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Tambora Volcano - John Seach
Sumbawa, Indonesia
8.25 S, 118.00 E
summit elevation 2850 m
stratovolcano
Tambora erupted in 1815 killing 92 000 people making 1816 the year without a summer as the global climate effects were felt. Aerosols from the Tambora eruption blocked out sunlight and reduced global temperatures by 3 deg C. Europe missed a summer, and India had crop failures following the Tambora eruption. 100 cubic km of magma was erupted. Ten thousand people were killed immediately from the pyroclastic flows and the eventual toll due to starvation and disease may have been as high as 117,000. The eruption caused a tsunami with a wave height of 10 m.
2009 Earthquake
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit 78 km east of Tambora volcano on 9th November 2009.
During 2004 a buried town was discovered near the volcano. It has been called the Pompeii of the East because of the preservation of human artifacts.
1815 Eruption
The eruption of Tambora volcano in 1815 is one of the largest explosive events in the world in the past 10,000 years. Before the eruption, Tambora had a 1400-1500 m relative height summit cone, sitting on a lava shield, giving an absolute height of 4300 m. The cone lost 1400 m in height during the eruption.
The eruption of Tambora commenced on 5th April 1815 with rumblings and small pyroclastic emissions. The main 24 hour long paroxysm occurred on 10th April 1815. a one hour Plinian phase was followed by pyroclastic flows which swept to the sea, and caldera collapse.
The sky remained dark for 1-2 days up to 600 km from the volcano. Pumic islands up to several kilometres long, drifted along the coast of Flores. A small tsunami reached the east coast of Java.
Tambora Volcano Eruptions
1967, 1880, 1812-15 (VEI 6-7).