MOUNT TAMBORA: THE DEADLIEST OF THEM ALL

Of all recorded volcanic eruptions, Mount Tambora of Indonesia takes the title of deadliest. 10,000 people on the island of Sumbawa died instantly in the 1815 blast, but the greater environmental impact caused more than 71,000 deaths. Tambora’s gigantic eruption was so powerful that soldiers hundreds of miles away mistook its sound for cannon fire, and lava flowed continuously from the volcanic site for two hours.

As the hot lava met the ocean it reacted with the cold water to send ash high into the air, spreading it even further. For hundreds of miles dark, ash-filled skies and falling remnants prevented crops from growing and spread disease, while acid particles, spread by Tambora’s sulphurous waste, lowered temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere. Crops froze, contributing to starvation, and many died due to the colder, harsher climates the eruption caused.