User blog:007Jamesdean/Volcanic Trip Part 27

Part 27: INDONESIA

Java

We were sailing over to the island of Java.

Me: The Island of Java has had more history with volcanic eruptions than any other volcano in Indonesia.

Jessie K: That's right dad.

We arrived at the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java.

Naruto: There's lots of islands here.

Me: This is the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java and [Points to a volcano] that is the volcano we're here for.

We look at the volcano.

Nicole: That's right dad. That's Krakatoa. One of the most famous volcanoes in the world.

Jessie K: Oh man. I know that volcano too. On August 26-27, 1883 Krakatoa erupted and 70% of the island and the surrounding archipelago was completely destroyed. Killing 36,417 people and flooding much of the area with Tsunamis.

Nicole: That's right Jessie. The eruption of Krakatoa was also the loudest eruption ever recorded. It could be heard from over 3,000 miles away. If Krakatoa erupted in present day California it would be heard all the way from New York City.

Lincoln: That's incredible.

Lilly: It sure is.

Luna: How did Krakatoa erupt with such power?

Nicole: Pressure. The volcanic pressure was incredibly powerful back then. The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa pumped 20 million tons of sulfur into the atmosphere and created a volcanic winter that reduced the temperatures of the world by 2.2 degrees fahrenheit for 5 years. The eruption ranked level 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index.

Sam: That is powerful.

Luan: It sure was. I can't believe that Krakatoa possessed that much explosive power.

Eddy: Me neither.

Nicole: But Krakatoa is nothing compared to another volcano.

We went to the island of Sumbawa and there we all saw the volcano Tambora.

Lori: Wow! What is this volcano?

Nicole: This is a caldera called Mount Tambora.

Me: Oh wow. This volcano had one of the most powerful eruptions in recorded history.

Nicole: That's right dad. In 1815 Mount Tambora erupted with so much explosive power that it was more powerful than any nuclear bomb in the worlds nuclear arsenal. It ranked level 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index and it killed 96,000 people all over Indonesia. It also reduced temperatures around the world, resulting in one of the biggest agricultural disaster in the world. We call that event "The Year Without a Summer." 1816 was called that.

Everyone: Wow!

Ben: That's awful.

Gwen: It sure was.

Lori: And this volcano literally collapsed in on itself and became this caldera.

Nicole: That's right Lori.

We suddenly felt a small earthquake and it shook the area and some of us wobbled and fell to the ground on our butts.

Me: Whoa!

Varie: That was an earthquake.

Aylene: A small one but it was enough to make us fall.

Cody: It felt like I drank alot of beer.

Vince: Same here.

Zoe: How strong was that one?

Me: It measured 3.8 on the richter scale.

Naruto: That was a strong one.

Sakura: That was weird.

Fu: It sure was.

Chione: So that was an earthquake. I had no idea that they were that strong.

Aylene: Some are even stronger than that. The Earthquake we felt when we were in the prehistoric times was at 10.8 on the richter scale.

Me: I'll never forget that. That was the strongest earthquake we've ever felt.

Fu: That was awful.

Lincoln: It sure was. I can't believe that earthquakes can get that strong.

Laney: Me neither.

Nicole: Yeah. Funny thing is there has never been a magnitude 10.0 Earthquake or greater in recorded history. They are extremely rare.

Lynn: The Earthquake I got my powers from was at 9.5.

Ember: Does Michigan have any fault lines?

Me: I don't think so. And even if it did have any fault lines they aren't as active as the faults around the Pacific Ocean Plate.

Nicole: Yeah.

We later resumed our journey around Java and we had arrived at a peculiar sight. We had gas masks on.

Me: I know this place. This is Kawah Ijen volcano.

Lana: Why are we wearing our gas masks?

Me: This volcano is very different from other volcanoes. Not only that, it's one of the most prominent sulfur mines in the world.

I pick up some sulfur.

Nicole: This is sulfur guys. Smell it.

Everyone did so and they were disgusted by its horrible stench.

Everyone: EEEEWWWWW!!!!!!!!

Lola: That is gross!

Lynn: It smells like rotten eggs!

Naruto: That's disgusting!

Nicole: That's what sulfur smells like in its natural form. It smells like rotten eggs.

Lana: That's weird but cool.

Me: You can't inhale the fumes from the gases here guys. It will mix with the water in your lungs and become sulfuric acid and burn you from the inside.

Lisa: Correct 2nd big brother.

Lily: That is potent stuff.

We go to the lake and it was weird.

Lana: This lake looks perfect to swim in.

Me: It does but this water is not safe at all.

I pick up a rock.

Me: Watch.

I dip the rock into the lake and the water fizzed when the rock touched it.

Lucy: Gasp! Look at the rock. It's fizzing.

Laney: This water is acid.

Me: That's right Laney. This water has been turned into sulfuric acid. Gases and chemical vapors from deep beneath the volcano turned this water into acid.

Lincoln: Just like in Dante's Peak.

Naruto: Yeah.

Carol: This lake is really dangerous.

Nicole: It is Carol. One time some volcanologists took a rubber boat and took some samples of the lake and they had trouble getting back to shore because wind came.

Mary: That's awful.

Me: It was. But no one died back then.

Nicole: Another cool part about this area is that the geothermal heat from deep beneath the lake melts the sulfur and it causes it to glow neon blue at night.

Brittney: Let me see here.

Brittney used her magic and we saw that the sulfur was glowing neon blue and it created Neon Blue Lava and fire.

Me: That's so weird. That's like what we all saw in Ethiopia.

Penny: No kidding.

Luan: That is so cool!

Lynn: It sure is.

Shannon: That is one of the strangest things I've ever seen.

Carol: It sure is.

Later we saw lots of volcanoes on the island of Java and it was one of the most amazing places in Indonesia. We went to the next island in Indonesia.

Continues in part 28