation of the volcano eruption
Mount Krakatoa erupting in 1883.
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| Evolution of Mount Krakatau - Click on the image to watch the animation |
By 1883, it was an uninhabited volcanic island, covered with lush green vegetation. On the 20th of May, 1883, Krakatau rumbled to life as it began to eject pumice, ash and clouds of smoke into the atmosphere. This volcanic activity continued through the next two months and soon, all three of Krakatau's volcanic cones became active. On August 26, these minor explosions combined into one continual, ominous roar. The next day, Krakatau was ready to explode. It did not just explode once, but four times.
The Krakatau Volcano is extremely well-known for its eruption in 1883 which destroyed itself. The eruption was the loudest sound ever heard. The explosion was heard over 3,000miles away, on the island of Rodrigues. The pressure waves in the atmosphere circled the earth seven and a half times before fading away. For two and a half days, the whole region was clouded in darkness. Very soon, the Tsunamis began.
The explosions caused tsunamis, which reached a height of 50 feet in the open seas. These tidal waves devastated many of the inhabited islands of Indonesia. The Javanese town of Merak was completely washed away by a tsunami that reached 135 feet in height. 37,000 people were killed by the tidal waves, leaving 165 villages and towns destroyed.
By the time it was done with the horrible display, the mountain had spewed more than five miles of magma and other debris out from all three of its craters. Krakatau's now empty chamber collapsed and caused about two thirds of the island to fall below the water's surface. Only hlf of Rakata(which was the tallest cone) remained standing over sea level.
Unsurprisingly, all forms of life were wiped out from the island. In the 1940s a new volcanic cone pushed up between the three existing cones of Krakatoa. This is the child of Krakatoa and it is still very active today.
Anak Krakatau
In the next few years, what used to be Mount Krakatau was relatively quiet. That is, until January 25, 1925, a small volcanic cone broke through the water in the caldera of the old Krakatau. This new volcanic island was named Anak Krakatau, which means Child of Krakatau. Occasional weak eruptions of this small volcano began in 1927. In later years, the small eruptions became more and more frequent gradually building up this new island volcano to a larger size.
However, in 1959 December, Anak Krakatau became increasingly active. In January of 1960, a team of scientists visited Anak Krakatau to study this renewed activicty and reported that Anak Krakatau had grown to a minimun diameter of of about 1 mile and was 545 ft. tall. They reported that the new explosive eruptions included pyroclasts ranging in size from fine ash to boulders and that the largest explosions produced turbulent clouds of ash that rose 4,000 ft. above the volcanic vent. This renewed activity of Anak Krakatau lasted for almost four years, ending in 1963.
Since 1963, according to reports, Anak Krakatau had at least nine episodes of activity most lasting less than one year. The volcano's activity continued into the 1990's. As of the writing of this report, the most recent episode of eruption began in March of 1994 and continued to March of 1995. This activity was very similar to the 1959-1963 eruptions.
