Mount Tambora

volcano · Indonesia · earth power · history

World's biggest boom. In 1815, Mount Tambora exploded so hard it shot 150 cubic kilometers of rock and ash into the sky. That's like filling 60 million Olympic swimming pools with volcanic material all at once.

Summer turned to winter. The ash from the eruption spread around the entire planet and blocked out sunlight. In 1816, it was so cold and dark that farmers couldn't grow crops, and people called it the Year Without a Summer.

Island volcano. Mount Tambora sits on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia, where the Earth's crust is being pushed down into the ground at a subduction zone. This underground process creates the pressure that makes the volcano erupt.

Still active today. Mount Tambora isn't dead, it's still an active volcano, which means it could erupt again someday. Scientists watch it carefully to keep people safe.

Rated 7 out of 7. Volcanologists use a scale called the Volcanic Explosivity Index to measure eruptions, and Tambora ranks as a VEI-7, the highest level ever recorded in modern times.