What Happened in History: Browse Historical Facts on Kudos 365

Mount Tambora on the northern coast of Sumbawa island, Indonesia explodes in a violent blast which blew the mountain apart resulting in one of the most powerful eruptions in recorded human history. Tambora’s catastrophic activity began on April 5, 1815, with small tremors and pyroclastic flows, followed by Increased steaming and smaller eruptions for up to three years. The effects of the eruptions included major climate changes and a "volcanic winter" in the following year (1816) which is referred to as "the year without summer" The blast, pyroclastic flows, and tsunamis that followed killed at least 10,000 islanders and destroyed the homes of 35,000 more. Before its eruption Mount Tambora was about 4,300 meters (14,000 feet) high. After the eruption ended, a caldera spanning some 6 km (3.7 miles) across remained. The death toll estimate is that at least 71,000 people perished, of which 11,000 –12,000 were killed directly by the eruption. More