Research Paper On Tambora

On a small island in Indonesia, the volcano named Tambora erupted with the most powerful eruption in recent history since the 1800s. Tambora had been dormant up to this point and had not erupted in five thousand years. The volcano's horrible eruption, caused enormous amounts of destruction and its effects were noted around the world. It killed ninety thousand people around the world and it destroyed countless crops.

The Europeans first found Tambora. They thought it was extinct. Tambora is located on the Indonesian archipelago on the island of Sumbawa island. It is located on the Sangger peninsula of Sumbawa. Tambora is located on the Sunda arc which is a part of the ring of fire which is a ring of active volcanoes around the
Pacific Ocean. Prior to the 1815 eruption Tambora had not erupted in over five thousand years, and was 12,000 feet tall. Tambora's eruption measured a seven on the Volcano Explosive Intensity (VEI) of seven. That is the highest of any volcano.

The volcano's activity started three years before the major eruption in 1812 when the volcano started to eject steam and ash. It also created little vibrations in the earth. The major eruptions began on April 5, 1815 and ended with the strongest of its eruptions on April 10, 1815. Tambora was "the most powerful volcanic eruption of the nineteenth century."(Source 1) Tambora expelled about one hundred to one hundred fifty cubic kilometers of ash from all its eruptions. Tambora threw the ash about one thousand three hundred kilometers away. The ash from the volcano was pushed west due to the starting monsoons. The ash was so thick people could not see more than a few feet in front of them, and it covered the neighboring island of Bari in half a meter deep of ash. Pyroclastic streams coming down the slopes of the mountain lasted for one day. Within hours of the eruption, many villages on the Sangger peninsula were wiped out. When the eruption occurred people said, "It seemed that three columns of fire shot into the sky."(Source 1) When British traders heard the eruption they thought it was a cannon, and they thought there was a sea battle happening. A witness said, "The entire mountain appeared to turn into liquid fire."(Source 1) After the eruption, one-third of the mountain was blown off. About ten thousand people were killed instantly on the island. Information about the eruption took a long time to get to other countries because of a lack of communication. Information only got around by word of mouth because there was no telephones or telegraphs back when the volcano erupted.

Tambora produced a gigantic eruption that harmed the island of Sumbawa and neighboring islands.
Tambora caused a lot of damage to Sumbawa Island and many neighboring islands. Tambora threw pumice rocks onto bordering islands. It also inserted a lot of ash into the atmosphere which caused damaging weather the next summer. Tambora caused tsunamis in the Java Sea. The tsunami caused waves coming off the island as high as five meters. They reached and destroyed many other islands. The volcano caused devastating hurricane strength winds which slammed into towns. They also uprooted trees. The eruption left a four mile caldera on the top of the volcano. In any case you can see that Tambora produced a bunch of destruction in an enormous amount of different places around the
world.

There are many artists that were inspired to write or paint because of Tambora. Thomas Forster described a sunset as " A fine red blush marked by diverging red and blue bars."(Source 4) Some people drew paintings about effects of Tambora. Caspar David Freidrich, an artist, painted a chromic density, which is a type of painting, of a sky caused by Tambora. Many artists such as Mary Shelly, Lord Byron, and William Turner wrote during the summer of 1816. Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein. Lord Byron wrote the poem, "Darkness."

Tambora did not only cause problems on surrounding islands, it also affected the entire world. Ash ejected from Tambora was carried around the world by air currents. This prevented sunlight from reaching Earth which caused lower temperatures around the world. Tambora also caused more rainfall around the world. It also caused strange sunsets near London.

Tambora caused ice to melt near the North Pole.
The British decided to send a polar expedition led by captain John Ross. The British had been wanting to send a arctic exploration to find a trade route to the East by the northwest. But unfortunately for the British the Arctic froze back just as the expedition was getting there. The United States and Europe were also affected by Tambora. Snow fell during the Summer months throughout Europe and North America which killed crops. Tambora caused the United States to have the shortest growing season. This caused people to lose their main source of food. People also lost the way that they earned money. Because they had no crops people in Vermont were living off hedgehogs and nettles. People from New England fled to the
west.

In the Alps glaciers formed. Beggars in the streets of France were mistaken for marching armies. People in Ireland searched for wild onions in the forests. Tambora also caused Ireland to have a Typhus epidemic which was carried by lice. All these things massively affected the economy, health, and climates of Europe.

Tambora also affected Asia. People in China ate white clay because they had no food. Those living in the rural areas begged or sold their kids for food. Because of rice failure, some parts of China started farming opium which is more reliable than rice. Tambora also slowed down the monsoon season in India, which caused droughts in the region. The cholera epidemic of 1817 was also a result of Tambora. Eighty thousand people died because of starvation and disease. Because of Tambora many people around the world suffered loss of family, property and crops.

Located on a small island in Indonesia, Tambora killed ninety thousand people. However it caused problems worldwide. With its remarkably strong eruption, and enormous amount of damage it killed crops leading to widespread famine. The famine strongly affected North America and Europe. In spite of its destructive effects it also inspired a few amazing works of works of art that are considered classics today. In any case Tambora was a destructive volcano that changed landscape, economy, and weather around the world.