Volcanoes that made history
Enormous eruptions altered Earth’s climate and societies all over the globe.
Enormous eruptions altered Earth’s climate and societies all over the globe.
The short version
- The first telegram arrived in Singapore on a Monday, sent from the city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia).
- “Terrific detonations from Krakatau (volcanic island),” it reported.
- On the morning of August 27, 1883, a volcanic eruption had obliterated two islands in the strait between Java and Sumatra, and most of a third.
What happened
More than 36,000 people perished, the majority in devastating tsunamis that raced outward from the colossal explosion. Thanks to Victorian-era telecommunications, it was the first time in history that people around the globe could begin to document, in near real time, the immediate and long-term effects of a catastrophic volcanic eruption.
Why it matters
What they learned over the next few years laid the foundations for the modern science of volcanology.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.