Location: Mount Tambora is located on the northern side of Sumbawa Island in Indonesia. Its exact geographic coordinates are 8.3° S, and 118.0° E. The tectonic fault line below the volcano is called the Java Trench System. It is also 1,260 kilometres from Java, and 2,600 kilometres from Sumatra. Those are the two most densely populated islands in Indonesia.

 

A map showing Mount Tambora and Java Trench System

http://whatonearth.olehnielsen.dk/volcanoes.asp 

 

Geography: Mount Tambora is a quite active volcano. Its last eruption was in 1967, but its major eruption was in 1815. That eruption was caused by the Java Trench System’s convergent plate boundary. A convergent plate boundary is when two tectonic plates collide and one goes beneath the other. Mount Tambora is also a dormant volcano with a height of 14,000 feet. A dormant volcano is very tall and is formed by the hardening of lava and ash from previous eruptions.

 

Event Description: The exact date and time of the major eruption is the afternoon of April 15th, 1815. In seconds, ash, lava and molten rock started to speedily come down the volcano, also called pyroclastic flow. The temperature of that was about 1,250°C. The pyroclastic flow totally destroyed a small Indonesian town, just a few kilometres from Mount Tambora. The entire population of the town was instantly killed; which was about 11,000 people. The volcanic ash of the eruption also went up as high as 4½ kilometres into the atmosphere. It is the biggest eruption yet in volcanic history.

 

Human and Environmental Effects: The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 was over within a few hours, but its effect stayed until the following year. The volcanic ash went so high up into the atmosphere that it spread all throughout Earth. The spinning action of our planet helped the ash to spread. The ash in the atmosphere prevented a large portion of the Sun’s energy to penetrate through. Therefore, the following year of 1816 was incredibly cold. At least 71 000 people died in 1816; due to famine, loss of livestock and vegetation, and hypothermia. All of those were caused by Mount Tambora.

 

Interesting Fact: The year of 1816 is nicknamed “the year with no summer”

 

Bibliography

 

 

·        MSN Encarta. “Tambora”. Microsoft Corporations. 2007

          http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761583009/Tambora.html

 

·        Encyclopedia Britannica. “Volcanoes”. Britannica Online. 2008

           http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-24476/volcano

 

·        Spurgeor, Maureen. “Why Volcanoes Erupt”. The Big Book of Knowledge.

           Brown Watson Publishing. London. 2001

 

·        Our Changing Planet. “Mount Tambora”. The Discovery Channel. 2006.

           (Video documentary)

Location: Mount Tambora is located on the northern side of Sumbawa Island in Indonesia. Its exact geographic coordinates are 8.3° S, and 118.0° E. The tectonic fault line below the volcano is called the Java Trench System. It is also 1,260 kilometres from Java, and 2,600 kilometres from Sumatra. Those are the two most densely populated islands in Indonesia.

 

A map showing Mount Tambora and Java Trench System

http://whatonearth.olehnielsen.dk/volcanoes.asp 

 

Geography: Mount Tambora is a quite active volcano. Its last eruption was in 1967, but its major eruption was in 1815. That eruption was caused by the Java Trench System’s convergent plate boundary. A convergent plate boundary is when two tectonic plates collide and one goes beneath the other. Mount Tambora is also a dormant volcano with a height of 14,000 feet. A dormant volcano is very tall and is formed by the hardening of lava and ash from previous eruptions.

 

Event Description: The exact date and time of the major eruption is the afternoon of April 15th, 1815. In seconds, ash, lava and molten rock started to speedily come down the volcano, also called pyroclastic flow. The temperature of that was about 1,250°C. The pyroclastic flow totally destroyed a small Indonesian town, just a few kilometres from Mount Tambora. The entire population of the town was instantly killed; which was about 11,000 people. The volcanic ash of the eruption also went up as high as 4½ kilometres into the atmosphere. It is the biggest eruption yet in volcanic history.

 

Human and Environmental Effects: The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 was over within a few hours, but its effect stayed until the following year. The volcanic ash went so high up into the atmosphere that it spread all throughout Earth. The spinning action of our planet helped the ash to spread. The ash in the atmosphere prevented a large portion of the Sun’s energy to penetrate through. Therefore, the following year of 1816 was incredibly cold. At least 71 000 people died in 1816; due to famine, loss of livestock and vegetation, and hypothermia. All of those were caused by Mount Tambora.

 

Interesting Fact: The year of 1816 is nicknamed “the year with no summer”

 

Bibliography

 

 

·        MSN Encarta. “Tambora”. Microsoft Corporations. 2007

          http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761583009/Tambora.html

 

·        Encyclopedia Britannica. “Volcanoes”. Britannica Online. 2008

           http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-24476/volcano

 

·        Spurgeor, Maureen. “Why Volcanoes Erupt”. The Big Book of Knowledge.

           Brown Watson Publishing. London. 2001

 

·        Our Changing Planet. “Mount Tambora”. The Discovery Channel. 2006.

           (Video documentary)