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'''Krakatoa''' (Indonesian: ''Krakatau'') volcanic island within the Sunda Strait between [[Sumatra]] and Java in the Dutch East Indies - now [[Indonesia]].  One of several known [[catastrophism|geologically catastrophic]] events that were felt or seen world-wide, the 1883 explosion and eruption destroyed most of the island and killed thousands of people. It was the first of these mega-events news of which was relayed daily to the rest of the world via the [[telegraph]], which had reached nearby Java on its route to Australia not much more than a  decade before.

'''Krakatoa''' (Indonesian: ''Krakatau'') volcanic island within the Sunda Strait between [[Sumatra]] and Java in the Dutch East Indies - now [[Indonesia]].  One of several known [[catastrophism|geologically catastrophic]] events that were felt or seen worldwide, the 1883 explosion and eruption destroyed most of the island and killed thousands of people. It was the first of these mega-events news of which was relayed daily to the rest of the world via the [[telegraph]], which had reached nearby Java on its route to Australia not much more than a  decade before.

==Description==

==Description==

On August 26, 1883, at about 1:00 PM local time, massive explosions occurred in the Perboewatan cone, culminating in a black ash cloud which rose to a height of some 17 miles an hour later.  At 10:00 AM the following morning tremendous explosions believed to be the equivalent of 200 megatons of TNT were followed by ash clouds reaching 50 miles in height and causing atmospheric pressure waves which were recorded on barographs around the world.  The explosions were also loud enough to have been heard as far away as [[Perth, Australia]] and the island of [[Madagascar]]. The sound wave was picked up several times by instruments in New York each time it passed on its trips around the world.

On August 26, 1883, at about 1:00 PM local time, massive explosions occurred in the Perboewatan cone, culminating in a black ash cloud which rose to a height of some 17 miles an hour later.  At 10:00 AM the following morning tremendous explosions believed to be the equivalent of 200 megatons of TNT were followed by ash clouds reaching 50 miles in height and causing atmospheric pressure waves which were recorded on barographs around the world.  The explosions were also loud enough to have been heard as far away as [[Perth, Australia]] and the island of [[Madagascar]]. The sound wave was picked up several times by instruments in New York each time it passed on its trips around the world.

This major series of explosions also fractured the magma chamber within the volcano, opening the magma to sea water and creating what is called a "phreatomagmatic event"; the steam created allowed superheated gasses and ash to travel in a pyroclastic flow, killing inhabitants in western Java.  The force of the explosions weakened the island so severely that much of it collapsed into a newly-created [[caldera]] in the sea; the [[tsunami]]s generated by the force of the collapse were estimated to have been 120 feet high in shallow water in nearby coastal areas, and overwhelmed smaller, nearby islands and the coastal areas of Java and Sumatra, killing well over 36,000 people. Some 11 cubic miles of debris was ejected from the volcano, resulting in blood-red sunsets for up to a year around the world.

This major series of explosions also fractured the magma chamber within the volcano, opening the magma to sea water and creating what is called a "phreatomagmatic event"; the steam created allowed superheated gasses and ash to travel in a pyroclastic flow, killing inhabitants in western Java.  The force of the explosions weakened the island so severely that much of it collapsed into a newly created [[caldera]] in the sea; the [[tsunami]]s generated by the force of the collapse were estimated to have been 120 feet high in shallow water in nearby coastal areas, and overwhelmed smaller, nearby islands and the coastal areas of Java and Sumatra, killing well over 36,000 people. Some 11 cubic miles of debris was ejected from the volcano, resulting in blood-red sunsets for up to a year around the world.

==Aftermath==

==Aftermath==