Editing Krakatoa

{{Short description|Volcanic caldera in the Sunda Strait}}
{{About|the historic eruptions of the volcano|the newly formed volcanic island|Anak Krakatoa|other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Krakatoa
| native_name ={{native name|id|Krakatau}}
| photo = Krakatoa eruption lithograph.jpg
| photo_caption = An 1888 lithograph of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa
| map = Indonesia
| map_caption = Location within Indonesia
| location = [[Indonesia]]
| map_relief = 1
| coordinates = {{coord|6.102|S|105.423|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| prominence_m =
| listing = Spesial Ribu
| coordinates_ref =
| type = [[Caldera]]
| last_eruption = 1883<ref name="smithsonian">{{cite gvp|vn=262000|name =Krakatau}}</ref>
}}
'''Krakatoa''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|r|ɑː|k|ə|ˈ|t|oʊ|ə|,_|ˌ|k|r|æ|k|-}}), also transcribed {{lang|id|'''Krakatau'''|italic=no}} ({{IPAc-en|-|ˈ|t|aʊ}}), is a [[caldera]] in the [[Sunda Strait]] between the islands of [[Java]] and [[Sumatra]] in the [[Indonesia]]n province of [[Lampung]].<ref name="smithsonian"/> The caldera is part of a [[volcanic island]] group ([[Krakatoa archipelago]]) comprising four islands. Two of them are known as [[Lang Island|Lang]] and [[Verlaten Island|Verlaten]]; another, [[Rakata]], is the only remnant of an island mostly destroyed by an [[1883 eruption of Krakatoa|eruption in 1883]] which created the caldera.

In 1927, a fourth island, [[Anak Krakatoa]], or "Child of Krakatoa", emerged from the caldera formed in 1883. There has been new eruptive activity since the late 20th century, with a large collapse causing [[2018 Sunda Strait tsunami|a deadly tsunami in December 2018]].

== Historical significance ==
{{Further|1883 eruption of Krakatoa}}

The most notable eruptions of Krakatoa culminated in a series of massive explosions over 26–27 August 1883, which were among the most violent volcanic events in recorded history.

With an estimated [[Volcanic explosivity index]] (VEI) of 6,<ref>{{cite book| last=Breining| first=Greg| title=Super Volcano: The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Yellowstone National Park| publisher=Voyageur Press| year=2007| page=[https://archive.org/details/supervolcanotick0000brei/page/256 256]| chapter=The Deadliest Volcanoes| isbn=978-0-7603-2925-2| chapter-url-access=registration| chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/supervolcanotick0000brei/page/256}}</ref> the eruption was equivalent to {{convert|200|MtonTNT}}—about 13,000 times the [[nuclear yield]] of the [[Little Boy]] bomb (13 to 16 kt) that [[atomic bombing of Hiroshima|devastated Hiroshima]], Japan, during [[World War II]], and four times the yield of [[Tsar Bomba]], the most powerful [[nuclear device]] ever detonated at 50 Mt.

The 1883 eruption ejected approximately {{convert|6|mi3|abbr=in|order=flip}} of rock.<ref name="scholastic">{{cite journal| url=http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/volcanoes/witnesses.htm| title=The Volcano That Shook the World: Krakatoa 1883| last=Hopkinson| first=Deborah| publisher=[[Storyworks]]| location=New York| date=January 2004| volume=11| issue=4| page=8| access-date=1 March 2008| archive-date=4 May 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504210901/http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/volcaNoes/witnesses.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> The cataclysmic explosion was heard {{convert|3600|km|abbr=on}} away in [[Alice Springs]], [[Australia]], and on the island of [[Rodrigues]] near [[Mauritius]], {{convert|4780|km|abbr=on}} to the west.<ref name="The Independent, May 3, 2006">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-krakatoa-made-the-biggest-bang-5336165.html | title=How Krakatoa made the biggest bang | date=3 May 2006 | newspaper=The Independent | access-date=22 August 2018 | location=London | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729203440/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-krakatoa-made-the-biggest-bang-5336165.html | archive-date=29 July 2018 }}</ref>

According to the official records of the [[Dutch East Indies]] colony, 165 villages and towns were destroyed near Krakatoa, and 132 were seriously damaged. At least 36,417 people died, and many more thousands were injured, mostly from the [[tsunami]]s that followed the explosion. The eruption destroyed two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa.

Eruptions in the area since 1927 have built a new island at the same location, named ''[[Anak Krakatau]]'' (which is Indonesian for "Child of Krakatoa"). Periodic eruptions have continued since, with recent eruptions in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, and a major collapse in 2018. In late 2011, this island had a radius of roughly {{convert|2|km}}, and a highest point of about {{convert|324|m}} above sea level,<ref name="Gunung Bagging">{{cite web | url = http://www.gunungbagging.com/anak-krakatau | title = Anak Krakatau | access-date = 10 November 2011 | archive-date = 26 August 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110826011033/http://www.gunungbagging.com/anak-krakatau/ | url-status = live }}</ref> growing {{convert|5|m|spell=in}} each year.<ref name="smithsonian"/>
In 2017, the height of Anak Krakatau was reported as over {{cvt|400|m||}} above sea level;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://indonesiaexpat.biz/travel/krakatau-resurrection-terry-donohue/ |title=The Resurrection Of Krakatau |last=Donahue |first=Terry |date=2017-12-05 |website=The Indonesia Expat |publisher=Indonesiaexpat.biz |access-date=2018-12-29 |archive-date=30 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230081223/http://indonesiaexpat.biz/travel/krakatau-resurrection-terry-donohue/ |url-status=live }}</ref> following a collapse in December 2018, the height was reduced to 110 meters (361&nbsp;ft).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46707731|title=Indonesian volcano's lost stature|last=Amos|first=Jonathan|date=2018-12-29|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-12-29|language=en-GB|archive-date=2 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202125257/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46707731|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gunung Bagging" />

== Etymology ==
One of the earliest mentions of the name Krakatoa is in the [[Old Sundanese language|Old Sundanese]] text [[Bujangga Manik]], which was probably written in western Java in the late 15th century. Here Krakatoa is referred to as "the island of Rakata, a mountain in the middle of the sea" (''pulo Rakata gunung ti tengah sagara'', f. 27v).<ref>{{cite book
  | last1 =Noorduyn
  | first1 =J.
|last2 = Teeuw
|first2 = A.
  | publisher= KITLV Press
| location=Leiden
  | title = Three Old Sundanese Poems
  | year =2006
}}</ref> Although there are earlier descriptions in European sources of an island in the Sunda Strait with a "pointed mountain," the earliest mention of Krakatoa by name in the [[western world]] was on a 1611 map by [[Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer]], who labelled the island "Pulo Carcata" (''pulo'' is the [[Sundanese language|Sundanese]] word for "island"). About two dozen variants have been found, including ''Crackatouw,'' ''Cracatoa,'' and ''Krakatao'' (in an older [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]-based spelling). The first known appearance of the spelling ''Krakatau'' was by [[Wouter Schouten]], who passed by "the high tree-covered island of Krakatau" in October 1658.{{sfn|Winchester|2003|p=27}}

The origin of the Indonesian name ''Krakatau'' is uncertain. The main theories are:
* From [[Sanskrit]] ''karka'' or ''karkaṭa'' or ''karkaṭaka,'' meaning "lobster" or "crab". The abbreviated form ''rakaṭa'' also means "crab" in the [[Kawi language|Old Javanese]] language. The fact that the earliest recorded mentions of the word closely resemble the pronunciation of these words for crab (''rakata'' in ''Bujangga Manik'' and ''carcata'' in Waghenaer's map) makes this Sanskrit etymology the most likely origin of the word.{{sfn|Winchester|2003|p=27}}
* [[Onomatopoeia]], imitating the noise made by [[cockatoo]]s (''Kakatoes'') which used to inhabit the island. However, Van den Berg points out that these birds are found only in the "eastern part of the archipelago" (meaning the [[Lesser Sundas]], east of Java, on the other side of the [[Wallace Line]]).{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}
* The closest [[Malay language|Malay]] word is ''kelakatu,'' meaning "white-winged ant". [[Furneaux Group|Furneaux]] points out that in pre-1883 maps, Krakatoa does somewhat resemble an ant seen from above, with Lang and Verlaten lying to the sides like wings.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}
* Van den Berg (1884) recites a story that ''Krakatau'' was the result of a linguistic error. According to the legend, a visiting ship's captain asked a local inhabitant the island's name, and the latter replied, "''Kaga tau''" (''Aku enggak tahu'')—a [[Jakarta]]n/Betawinese slang phrase meaning "I don't know". This story is largely discounted; it closely resembles other linguistic myths about the origin of the word [[Kangaroo#Terminology|kangaroo]] and the name of the [[Yucatán Peninsula#Etymology|Yucatán Peninsula]].

The [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s [[Global Volcanism Program]] cites the Indonesian name, ''Krakatau,'' as the correct name, but says that ''Krakatoa'' is often employed.<ref name="smithsonian"/><ref>Note: This spelling has been attributed to a sub-editor at ''[[The Times]]'' (who may have typographically swapped the 'a' and 'o' of the Portuguese spelling) interpreting [[telegraph]]ic reporting on the massive eruption of 1883.</ref>{{sfn|Winchester|2003|p=183}}

== Geographical setting ==
[[File:Sunda strait map v3.png|right|thumb|The Sunda Strait]]

Indonesia has over 130 active volcanoes,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=06&rpage=list| title=Volcanoes of Indonesia| publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]| access-date=25 March 2007| work=Global Volcanism Program| archive-date=19 August 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819123333/http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=06| url-status=live}}</ref> the most of any nation. They make up the axis of the Indonesian [[island arc]] system produced by northeastward subduction of the [[Indo-Australian Plate]]. A majority of these volcanoes lie along Indonesia's two largest islands, Java and Sumatra. These two islands are separated by the Sunda Strait located at a bend in the axis of the island arc. Krakatau is directly above the [[subduction zone]] of the [[Eurasian Plate]] and the Indo-Australian Plate where the plate boundaries make a sharp change of direction, possibly resulting in an unusually weak crust in the region.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Ryan |last2=Jonasdottir |first2=Hrafnihildur |last3=Santiago |first3=Jessica |last4=Nelson |first4=Emily |title=Oceanic Mapping |url=https://www.asu.edu/courses/art345/2009/santiago_j/web/oceanicmapping/ |website=ASU |access-date=30 January 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205015913/https://www.asu.edu/courses/art345/2009/santiago_j/web/oceanicmapping/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Pre-1883 history ==
At some point in [[prehistory]], an earlier caldera-forming eruption had occurred, leaving as remnants [[Verlaten]] (or ''Sertung''); [[Lang Island|Lang]] (also known as Rakata Kecil, or Panjang); [[Poolsche Hoed]] ("Polish Hat");<ref>Note: apparently because it looked like a hat from the sea</ref> and the base of [[Rakata]]. Later, at least two more cones ([[Perboewatan]] and [[Danan (volcano)|Danan]]) formed and eventually joined with Rakata, forming the main island of Krakatoa.<ref>Note: The dating of these events is currently unknown. The Sunda Strait was first mentioned by Arab sailors circa 1100.</ref> At the time of the 1883 eruption, the Krakatoa group comprised Lang, Verlaten, and Krakatoa itself, an island {{convert|9|km|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|5|km|abbr=on}} wide. There were also the tree-covered islet near Lang (Poolsche Hoed) and several small rocky islets or banks between Krakatoa and Verlaten.

There were three volcanic cones on Krakatoa island: [[Rakata]], ({{convert|820|m|disp=or|abbr=on}}) to the south; [[Danan (volcano)|Danan]], ({{convert|450|m|disp=or|abbr=on}}) near the center; and [[Perboewatan]], ({{convert|120|m|disp=or|abbr=on}}) to the north.

=== AD 416 event ===
The [[Javanese language|Javanese]] ''[[:id:Serat Pustaka Raja|Book of Kings]]'' (''Pustaka Raja''), a 19th-century compilation of historical traditions from Central Java, records that in the year 338 [[Shaka era|Śaka]] (416 AD):
{{quotation|A thundering sound was heard from the mountain Batuwara [now called [[Pulosari (volcano)|Pulosari]], an extinct volcano in [[Bantam (city)|Bantam]], the nearest to the Sunda Strait] which was answered by a similar noise from Kapi, lying westward of the modern Bantam [([[Banten]]) is the westernmost province in Java, so this seems to indicate that Krakatoa is meant]. A great glowing fire, which reached the sky, came out of the last-named mountain; the whole world was greatly shaken and violent thundering, accompanied by heavy rain and storms took place, but not only did not this heavy rain extinguish the eruption of the fire of the mountain Kapi, but augmented the fire; the noise was fearful, at last the mountain Kapi with a tremendous roar burst into pieces and sank into the deepest of the earth. The water of the sea rose and inundated the land, the country to the east of the mountain Batuwara, to the mountain [[Rajabasa]] [the most southerly volcano in Sumatra], was inundated by the sea; the inhabitants of the northern part of the Sunda country to the mountain Rajabasa were drowned and swept away with all property<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webpages.charter.net/anthropogene/arc_vol1_is7.html|title=Krakatau version 1.0, Part 2|date=2003-11-11|publisher=The Anthropogene|access-date=2010-01-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528100614/http://webpages.charter.net/anthropogene/arc_vol1_is7.html|archive-date=2010-05-28}}</ref> ... The water subsided but the land on which Kapi stood became sea, and Java and Sumatra were divided into two parts.
}}

The ''Pustaka Raja'' does not draw on primary sources for its description of this event, and its historical reliability is highly dubious.<ref name="Ricklefs">{{cite journal |last=Ricklefs |first=M.C. |title=The perils of hybridity in 19th-century Java: Ronggawarsita's reputation, animated debates in Bramartani, and the probable origins of Javanese acrostics; with a postscript on Purwalĕlana |journal=Archipel |year=2018 |volume=96 |issue=96 |pages=103–127 |doi=10.4000/archipel.802|s2cid=165348828 |doi-access=free }}</ref> It is therefore impossible to verify its description of this eruption. There is no geological evidence presented that substantiates this eruption.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Madden-Nadeau |first1=A.L. |last2=Cassidy |first2=M. |last3=Pyle |first3=D.M. |last4=Mather |first4=T.A. |last5=Watt |first5=S.F.L. |last6=Engwell |first6=S.L. |last7=Abdurrachman |first7=M. |last8=Nurshal |first8=M.E.M. |last9=Tappin |first9=D.R. |last10=Ismail |first10=T. |date=2021-03-01 |title=The magmatic and eruptive evolution of the 1883 caldera-forming eruption of Krakatau: Integrating field- to crystal-scale observations |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0377027321000056 |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |language=en |volume=411 |pages=107176 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2021.107176|bibcode=2021JVGR..41107176M |s2cid=233789963 }}</ref> [[David Keys (author)|David Keys]], Ken Wohletz, and others have postulated that a violent volcanic eruption, possibly of Krakatoa, in 535 was responsible for the [[Extreme weather events of 535–536|global climate changes of 535–536]].<ref name="Wohletz">{{cite journal |last1=Wohletz |first1=K. H. |title=Were the dark ages triggered by volcano-related climate changes in the 6th century. |journal=Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union |date=2000 |volume=48 |issue=81 |page=F1305 |url=http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/ees/geodynamics/Wohletz/Krakatau.htm |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=1 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601090750/https://www.lanl.gov/orgs/ees/geodynamics/Wohletz/Krakatau.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Drilling projects in [[Sunda Strait]] ruled out any possibility that an eruption took place in 535 AD.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Southon |first1=John |last2=Mohtadi |first2=Mahyar |last3=Pol-Holz |first3=Ricardo De |date=2013 |title=Planktonic Foram Dates from the Indonesian Arc: Marine 14C Reservoir Ages and a Mythical AD 535 Eruption of Krakatau |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/radiocarbon/article/abs/planktonic-foram-dates-from-the-indonesian-arc-marine-14c-reservoir-ages-and-a-mythical-ad-535-eruption-of-krakatau/459ED3B7A3807405994B278B26B8928E |journal=Radiocarbon |language=en |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=1164–1172 |doi=10.1017/S0033822200048074 |bibcode=2013Radcb..55.1164S |s2cid=54647517 |issn=0033-8222}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Abstract: NO EVIDENCE FOR EXPLOSIVITY OF A CIRCA 535AD ERUPTION OF KRAKATAU VOLCANO (2004 Denver Annual Meeting (November 7–10, 2004)) |url=https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2004AM/webprogram/Paper79026.html |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=gsa.confex.com}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
Thornton mentions that Krakatoa was known as "The Fire Mountain" during Java's [[Sailendra]] dynasty, with records of seven eruptive events between the 9th and 16th centuries.<ref name="thornton">{{cite book |last=Thornton |first=Ian |title=Krakatau: the destruction and reassembly of an island ecosystem |date=1997 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=978-0674505728 |edition=1st |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/krakataudestruct0000thor_j3p7 }}</ref> These have been tentatively dated as having occurred in 850, 950, 1050, 1150, 1320, and 1530.

=== 1680 ===
[[File:AMH-8034-KB View of Gunung Api.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Simon Winchester]] maintains that the 1680 eruption was depicted in this eighteenth-century Dutch etching.{{sfn|Winchester|2003|p=136}}]]

In February 1681, [[Johann Wilhelm Vogel]], a Dutch mining engineer at Salida, [[Sumatra]] (near [[Padang]]), on his way to Batavia (now [[Jakarta]]) passed through the Sunda Strait. In his diary he wrote:

{{quotation|...I saw with amazement that the island of Krakatoa, on my first trip to Sumatra [June 1679] completely green and healthy with trees, lay completely burnt and barren in front of our eyes and that at four locations was throwing up large chunks of fire. And when I asked the ship's Captain when the aforementioned island had erupted, he told me that this had happened in May 1680 ... He showed me a piece of [[pumice]] as big as his fist.
}}

Vogel spent several months in Batavia, returning to Sumatra in November 1681. On the same ship were several other Dutch travellers, including [[Elias Hesse]], a writer. Hesse's journal reports:

{{quotation|...on the 19th [of November 1681] we again lifted anchor and proceeded first to the north of us to the island of Sleepzie ([[Sebesi]]), uninhabited, ... and then still north of the island of Krakatou, which erupted about a year ago and also is uninhabited. The rising smoke column of this island can be seen from miles away; we were with our ship very close to shore and we could see the trees sticking out high on the mountain, and which looked completely burned, but we could not see the fire itself.<ref>Note: Vogel returned to Amsterdam in 1688 and published the first edition of his journal in 1690.</ref>
}}

The eruption was also reported by a Bengali sea captain, who wrote of the event later, but had not recorded it at the time in the ship's log.{{sfn|Winchester|2003|pp=132–133}} Neither Vogel nor Hesse mention Krakatoa in any real detail in their other passages, and no other travellers at the time mention an eruption or evidence of one. (In November 1681, a pepper crop was being offered for sale by inhabitants.)<ref>Note: Historians Van den Berg and Verbeek both conclude that Vogel must have exaggerated the extent of the eruption he saw. Even so, there must have been an eruption around this time.</ref>

[[Simon Winchester]] maintains, in his 2003 book ''[[Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded|Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883]]'', that the 1680 eruption was depicted in an eighteenth-century etching by Dutch cartographer [[Jakob van der Schley|Jan van Schley]] called ''Het Brandende Eiland'', "The Burning Island," writing that "it was a depiction, without a doubt, of the otherwise little-chronicled eruption that supposedly took place in 1680."{{sfn|Winchester|2003|p=136}}

In 1880, Verbeek investigated a fresh unweathered lava flow at the northern coast of Perboewatan, which he claimed could not have been more than two centuries old.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Verbeek |first1=R.D.M. |title=Krakatau |date=1884 |publisher=Landsdrukkerij (Government Press) |location=Batavia, Dutch East Indies (Jakarta, Indonesia) |page=164 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b5273264&view=1up&seq=216 |language=Dutch}}  From p. 164: ''"Over de gesteenten, waaruit de kegels Danan en Perboewatan bestonden, […] dat zij van de eruptie van 1680 afkomstig is."''
*  French translation: {{cite book |last1=Verbeek |first1=R.D.M. |title=Krakatau |date=1886 |publisher=Imprimerie de l'état (Government Press) |location=Batavia, Dutch East Indies (Jakarta, Indonesia) |page=171 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015023943403&view=1up&seq=233 |language=French}}  From p. 171:  ''"Au suject des roches qui composaient les cônes Danan et Perboewatan, […] et permet de supposer qu'elle date de l'eruption de 1680."'' (On the subject of the rocks which composed the cones of Danan and Perboewatan, we possess only very little data.  In the month of July 1880, I collected only samples of the flow of lava which, at the northern extremity of Perboewatan, were thrown into the sea.  This flow still did not present any trace of degradation by atmopheric agents and was therefore entirely bare, thus contrasting with all of the rest of the island of Krakatau, which was covered by a thin layer of vegetation; this fact denotes the relatively young age of the lava in question and permits one to suppose that it dates from the eruption of 1680.)</ref>

=== Visit by HMS ''Discovery'' ===
In February 1780, the crews of {{HMS|Resolution|1771}} and {{HMS|Discovery|1774}}, on the way home after Captain [[James Cook]]'s death in [[Hawaii|Hawai{{okina}}i]], stopped for a few days on Krakatoa. They found a freshwater and a hot spring on the island. They described the natives who then lived on the island as "friendly" and made several sketches (In his journal, [[John Ledyard]] calls the island "Cocoterra").

<gallery>
File:John Webber Plate XV View in the Island of Cracatoa.jpg|In 1780, crew members of HMS ''Discovery'' found the island as a friendly place whose vegetation was dense and lush; illustration by John Webber (1751–1793)
File:John Webber Plate XVI The Fan Palm in the Island of Cracatoa.jpg|Large fan palm in the island; illustration by John Webber (1751–1793)
</gallery>

=== Visit by USS ''Peacock'' ===
[[Edmund Roberts (diplomat)|Edmund Roberts]] calls the island ''Crokatoa'' in his journal. A paraphrased account follows: 

On 8 September 1832, [[USS Peacock (1813)#Diplomatic missions|US sloop-of-war ''Peacock'']] anchored off the north end, also visiting [[Lang Island]], in search of inhabitants, fresh water and [[Yam (vegetable)|yam]]s. It was found difficult to land anywhere, due to a heavy surf and to the coral having extended itself to a considerable distance from the shore. Hot springs boiling furiously up, through many fathoms of water, were found on the eastern side of Krakatoa, {{convert|150|ft}} from the shore. Roberts, Captain [[David Geisinger|Geisinger]], and marine lieutenant Fowler visited Forsaken island, having mistaken the singing of locusts for the sound of running water. The boat glided over crystal clear water, over an extensive and highly beautiful submarine garden. Corals of every shape and hue were there, some resembling sunflowers and mushrooms, others cabbages from {{convert|1|to|36|in|cm|0}} in diameter, while a third type bore a striking likeness to the rose. The hillsides were typical of tropical climate; large flocks of parrots, monkeys in great variety, wild-mango and orange groves—a superb scene of plants and flowers of every description, glowing in vivid tints of purple, red, blue, brown, and green—but not water or provisions.<ref name="Roberts">{{cite book |last= Roberts |first= Edmund |author-link= Edmund Roberts (diplomat) |title= Embassy to the Eastern courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat : in the U. S. sloop-of-war Peacock ... during the years 1832–3–4 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aSgPAAAAYAAJ |date= 12 October 2007 |orig-year= 1837 |publisher= Harper & brothers |at= Digital images 46–48 |chapter= Chapter III; Arrival at Crokatoa and Forsaken Islands |isbn= 9780608404066 |access-date= 12 November 2020 |archive-date= 23 January 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230123212347/https://books.google.com/books?id=aSgPAAAAYAAJ |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Dutch activity ===
In 1620, the Dutch set up a naval station on the islands and somewhat later a shipyard was built. Sometime in the late 17th century, an attempt was made to establish a [[Black pepper|pepper]] [[plantation]] on Krakatoa, but the islands were generally ignored by the [[Dutch East India Company]]. In 1809, a [[penal colony]] was established at an unspecified location, which was in operation for about a decade. By the 1880s, the islands were without permanent inhabitants; the nearest settlement was the nearby island of [[Sebesi]] (about {{cvt|12|km|disp=or||}} away) with a population of 3,000.

Several [[Surveying|surveys]] and [[Nautical chart|mariners' charts]] were made, and the islands were little explored or studied. An 1854 map of the islands was used in an English chart, which shows some difference from a Dutch chart made in 1874. In July 1880, [[Rogier Verbeek]] made an official survey of the islands, but was allowed to spend only a few hours there. He was able to collect samples from several places, and his investigation later proved important in judging the geological impact of the 1883 eruption.<ref name="Symons88">{{cite report | url=https://archive.org/stream/eruptionkrakato00whipgoog#page/n12/mode/2up |editor-last=Symons |editor-first=G. J. |title=The Eruption of Krakatoa and Subsequent Phenomena |publisher=Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society |location=London |year=1888 |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref>{{rp|9}}

== 1883 eruption ==
{{Main|1883 eruption of Krakatoa}}
[[File:Krakatoa map.svg|thumb|right|Two-thirds of the original Krakatoa Island was obliterated by the 1883 eruption.]]

While seismic activity around the volcano was intense in the years preceding the cataclysmic 1883 eruption, a series of lesser eruptions began on 20 May 1883. The volcano released huge plumes of steam and ash lasting until late August.{{sfn|Winchester|2003|pp=154–166}}

On 27 August, a series of four huge explosions almost destroyed the island. The explosions were so violent that they were heard {{convert|3110|km|abbr=on}} away in [[Perth]], Western Australia, and the island of [[Rodrigues]] near [[Mauritius]], {{convert|4800|km|abbr=on}} away.<ref name="The Independent, May 3, 2006" /> The pressure wave from the third and most violent explosion was recorded on [[barograph]]s around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.branchcollective.org/?ps_articles=monique-morgan-the-eruption-of-krakatoa-also-known-as-krakatau-in-1883|title=The Eruption of Krakatoa (also known as Krakatau) in 1883|author=Monique R. Morgan|publisher=BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History|date=January 2013|access-date=5 February 2019|archive-date=7 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207014949/http://www.branchcollective.org/?ps_articles=monique-morgan-the-eruption-of-krakatoa-also-known-as-krakatau-in-1883|url-status=live}}</ref> Several barographs recorded the wave seven times over the course of five days: four times with the wave travelling away from the volcano to its [[antipodal point]], and three times travelling back to the volcano;<ref name="Symons88" />{{rp|63}} the wave rounded the globe three and a half times. Ash was propelled to a height of {{cvt|80|km|ft}}. It was reported that the sound of the eruption was so loud that anyone within {{convert|10|mi|km|order=flip}} would have gone deaf.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

The combined effects of [[pyroclastic flow]]s, volcanic ashes, and tsunamis had disastrous results in the region and worldwide. The death toll recorded by the Dutch authorities was 36,417, although some sources put the estimate at more than 120,000. There are numerous documented reports of groups of human skeletons floating across the Indian Ocean on rafts of volcanic pumice and washing up on the east coast of Africa up to a year after the eruption. Summer temperatures in the northern hemisphere fell by an average of {{cvt|0.4|C-change|||}} in the year following the eruption.<ref name="Explosive">{{Cite journal|last=Bradley|first=Raymond S.|date=June 1988|title=The explosive volcanic eruption signal in northern hemisphere continental temperature records|url=http://www.geo.umass.edu/faculty/bradley/bradley1988.pdf|journal=Climatic Change|language=en|volume=12|issue=3|pages=221–243|bibcode=1988ClCh...12..221B|doi=10.1007/bf00139431|s2cid=153757349|issn=0165-0009|via=Springer|access-date=29 November 2019|archive-date=3 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103113755/http://www.geo.umass.edu/faculty/bradley/bradley1988.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[File:Krakatoa evolution map-en.gif|thumb|upright=1.25|Evolution of the Krakatoa archipelago from 1880 to 2018. Note the continuing growth of Anak Krakatoa ("Child of Krakatoa") after 1927.]]
=== Anak Krakatau ===
{{Main|Anak Krakatoa}}

Verbeek, in his report on the eruption, predicted that any new activity would manifest itself in the region which had been between Perboewatan and Danan. This prediction came true on 29 December 1927, when a submarine [[lava dome]] in the area of Perboewatan showed evidence of eruptions (an earlier event in the same area had been reported in June 1927). A new island volcano rose above the waterline a few days later. The eruptions were initially of pumice and ash, and that island and the two islands that followed were quickly eroded away by the sea. Eventually, a fourth island, named Anak Krakatau (meaning "child of Krakatoa" in Indonesian), broke water in August 1930 and produced lava flows more quickly than the waves could erode them.

=== Political ===
On October 2, 1883, five weeks after the eruption, a Dutch soldier was repeatedly stabbed by a bearded, white-robed man while paying for tobacco in the small town of [[Serang]]. The would-be assassin was never captured, but a similarly-dressed man attacked a sentry at the garrison six weeks later, blaming the Dutch for bringing divine vengeance upon the area. The "extreme religious zeal" noted by the man's interrogators seen as widespread, and historians suggest it was exploited by rising Muslim conservatives and [[Decolonization|anticolonial]] leaders (such as [[Abdul Karim Amrullah]]) to foment the [[Banten Peasant's Revolt]] in 1888, and to prey upon the Dutch conscience made uneasy by ''[[Max Havelaar]]'' and subsequent revelations of abuses.<ref name="Kartodirjo 1966">{{cite book |last=Kartodirjo |first=Sartono |title=The peasants' revolt of Banten in 1888 : its conditions, course and sequel. A case study of social movements in Indonesia |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |year=1966 |location='s-Gravenhage}}</ref>{{sfn|Winchester|2003|p=136}}<ref>{{Cite book | last=Sandick |first=R. A. van |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28538295 |title=Leed en lief uit Bantam. |date=1893 |publisher=W.J. Thieme |location=Zutphen |language=Dutch |oclc=28538295 |access-date=6 July 2022 |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706225721/https://www.worldcat.org/title/leed-en-lief-uit-bantam/oclc/28538295 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The explosion was the first natural disaster in history whose effects were definitively felt worldwide and whose cause was known, following the development of [[Submarine communications cable|transoceanic communication cables]]. Winchester suggests the disaster marks the birth of an era of global awareness.<ref>Winchester, 2003. Chap 6.</ref>

== Biological research ==
The islands have become a major case study of [[island biogeography]] and [[Founder effect|founder populations]] in an ecosystem being built from the ground up in an environment virtually cleaned.<ref name="Wilson 1999">{{cite book | last=Wilson| first=Edward. O.| title=The Diversity of Life| year=1999| publisher=W.W. Norton & Company| location=New York| pages=425| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzPaB_6Pw4MC&pg=PA16|isbn=978-0-393-31940-8}}</ref>

The islands had been little studied or biologically surveyed before the 1883 catastrophe—only two pre-1883 biological collections are known: one of plant specimens and the other part of a shell collection. From descriptions and drawings made by {{HMS|Discovery|1774|6}}, the [[flora]] appears to have been representative of a typical Javan tropical [[climax forest]]. The pre-1883 [[fauna]] is virtually unknown but was probably typical of the smaller islands in the area.

=== Botanical studies ===
From a biological perspective, the ''Krakatau problem''<ref name="Backer">{{cite book|last=Backer|first=Cornell's Andries|title=The Problem of Krakatau, as Seen by a Botanist|publisher=author, at Weltevreden, Java|year=1929}}</ref> refers to the question of whether the islands were completely sterilized by the 1883 eruption or whether some indigenous life survived. When the first researchers reached the islands in May 1884, the only living thing they found was a spider in a crevice on the south side of Rakata. Life quickly recolonized the islands, however; Verbeek's visit in October 1884 found grass shoots already growing. The eastern side of the island has been extensively vegetated by trees and shrubs, presumably brought there as seeds washed up by ocean currents or carried in birds' droppings (or brought by natives and scientific investigators). However, the floral ecosystem on Rakata is considerably vulnerable to environmental factors, and has been damaged by recent eruptions at Anak Krakatau.

=== Handl's occupancy ===
In 1914, plans were to set aside Rakata as a nature preserve. In 1916, Johann Handl, a German "[[pumice]] collector", obtained a permit to mine pumice, against "strong community objections",<ref name="thornton" /> apparently to get away from World War I.{{sfn|Winchester|2003}} His lease of {{convert|8.7|km2}} (basically the eastern half of the island) was to be for 30 years. Handl took up residence on the south coast of Rakata, where he built a house and planted a garden along with "four European families and about 30 [[coolies]]". Handl found un-burned wood below the 1883 ash deposits while digging, and fresh water was found below {{convert|18|ft|m|order=flip}}. He and his entourage stayed there for four years, but left due to "violation of the terms of the lease."<ref name="thornton" /> It is his party that is believed to have inadvertently introduced the [[black rat]] to the island, which quickly proliferated.{{sfn|Winchester|2003}}
==Conservation==
Krakatoa was declared as a [[Protected areas of Indonesia|nature reserve]] in 1921, corresponding to [[IUCN protected area categories|IUCN management category]] Ia ([[strict nature reserve]]). Along with several other nature reserves, it was proposed as a [[List of national parks of Indonesia|national park]] in 1980. In 1991, "Ujung Kulon National Park and Krakatau Nature Reserve" was inscribed as an [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]], matching Natural criteria (vii) and (x). [[Ujung Kulon National Park]] was officially established in 1992, including Krakatoa.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Krakatau Nature Reserve and Ujung Kulon National Park|url=http://www.environmentandsociety.org/tools/keywords/krakatau-nature-reserve-and-ujung-kulon-national-park|access-date=2021-04-28|website=Environment & Society Portal|language=en|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428045715/http://www.environmentandsociety.org/tools/keywords/krakatau-nature-reserve-and-ujung-kulon-national-park|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 1991|title=Ujung Kulon National Park & Krakatau Nature Reserve|url=http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Ujung%20Kulon.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090114221918/http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Ujung%20Kulon.pdf|archive-date=2009-01-14|access-date=2021-04-28|website=United Nations Environment Programme/World Conservation Monitoring Centre}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ujung Kulon National Park|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/608/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427060611/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/608/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{more references needed section|date=January 2023}}
{{trivia|date=May 2025}}

[[File:The Scream.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.9|In 2004, an astronomer suggested that the blood-red sky shown in [[Edvard Munch]]'s famous 1893 painting ''[[The Scream]]'' depicts the sky over [[Norway]] after the eruption.<ref>{{Cite news| agency=Reuters| title=Krakatoa provided backdrop to Munch's scream| newspaper=The Age| date=11 December 2003| url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/10/1070732277751.html| location=Melbourne| access-date=15 November 2010| archive-date=23 June 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623121915/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/10/1070732277751.html| url-status=live}}; {{Cite news| agency=Reuters| title=Why the sky was red in Munch's 'The Scream'| date=10 December 2003| url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/12/10/scream.munch.reut/| publisher=CNN| access-date=15 November 2010| archive-date=16 November 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116125706/http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/12/10/scream.munch.reut/| url-status=live}}; {{Cite news| last=Panek| first=Richard| title='The Scream,' East of Krakatoa| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=8 February 2004| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/arts/design/08PANE.html| access-date=15 November 2010| archive-date=1 June 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601090808/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/arts/art-the-scream-east-of-krakatoa.html| url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Indonesia 1992 100r r.jpg|thumb|upright=1|right|Krakatoa featured in [[Indonesian rupiah|100-rupiah banknote]] ]]

A large part of the 1947 children's novel ''[[The Twenty-One Balloons]]'' by [[William Pene du Bois]] takes place on Krakatoa, just before and then during the 1883 eruption. In Pene du Bois's tale, 25 families have established a fanciful colony drawing vast wealth from fictional diamond mines on the island until the eruption scatters the inhabitants and destroys the mines.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Krakatoa has been featured as a subject and a part of the story in various television and film dramas. In the 1953 film ''[[Fair Wind to Java]]'', an American sea captain and a pirate leader race one another to recover a fortune in [[diamond]]s hidden on Krakatoa, which begins its final eruption as they search the island for the treasure.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fair Wind to Java (1953)|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/74458/fair-wind-to-java|access-date=2023-02-07|website=Turner Classic Movies
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150115020934/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/74458/Fair-Wind-to-Java/
| archive-date= 15 January 2015
| url-status=live
}}</ref> 

In 1961, the anthology series ''[[Alcoa_Presents:_One_Step_Beyond|One Step Beyond]]'' ended its run with the episode "Eye Witness," which dramatized the mysterious reporting of Krakatoa's eruption weeks before the news could have reached the newspaper in Boston.

The island was a prominent part of the plot of '"Crack of Doom," episode six of the [[Irwin Allen]] television series ''[[The Time Tunnel]]'' in 1966.<ref name="Time Tunnel">{{cite web |title="Time Tunnel" Crack of Doom |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0723753/plotsummary/#:~:text=Tony%20and%20Doug%20are%20transported%20to%20Krakatoa%2C%20a%20volcanic%20island%20between%20Java%20and%20Sumatra%20in%20great%20activity%2C%20and%20the%20blowup%20seems%20to%20be%20imminent. |website=IMDb |access-date=29 April 2023}}</ref>

It was also featured as the main part of the story line in the 1969 film, ''[[Krakatoa, East of Java]]'' (retitled ''Volcano'' in a re-release in the 1970s; the title contains a rather large geographical error, as Krakatoa is ''west'' of Java), which depicts an effort to salvage a priceless cargo of [[pearl]]s located perilously close to the erupting volcano.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

An Indonesian martial arts action film, ''Krakatau'' (1977), starring [[Dicky Zulkarnaen]] and [[Advent Bangun]], set the story on the mountain.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} 

It has been the subject of a 2006 television drama, ''Krakatoa: Volcano of Destruction'' and again in 2008 as ''Krakatoa''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In Klaus Teuber's board game ''[[Seafarers of Catan]]'', the "Krakatoa Variant" is a scenario involving an island composed of three volcano tiles.<ref>{{cite web| title=Krakatoa Bay| url=http://www.catanmaps.com/krakatoa-bay/| website=Catan Maps| access-date=2 May 2015| archive-date=4 March 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041901/http://www.catanmaps.com/krakatoa-bay/| url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, the American progressive rock band [[Styx (band)|Styx]] released a spoken-word track called "Krakatoa" on its album ''[[The Serpent Is Rising]].'' Written by then-guitarist [[John Curulewski]] along with [[Paul Beaver]] and [[Bernie Krause]], the song tells the story of Krakatoa's eruption and the subsequent return of life to the island.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The British heavy metal band [[Saxon (band)|Saxon]] also released a song about the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, called "Krakatoa", on the 2010 re-release of its 1985 album ''[[Innocence Is No Excuse]]''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Volcanoes|Indonesia|Islands}}
* [[Krakatoa documentary and historical materials]]
* [[List of volcanic eruptions by death toll]]
* [[List of volcanoes in Indonesia]]

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
''See [[Krakatoa documentary and historical materials]]''
* {{cite book|last=Winchester|author-link=Simon Winchester|first=Simon|title=Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883|url=https://archive.org/details/krakatoadaywo00winc|url-access=registration|place=New York|publisher=HarperCollins|date=2003|isbn=978-0-06-083859-1}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Krakatoa}}
* [http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Indonesia/description_krakatau_1883_eruption.html 1883 ''Eruption of Krakatau''] from the [[United States Geological Survey]]'s Cascades Volcano Observatory
* [http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Krakatau.html ''Krakatau, Indonesia (1883)''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216203501/http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Krakatau.html |date=16 December 2014 }} – information from [[San Diego State University]] about the 1883 eruption
* {{YouTube|MrEIT66oPqU|''Krakatoa – The Great Volcanic Eruption''}} – "[[Naked Science]]"
* {{citation|doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2015.07.008|title=First measurement of the volcanic gas output from Anak Krakatau, Indonesia|journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research|volume=302|pages=237–241|year=2015|last1=Bani|first1=Philipson|last2=Normier|first2=Adrien|last3=Bacri|first3=Clémentine|last4=Allard|first4=Patrick|last5=Gunawan|first5=Hendra|last6=Hendrasto|first6=Muhammad|last7=Surono|last8=Tsanev|first8=Vitchko|bibcode=2015JVGR..302..237B|s2cid=128596743 |url=http://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010065321}}

{{Tourist attractions in Indonesia}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Krakatoa}}
[[Category:Krakatoa| ]]
[[Category:Active volcanoes of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Mountains of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Subduction volcanoes]]
[[Category:Submarine calderas]]
[[Category:Islands of the Sunda Strait]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Indonesia]]
[[Category:VEI-6 volcanoes]]
[[Category:Calderas of Indonesia]]
[[Category:1883 natural disasters]]
[[Category:19th-century volcanic events]]
[[Category:Holocene calderas]]