120°E 140°E 160°E 180° 160°W 140°W100°E80°E60°E

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Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Capricorn

Equator

INDIAN OCEAN

PACIFIC OCEAN

C H I N A

INDIA

A U S T R A L I A

Borne

o

Sumatra

Java

PhilippineIslands

New Guinea

Krakatoa

Rodrigues I.Mauritius

Réunion

Area ofvolcanic ash

Are

ain

which

explosions were heard

0

0 400 800 kilometers

400 800 miles

Miller Projection

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710 CHAPTER 31

Krakatoa was a main island consisting of

three overlapping volcano cones, plus two

small islands.

After a few months of minor volcanic activity,

Krakatoa blew up violently on August 27, 1883.

KrakatoaImagine an explosion so destructive that it sends volcanic ash 50 miles into the air

and so loud that people hear it about 3,000 miles away. In 1883, the Indonesian

volcano Krakatoa (also spelled Krakatau) erupted in an explosion that created

those effects. But the blast was only the beginning of the disaster. The eruption

caused the volcano to collapse into the sea and triggered a series of deadly

tsunamis, or giant waves. The greatest of those towered 120 feet high. The

tsunami swept the coasts of Java and Sumatra, killing more than 36,000 people.

Krakatoa: The Eruption and the Tsunami

DUST IN THE WIND• Krakatoa threw so much ash and

dust into the air that temperatures

dropped by about 0.9°F around the

world.

• The dust filtered light and caused

spectacular sunsets around the

world for about a year.

• The dust in the atmosphere also

made the moon look shades of

green and blue.

FIVE DEADLIEST VOLCANOESSINCE 1500

1792Unzen, Japan:

15,000 dead

1815Tambora, Indonesia:

92,000 dead

1883Krakatoa, Indonesia:

36,000 dead

1902Mount Pelée, Martinique:

30,000 dead

1985Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia:

25,000 dead

Disasters! 711

PREPARING A NEWSCASTWorking with a partner, use the

Internet to research one of the other

volcanoes listed below. Create a

television newscast about the

disaster.

• Sketch a map showing the volcano

and the region affected by lava,

ash, mud slides, or tsunamis.

• Create drawings, diagrams, or

graphs about the disaster.

• Write a script for the newscast.

In the Sunda Strait, in 1927, lava began to flow through a crack in the sea floor beneath

the site of the old island. By 1928, a new island was born and named Anak Krakatoa,

which means “child of Krakatoa.” The island is still volcanically active, but it is not

considered dangerous.

RESEARCH LINKSCLASSZONE .COM

All three cones disappeared, leaving only a small island. Massive

amounts of sea water were displaced. The disturbance of the ocean

created giant tsunamis. The tsunamis destroyed about 163 villages.