- Address: Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
- The last eruption: 1967.
- Height of the summit: 2850 m
- Form of the volcano: stratovolcano
- Period of education: 57 thousand years ago
Many know about the famous Battle of Waterloo, but few have heard of the volcano of Tambor. No history textbook will tell you that in just 2 months. before the defeat of Napoleon, in 1815 in Indonesia , on the island of Sumbava erupted Tambora volcano, the most powerful in the last few thousand years. Both events had a tremendous impact on human history, but for some reason it was the battle in the Belgian fields devoted to entire libraries, whereas the Tambor volcano for 200 years did not say anything.
We offer you to learn many interesting and unusual facts about the volcano of Tambor, which can be seen in the photo below.
The precursors of the catastrophe
April 5, 1815 in the crater of the volcano there were small explosions. The authorities of the island of Java for a long time could not understand where it comes from such a strong rumbling. It seemed to people that some ship was sinking or rebels attacked the British outpost. To find out what happened, Governor Stamford Raffle sent 2 ships to the shores of Sumbawa, but the troops found nothing suspicious.
The eruption of the Tambor volcano
In fact, these explosions were the beginning of the largest volcanic eruption in human history. How it all happened:
- On April 6, 1815, the territory within a radius of 600 km from Tambor was covered with ashes. The explosions became more intense, and after a couple of days the falling ash turned into red-hot boulders. At about 7 pm on 10 April, three fire pillars shot up over the volcano. From afar it was like fire cones, from which ash and stones scattered in all directions.
- Then came a terrible and surprising phenomenon: from the top of the mountain, an incredibly large fire vortex broke out, in seconds, destroyed the village of Sagar, 40 km from Tambor. The tornado tore and burned trees with roots, all vegetation, animals and people. An hour later, pumice with a diameter of 20 cm began to fall out of the mouth of the Tambora Volcano. After another hour, lava flows erupting down the slopes and destroying everything in its path.
- By 22 o'clock on the Malaysian island, 4-meter waves struck the coast of East Java, moved powerfully along the Moluccas islands between Sulawesi and New Guinea, and finally reached the Tambora mountain. Up to 43 m, smoke and ash rose, causing 650 km around the night, which lasted 3 days. Explosions of the volcano were audible until the night of April 11. The tsunami, caused by earthquakes, washed almost all the settlements in the Malaysian archipelago and killed 4.6 thousand people.
- Within 3 months. the Tambor volcano in Indonesia erupted and flashed. Only after the silence came, Governor Stamford Raffle decided to send mountains of provisions to the inhabitants of the surroundings. But before the group of rescuers appeared a terrible picture. Once a huge peak almost equaled the plateau, the territory was buried in ashes and mud with tons of rubbish and floating trees in it.
Effects
Nothing passes without a trace, and such natural disasters leave the deepest traces on our planet. The Tambor volcano in Indonesia also left its impressions:
- Those who survived suffered from hunger, thirst and cholera, a sip of clean water and a handful of rice were ready to give the last. The corpses of people and animals lay all over Sumbawa, the living wandered around the waist in the mud in search of food. After the eruption, from 11 to 12 thousand people died, but this was only the beginning. The anomalies that occurred in the climate after the explosion became the impetus for the "nuclear winter", as a result of which another 50 thousand inhabitants of Indonesia were killed by hunger and disease. In the stratosphere sulfur for a long time with ashes, and a sharp cooling on the entire planet lasted many years.
- Other countries of the volcano Tambora also affected. Rapid cooling began in the summer of 1815 in the northern hemisphere of the Earth, the population of North America was badly affected by extreme colds. Snow, which fell in June, caused damage to the entire country's agriculture.
- In the south-east of Europe in the period 1816-1819. the changed climate took many lives, people were sick with typhus, and because of the crop failure and the pestilence of the livestock, they also suffered from hunger.
- The eruption of the volcano in 1815 completely destroyed the village of Tambor. Together with 10 thousand people under the 3-meter layer of ash, local culture , Tambor language and all the history of these people were buried forever. In 2004, excavations took place in this village, and archaeologists discovered houses of Tambor residents, tools, utensils and many Aboriginal remains. All this was buried under a layer of ash for a long 200 years, and the place of excavation was named Eastern Pompeii.
What is the interesting Tambora volcano for tourists?
Indonesia is known not only for beautiful landscapes, exotic beaches , but also for formidable volcanoes , the most dangerous and deadly of which is Tambora on Earth. Today, Mount Tambora is immersed in silence, but residents of its area are always ready for evacuation. The locals know the energy of this mountain very well, and feel a mixture of fear and deep respect for the volcano, because this is Sumbawa's legend, which every local resident will tell you.
Tourists are also attracted to this place: many dream to climb to the top and see a huge crater with a diameter of 7 thousand meters. From Mount Tambor an incredibly beautiful view of Sumbawa opens. On one of the slopes a seismic station has been built, where research is carried out on the activities of the Tambor volcano.
The conquest of the summit of Tambor
Mountaineers often visit Tambor. Several routes have been developed, which make it possible to conquer the volcano. To date, the height of Mount Tambor is 2751 m. Climbing the mountain:
- From the village of Doro Mboha, you can start on the south-eastern slope. The path here is easy and leads to the very center of the mountain;
- from the village of Panchasila the route is more complex and leads along the north-western slope. It is called Doro Peti and takes about 2 days, and tourists have to wade through thick forests. But the trek is worth it, in front of you you will see from the height a huge blue sea growing on the Edelweiss slopes, and an impressive picture of the caldera of the Tambor volcano will be the main prize for courage.
How to get there?
The capital of the island of Sumbawa can be reached by air. Airlines "Trigana" and "Merpati" from Denpasar make flights to the island 4 times a week. There are also ferries connecting Lombok and Poto Tano and working around the clock. Next, rent a car directly at the airport and eat either in the village of Doro Mboha, or in Panchasilu.