13. Tambora – Indonesia’s Other Nightmare Volcano
The nineteenth century’s most famous volcanic eruption was that of Krakatoa, in what is now Indonesia. However, Krakatoa was eclipsed by a bigger volcanic eruption, also in Indonesia: the 1815 Mount Tambora Eruption. The biggest volcanic eruption in recorded human history, occurred on Sumbawa Island in what was then the Dutch East Indies.
It was preceded by five days of rumblings, starting on April 5th, 1815, when a loud eruption occurred, with a thunderous clap that was heard almost a thousand miles away. When Tambora finally blew up in a grand finale on April 10th, 1815, it was the strongest volcanic explosion of the past ten thousand years.