One of the volcanoes known to be of the stratovolcano type most famous in Indonesia for its great volcanic activity is the Drum. It has been one of the volcanoes with the highest activity recorded in the world up to this moment. That is why it is considered one of the most special volcanoes that exist. To learn more about this volcano, we are going to review its main characteristics, its formation and origin, its eruptions and the impact of climate change.
If you want to know more about the Tambora volcano, this is your post.
Key features
This volcano belongs to the group of stratovolcanoes, characterized by an imposing structure composed of a large amount of very strong minerals, with eruptions classified as explosive. These eruptions occur periodically, so it can be considered a permanently active volcano. One factor that makes a significant difference in determining its composition is its height. Although this height is only 2.850 meters above sea level, it is something too high to be a stratovolcano. To understand more about their classification, you can consult our article on stratovolcanoes.
We must know that a volcanic caldera is a volcanic-type depression that occurs for various reasons. The main and most frequent reason is that the magma chamber sinks or shifts when the volcano is higher than the base can support. This makes this class of volcanoes have a large hole and you can see a kind of vacuum if you look from above.
Throughout history, the Tambora volcano is known to have it reached a height of 4.300 meters above sea level. This made it considered one of the highest peaks in all of Indonesia in the 18th century. However, all this changed when its magma chamber filled. To explain this, we must turn to the formation of the volcano.
Formation of the Tambora volcano
This volcano has become famous for its colossal eruption, as it is located in a subduction zone. A subduction zone is where one plate sinks beneath another. We know that the volcano is located approximately about 340 kilometers from the Java Trench and about 190 kilometers above the plate tectonic subduction zone located below the Sumbawa Islands.
The movement of the plates was what caused the magma in the Earth's interior to experience great pressure. Under this great pressure, the magma sought a way out. This is how many volcanoes eventually form. It is estimated that The Tambora volcano dates back to about 57.000 years ago. and that began to form from the water flow deposits that hardened. This type of formation occurs mainly in stratovolcano-type volcanoes, also known as compound volcanoes.
Approximately 43.000 years ago, a large caldera formed that reached a height of over 4.000 meters. All this happened during the late Pleistocene epoch and was filled with water flowLater, in the early Holocene, several explosive eruptions occurred, changing the volcano's morphology. The most significant known eruption occurred in 1815. Radiocarbon dating placed it among the most significant eruptions in the entire historical context.
Tambora volcano eruptions
There are 7 recorded eruptions of the volcano, the most important being in 1815. The history of eruptions of the Tambora volcano It dates back at least 50.000 years. 7 eruptions have been confirmed, the oldest being in 3.900 BC. More or less it is known that between one eruption and another there is an approximate difference of 5.000 years. In each eruption there are differences between the layers of lava flow that occur and their intensity.
Other more known and confirmed eruptions they happened in the year 3000 BC, in the year 1812, in 1819, although the most serious occurred in 1815. After a long period of inactivity on the part of the volcano, the inhabitants of the area surrounding Tambora were surprised by a succession of earthquakes. They were also surprised to see steam and ash exhalations from the vent of this stratovolcano. Although it had erupted, these citizens were not overly concerned, as it was not an overly dangerous eruption.
It was already April 5, 1815, when the worst happened. This day the volcano erupted with great violence and expelled pyroclastic flows. It is considered to be a type of explosive eruption and could be heard at a distance of 1.400 kilometers. The following day, volcanic ash fell in East Java, also causing loud noises from the explosive activity. Five days later, one of the worst eruptions in recorded history occurred. It was one of the most violent eruptions in history, spewing up to 150 cubic kilometers of rock and ash as far as 1.300 kilometers to the northwest.
Such was the eruption and its damage that around 60.000 people lost their lives. This eruption is known as one of the worst, as it was more intense than that of Krakatoa, which occurred in 1883. In this type of eruption, the material ejected was about 100 times greater than that from this eruption. However, numerous people lost their lives, and the lava flows completely buried the nearest poles and all farmland. The event caused the formation of the vast caldera that remains to this day and has caused the volcano to lose much of its height.
As you can see, this volcano is one of the most important in the world given the aggressiveness of the eruption that took place in 1815. I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Tambora volcano and its dangerous violent eruptions.