Book 12, Question 16
What Was the Biggest Eruption People Have Ever Recorded?
In 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia had the biggest eruption in recorded history. It blasted so much ash and gas into the sky that it cooled the weather around the world. Scientists have learned a lot from it.
More fun facts
- Mount Toba in Sumatra had the biggest eruption since modern humans appeared on Earth.
- Toba was larger than any eruption in the previous 28 million years.
- It was hundreds to thousands of times larger than later eruptions like Tambora and Krakatau.
- When Tambora erupted in 1815, its dust in the sky changed weather around the world.
- Krakatau's 1883 eruption made a boom heard about 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) away.
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, National Park Service
Questions kids ask
Did Toba affect people?
Scientists say it came very close to wiping out people, along with many other animals.