Krakatoa's eruption

The devastating eruptions emanating from volcano's have become the stories of legend. There have been many instances of such events throughout history and although each one has differed in terms of size and ferocity, one trait they all  inevitably share is untold destruction of everything that comes within their vicinity, be it natural formations or living creatures. While most people have the preconceived notion that the only destructive effect of a volcano is the ejection of magma from it's crater, there are in reality a whole host of potentially deadly consequences of a violent eruption. The explosions contain massive amounts of force and energy and if one such incident manifests in a volcano which has slept dormant for many years, the build up of rock and debris filling it's crater will be forced skyward, along with the accompanying magma. These chunks of rock, evidenced from past eruptions can be many metres across and weigh several tonnes, testament to the power of the eruption. The smoky emissions excreted can also prove deadly, especially to humans unfortunate enough to inhale from them, causing it to mix with the natural fluids of the body and as a result, hardening, essentially concreting a person's internal organs.

The most destructive volcanic explosion ever recorded was inflicted upon Krakatoa in 1883. It had always been a very active crater with numerous accounts of eruptions prior to the largest and most damaging of these. In the years preceding this, as if building up to a grand climax, there had been many instances of smaller explosions with general activity becoming increasingly prevalent. On this memorable date, however, the fiercest of these episodes took place, almost destroying the island completely in it's severity. The pressure wave produced as a result, was so impressive it was recorded for up to five days after the event took place. Another fascinating aspect of the explosion was the noise created which was recorded as being the loudest ever known in history. Scientists came to the conclusion that anyone within a ten mile radius of this noise would have been rendered deaf. The explosion itself was the equivalent force of four of the largest known atomic devices to have ever been detonated, namely the tsar bomba, which was tested by Russia in 1961.

The most negative impact of this event, however, was the inconceivable toll on human life, with thirty six thousand people dying and many theorising that the real figure far exceeded that, potentially being as high as one hundred thousand, due to a theory of bodies being lost at sea or washed away by the force of ocean tides. One macabre observation made after the event, was in relation to the appearance of floating volcanic chunks of rock with human skeletons resting on their surface, with stories of such anomalies being recorded for up to a year afterwards. The underlying reason for all of Krakatoa's devastation can be found in it's specific form as due to it's enlarged magma chamber and wide crater, it's potential far outweighs that of a conventional volcano. It's scientific name is a caldera and it differs not so much in appearance, but in sheer size. They are formed from a volcano's magma chamber rising up and applying pressure to the material and crater above, thus weakening it. When the magma descends, it then collapses away, enlarging the opening and capacity of the chamber and in the process, converting it in to one of nature's most potent weapons of destruction, far exceeding any damage inflicted on earth by man made means.