Tambora: The Eruption. The Cold. The Year Without Summer.Episode 31:44
The Villages the Fire Cloud Erased
Pyroclastic flows race down Tambora, converting record-breaking eruption statistics into a human catastrophe.
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Transcript
Tambora's eruption saw pyroclastic flows wipe out entire villages.
Tambora is located on Sumbawa, an Indonesian island.
Explosions intensified April 10th, peaking April 10th and 11th.
Large ash plumes rose above Tambora;
The eruption produced 31 cubic miles, or 150 cubic kilometers, of tephra.
The Rajah of Sanggar described the mountain as appearing like liquid fire.
At 8 p.m., pumice stones up to 8 inches or 8 inches, or 20 centimeters wide fell.
Then a violent whirlwind struck Saugur and blew down nearly every house.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says pyroclastic flows caused 11,000 deaths.
For survivors, a destroyed village became a search for food. They sifted ash-covered household objects hoping to find food.
The eruption released about 40 times more magma than Mount St. Helens in 1980.
The eruption rated seven on the Volcanic Explosivity Index.
Tambora fell from 14,100 to under 10,000 feet.
The eruption left Tambora's caldera 4 miles, or 6 kilometers wide.
The caldera was 3,600 feet, or 1,100 meters, deep.
United States Geological Survey estimates over 70,000 deaths nearby.
Years earlier, the Rajah wrote his eyewitness account during the eruption.
In 2004, scientists found village remains: two adults under 10 feet, or 3 meters, of ash.
The village of Tambora was gone, and with it the small kingdom that had carried the mountain’s name.
The following year became the Year Without a Summer, with snow falling in July.
In 2004, scientists found a buried village—and two adults beneath about 10 feet, or 3 meters, of ash.
Where it leaves off
Then Tambora’s pyroclastic flows reached the sea—and the sea began moving back toward the coast.
Sources
- Volcano Watch — Infamous Mount Tambora is rumbling again | U.S. Geological Surveyusgs.govprimary
- This Day In History: Mount Tambora Explosively Erupts in 1815 | NESDIS | National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Servicenesdis.noaa.govprimary
- 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgsecondary
- Mount Tambora Volcano, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia - NASA Sciencescience.nasa.govprimary
- VolcanicDegassing | The great eruption of Tambora, April 1815blogs.egu.euprimary
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