Lampung is a province of Indonesia, located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It borders the provinces of Bengkulu and South Sumatra. The original inhabitant of Lampung is the "Lampung" tribe, who speak a distinct language from other people in Sumatra and have their own alphabet.The province has a population of 6,654,354 (2000 census). A large portion of the current population of Lampung is descended from migrants from Java, Madura, and Bali. These migrants came both spontaneously, in search of more land than was available on the more densely populated islands, as well as part of the government's transmigration program, for which Lampung was one of the earliest and most important transmigration destinations.
Lampung is commonly known for its geographical instability in terms of earthquakes and volcanoes. On May 10 2005, a strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the richter scale struck the province. The historical volcano blast of Krakatau occurred in 1883, which resulted in disastrous consequences.
Administration
Lampung is divided into 9 regencies:
* West Lampung
* South Lampung
* Central Lampung
* East Lampung
* North Lampung
* Way Kanan
* Tanggamus
* Tulang Bawang
* Pesawaran
and 2 cities: Bandar Lampung and Metro
Some of the major produce in the country includes robusta Coffee beans, Cocoa beans, coconuts and cloves. This has resulted in a thriving agricultural sector with companies like Nestlé procuring coffee beans from the region. This agriculture has included illegal growing in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park.In addition, Nata de Coco is also manufactured in the region by domestic companies like Wong Coco.
Textile
Up until the 1920s, Lampung had a rich and varied weaving tradition. Lampung weaving used a supplementary weft technique which enabled coloured silk or cotton threads to be superimposed on a plainer cotton background. The most prominent Lampung textile was the palepai, ownership of which was restricted to the Lampung aristocracy of the Kalianda Bay area. There were two types of smaller cloths, known as tatibin and tampan, which could be owned and used by all levels of Lampungese society. Weaving technologies were spread throughout Lampung. High quality weavings were produced by the Paminggir, Krui, Abung and Pesisir peoples. Production was particularly prolific among the people of the Kalianda Bay area in the south and the Krui aristocracy in the north.
The oldest surviving examples of Lampung textiles date back to the eighteenth century,[citation needed] but some scholars believe that weaving may date back to the first millennium AD when Sumatra first came under Indian cultural influence. The prevelance of Buddhist motifs, such as diamonds, suggests that the weaving traditions were already active in the time when Lampung came under the Buddhist Srivijayan rule. There are similarities between Lampung weaving and weaving traditions in some parts of modern-day Thailand that experienced cultural contact with Sriwijaya.
Lampung textiles were known as 'ship cloths' because ships are a common motif. The ship motif represents the transition from one realm of life to the next, for instances from boyhood to manhood or from being single to married and also represents the final transition to the afterlife. Traditionally, Lampung textiles were used as part of religious ceremonies such as weddings and circumcisions. For instance, the palepai cloths were used as long ceremonial wall-hangings behind the bridal party in aristocratic marriages. The smaller, more humble tampan cloths were exchanged between families at the time of weddings.
Production of many fine cloths blossomed in the late nineteenth century as Lampung grew rich on pepper production, but the devastating eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 destroyed many weaving villages in the Kalianda area. By the 1920s the increasing importance of Islam and the collapse of the pepper trade brought production to a halt. Today Lampung textiles are highly prized by collectors.
PLACE OF INTEREST IN LAMPUNG
Bandar Lampung
The capital of Lampung has several interesting places such as the Museum and the Monument of the Krakatau Eruption. Worth while seeing or doing is the weaving process of Tapis textile, art and dance performances or just sunbathing on the beach.
Museum of Lampung
Located at Teuku Umar Street, it can be reached within 15 minutes from the centre of Bandar Lampung. It contains ethnographic and archaeological collections, Chinese ceramics, traditional music instruments, ancient Tapis cloth and ornaments.
Way Kambas Reserve and Way Wako River
Way Kambas is a 2-hour drive from Bandar Lampung. 130,000 hectares of area on Lampung's East coast, Way Kambas is the best place to watch wild Sumatran elephants, tigers and many species of birds. Motorboats can be hired at Way Kanan for cruising around and up the river.
Way Kanan River
Here we can sail along Way Kanan and Way Kambas by canoe or boat to watch the surrounding flora and fauna while in the mouth of Way Kambas, it's good for fishing and swimming. In the morning, we can safari for 2 hours through the prepared track and listen to wild animals roaring and birds singing.
Elephant Training Centre
Way Kambas Elephant Training is an international project which is partly funded by the World Wildlife Fund. The aim of training them is to make the captured elephant be useful to mankind.
Most visitors come to Way Kambas to see the training centre and to have an opportunity to ride on an elephant.
Simple tourist facilities are available at Way Kanan such as lodges, wooden houses on poles, river boats and an observation centre. Way Kambas is accessible by car from Bandar Lampung. The activities and special interests are bird watching, jungle tracking, elephants safari, and river cruises..
Pugung Archaeologicai Site
Located in Pugung Raharjo village, 40 km. northeast of Bandar Lampung, is a site of megalithic and prehistoric relics as well as of the classical Hindu Buddhist period. There are primitive trenched fortresses which almost surround its site. Stone inscription, ancient Chinese porcelains, Polynesian statue and the statue of Bodhisatwa are at the museum, a house on poles located on the way to Pugung Raharjo.
Merak Belantung Beach
Located 40 km south of Bandar Lampung on the way to the seaport of Bekauheni. The beach is ideal for swimming and wind surfing. Cottages and equipment for wind surfing are available.
Bandar Lampung
The capital of Lampung has several interesting places such as the Museum and the Monument of the Krakatau Eruption. Worth while seeing or doing is the weaving process of Tapis textile, art and dance performances or just sunbathing on the beach.
Museum of Lampung
Located at Teuku Umar Street, it can be reached within 15 minutes from the centre of Bandar Lampung. It contains ethnographic and archaeological collections, Chinese ceramics, traditional music instruments, ancient Tapis cloth and ornaments.
Way Kambas Reserve and Way Wako River
Way Kambas is a 2-hour drive from Bandar Lampung. 130,000 hectares of area on Lampung's East coast, Way Kambas is the best place to watch wild Sumatran elephants, tigers and many species of birds. Motorboats can be hired at Way Kanan for cruising around and up the river.
Way Kanan River
Here we can sail along Way Kanan and Way Kambas by canoe or boat to watch the surrounding flora and fauna while in the mouth of Way Kambas, it's good for fishing and swimming. In the morning, we can safari for 2 hours through the prepared track and listen to wild animals roaring and birds singing.
Elephant Training Centre
Way Kambas Elephant Training is an international project which is partly funded by the World Wildlife Fund. The aim of training them is to make the captured elephant be useful to mankind.
Most visitors come to Way Kambas to see the training centre and to have an opportunity to ride on an elephant.
Simple tourist facilities are available at Way Kanan such as lodges, wooden houses on poles, river boats and an observation centre. Way Kambas is accessible by car from Bandar Lampung. The activities and special interests are bird watching, jungle tracking, elephants safari, and river cruises..
Pugung Archaeologicai Site
Located in Pugung Raharjo village, 40 km. northeast of Bandar Lampung, is a site of megalithic and prehistoric relics as well as of the classical Hindu Buddhist period. There are primitive trenched fortresses which almost surround its site. Stone inscription, ancient Chinese porcelains, Polynesian statue and the statue of Bodhisatwa are at the museum, a house on poles located on the way to Pugung Raharjo.
Merak Belantung Beach
Located 40 km south of Bandar Lampung on the way to the seaport of Bekauheni. The beach is ideal for swimming and wind surfing. Cottages and equipment for wind surfing are available.
WAE KAMBAS ELEPHANT TRAINING CENTER
Way Kambas is one of the national park in Lampung Province, besides Bukit Barisan Selatan, covering a total area 128,450 hectares. Here there are two objects which are able to visit. One is the elephant training center situated in intensive use zone about 1,000 hectares. In the zone the wild Sumatran elephants are trained to be useful ones.
The result of this training you will be able to see and enjoy some elephant attractions, as a playing football, swimming or ridding on the elephant around the area. If you like to go safari into the jungle where ever you like, the trainer will be ready to accompany.
To reach Way Kambas, through asphalt road it only takes you 2 hours drive from Bandar Lampung. In the nature reserve, there is the first Elephant Training Center in Indonesia.
The result of this training you will be able to see and enjoy some elephant attractions, as a playing football, swimming or ridding on the elephant around the area. If you like to go safari into the jungle where ever you like, the trainer will be ready to accompany.
To reach Way Kambas, through asphalt road it only takes you 2 hours drive from Bandar Lampung. In the nature reserve, there is the first Elephant Training Center in Indonesia.
MOUNT KRAKATAU
Administratively Krakatau belongs to Lampung Province.
Krakatau located in Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatera Island, had been wellknown and recorded in the history since the 16th century.
At that times Sunda strait became a heavy business traffic line from Europe (Holland, England, etc) to East India (Indonesia).
In this modern century Sunda Strait plays more important role as business traffic line as well as the field of geological and maritim research.
Ancient Krakatau was estimated 2,000 meters in height and radius of 9 kms.
Its great eruption happened in pre history in 416 as documented in the ancient Javanese book "Pustaka Raja", and left 3 island as the rest i.e. Rakata, Sertung and Panjang Island.
In the later expanding Rakata comes and followed by Danan and Perbuatan volcanic summits.
The latest great eruption of Krakatau volcano happened on 27th of the August 1883 and destroyed most of its body (3/4 of it). It caused big wave with 40 metres height.
A stemship anchored in Teluk Betung port was thrown 2.5 kms away and washed ashore in the lower course of Kuripan river. It also caused ash and stone hail covered 300.000 squared miles or some 483 sq kms within a radius of 150 kms.Krakatau located in Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatera Island, had been wellknown and recorded in the history since the 16th century.
At that times Sunda strait became a heavy business traffic line from Europe (Holland, England, etc) to East India (Indonesia).
In this modern century Sunda Strait plays more important role as business traffic line as well as the field of geological and maritim research.
Ancient Krakatau was estimated 2,000 meters in height and radius of 9 kms.
Its great eruption happened in pre history in 416 as documented in the ancient Javanese book "Pustaka Raja", and left 3 island as the rest i.e. Rakata, Sertung and Panjang Island.
In the later expanding Rakata comes and followed by Danan and Perbuatan volcanic summits.
The latest great eruption of Krakatau volcano happened on 27th of the August 1883 and destroyed most of its body (3/4 of it). It caused big wave with 40 metres height.
Jakarta (Batavia) and around Sunda Strait such as Anyer, Merak, Labuan, Kalianda, Teluk Betung and Kota Agung became pitch dark.
The eruption was heard from Phillippines, Alice Springs, Rodriquez Island and Madagascar. The power of its eruption was estimated to 21,547.6 atom bomb multiplied.
Besides that, the ash hail produced by the eruption caused obstruction of the view to the sun, so that it created a spectacular view as if the sun was almost gone.
After having 44 years rest, the child of Krakatau appeared in December 1927 and it is expanding until now.
Today you can come and step your foot on it searching closely the minerals (Volcanic bomb, lava, lappili) from the bottom of the earth which were thrown up through its creater.
Krakatau and its terific eruption which is recorded in the history now invites every one to come and witness for science as well as for pleasure.
Now the child of Krakatau has reached approx 200 m above sea level with the diameter of 2 kilometres.
The way to get there is from Canti located in Kalianda about an hour driving from Bandar Lampung, and the boats will take to the Karakatau area. Near by the Krakatau there are Sebuku and sabesi island as for stopover and staying over night. It only taken one and half hour from Canti.
Way Kambas Elephants Safari - Lampung Travel Guides
Way Kambas National ParkWay Kambas National is situated on the coast of Lampung province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Bounded by the Java Sea to the east, and to the southeast and west by rivers the park is almost entirely flat (elevation between 0-60 metres a.s.l.). As such the park is characteristic of the coastal lowland plains of eastern Sumatra. Approximately 1,300 km2 in extent, the park was originally established as a wildlife reserve in 1937, but between 1954 and 1974 was intensively logged. In 1978 it was proposed as a national park, with provisional declaration in 1989 and final declaration in 1997.
Way Kambas National Park is a large national park covering 1,300 square kilometres in Lampung province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia.
Way Kambas consists of swamp forest and lowland rain forest, but was extensively logged before becoming a reserve in 1972 so there is little primary forest. The reserve still has a few Sumatran Tigers and reasonable numbers of elephants. It is also provides excellent birdwatching, with the rare White-winged Duck among the species present. Accommodation is available at the village of Way Kanan, where there is a small guest house.
Habitat
Much of the park is dominated by a mosaic of Imperata cylindrica grassland and secondary forest habitat types, primarily a result of intensive logging operations in the past, but maintained by frequent fires and seasonal flooding. A central core area of the park is characterised by relatively intact primary tropical rainforest.
Access
There are four possibilities to enter the park.
Rajabasa station in Bandar Lampung (Tanjung Karang) to Way Kambas, also named Plang Hijau. The trip will take 2-3 hours (100 km). Panjang station in Bandar Lampung to Sribawono (1 hour). In Sribawono get on a bus to Way Jepara (1 hour) and from there with a minibus to Plang Hijau. Rajabasa station to Metro (1 hour) and from Metro to Way Jepara. Merak ferry terminal in Bakaheni, where the ferry from Java arrives, to Plang Hijau.
Permits for the park are available at the entrance in Plang Hijau.
Accomodation
In Way Kanan, in the park, are some simple bungalows. You should bring food.
Trekking
Plang Hijau-Way Kanan (13 km) 3 hours From Way Kanan, by boat along the rivier Way Kanan to the river mouth in Kuala Kambas
Flora
A large part of the park is overgrown with Serdang Palms (Livistona hasselti). The lowland forest consists mainly of trees from the Dipterocarpacea family.
Fauna
Because of the vast areas of grass-land, Way Kambas is a reserve where you can easily spot the animals.
Animals
Sumatran Elephant (a lot of them are very dangerous due to ill-treatment in the adjacent elephant training school!), Siamang, White-handed Gibbon, Long-tailed Macaque, Pig-tailed Macaque, Silvered Leaf Monkey, Malayan Tapir, Lesser Mousedeer, Large Mousedeer, Barking Deer, Malayan Sunbear, Wild Boar, Wild Dog, Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Clouded Leopard, Pangolin, Temminck's Golden Cat, Leopard Cat, Agile Gibbon, Common Otter.
Reptiles
False Ghavial, Estuarine Crocodile.
Birds
White-winged Wood-duck, Masked Finfoot, Milky Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Asian Dowitcher, Storm's Stork, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Brahminy Kite, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, Lesser Fish-eagle, Osprey.
The Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is a subspecies of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). It is the biggest land animal in Indonesia and is found only on the island of Sumatra. They are found in the island's forests at altitudes of 1 750 m, but they prefer to live in lowland forests. They also have a large home range; they move from the mountain area to the coastal lowland forest during the dry season and then retreat to the hills when the rainy season comes.
A number of factors, such as forest fires, human resettlement, logging, timber estates, plantations, agriculture expansion, shifting cultivation, and road building commonly cause the fragmentation and degradation of the island's elephant habitat. These activities, which are increasing year by year, have resulted in a rapidly shrinking elephant habitat and are responsible for the increase in the number of conflicts between elephants and humans each year.
Since the 1980s, the Indonesian Government has tried to solve this conflict by three main activities:
1. First, population management (Tata Liman). This involves moving or translocating elephants from the fragmented or degraded habitat to a more suitable habitat. Every year, until the current fiscal year, the government has allocated a budget for translocating solitary, isolated or troublesome elephants.
2. Second, elephant empowerment (Bina Liman). This involves habitat rehabilitation, fencing, community education/extension, and training troublesome elephants to participate in human activities.
3. Third, utilization of trained elephants from the Elephant Training Centres (Guna Liman). This involves using domesticated elephants for forestry, agriculture and recreation activities.
The Sumatran elephant, the smallest of the Asian elephants, is facing serious pressures arising from illegal logging and associated habitat loss and fragmentation in Indonesia. The island's elephant population has come under increasing threat from rapid forest conversion to plantations. As forests shrink, elephants are increasingly closer to fields and cultivated land, generating conflict with humans that often result in the death of the elephants by poisoning or capture, as well as economic losses to humans.
However, this effort is not successful because the demand for domesticated elephants or trained elephants is very low. This creates a serious problem for the government because the greater the number of elephants staying at the Elephant Training Centres the more the government must spend on maintaining them. Since fiscal year 1997/1998, between 50 and 55 percent of the annual national budget (APBN) for elephant conservation was allocated for operating Elephant Training Centres. Thus, it appears that domesticating the elephant population is not the best method of solving the elephant problem in Indonesia.
Wild elephants
The wild Sumatran elephant was formerly found in eight provinces on Sumatra. However, the dense and tangled vegetation of the tropical rain forest there makes it difficult to estimate the number of wild elephants. In 1929, Van Heurn made the first attempt at an estimate, based on the amount of ivory exported from Sumatra, and came up with a figure of 3 600 wild elephants.
Domesticated elephants
When kings or sultans ruled Sumatra, there must have been a substantial number of elephants in captivity. They were used in warfare and for ceremonial purposes. With the decline of the sultans and the ascendancy of the Dutch colonial power, the capture and domestication of elephants died out.
In the 1980s when the country was developing very fast, large areas of forests and woodlands were opened up by various economic sectors. As a result, some elephant habitats became fragmented and some home ranges were reduced by human activities. Since that time, conflicts between elephants and communities around the forests have increased.
The Sumatran elephant is an endangered species and protected both by Indonesian and international regulations. Therefore, since 1985, to solve elephant conflicts and to conserve the elephant, the government has set up six Elephant Training Centres on Sumatra.
Mount Krakatau Trekking - Lampung & Java Travel Guides
Krakatoa or Krakatau or Krakatao is a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island (also called Rakata), and the volcano as a whole. It has erupted repeatedly, massively, and with disastrous consequences throughout recorded history. The best known eruption culminated in a series of massive explosions on August 26-27 1883.
The 1883 eruption ejected more than 25 cubic kilometres of rock, ash, and pumice, and generated the loudest sound historically reported: the cataclysmic explosion was distinctly heard as far away as Perth in Australia approx. 1,930 miles (3,110 km), and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius approx. 3,000 miles (5,000 km). Near Krakatoa, according to official records, 165 villages and towns were destroyed and 132 seriously damaged, at least 36,417 (official toll) people died, and many thousands were injured by the eruption, mostly from the tsunamis which followed the explosion.
The eruption destroyed two thirds of the island of Krakatoa. Eruptions at the volcano since 1927 have built a new island in the same location, called Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatoa).
Origin and spelling of the name
The earliest mention of the island in the Western world was on a map by Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, who labelled the island "Pulo Carcata". ("Pulo" is a form of pulau, the Indonesian word for "island".) There are two generally accepted spellings, Krakatoa and Krakatau. While Krakatoa is more common in the English-speaking world, Krakatau (or Krakatao in an older Portuguese based spelling) tends to be favored by Indonesians and geologists. The origin of the spelling Krakatoa is unclear, but may have been the result of a typographical error made in a British source reporting on the massive eruption of 1883.
Theories as to the origin of the Indonesian name Krakatoa include:
* Onomatopoeia, imitating the noise made by cockatoos which used to inhabit the island.
* From Sanskrit karka or karkata or karkataka, meaning "lobster" or "crab".
* From Malay kelakatu, meaning "white-winged ant".
There is a popular story that Krakatau was the result of a linguistic error. According to legend, "Krakatau" was adopted when a visiting ship's captain asked a local inhabitant the island's name, and the latter replied "Kaga tau" — a Jakartan/Betawinese slang phrase meaning "I don't know". This story is largely discounted; it closely resembles famous linguistic myths about the origin of the word kangaroo and the name of the Yucatán Peninsula.
The name is spelled Karata on a map drawn before 1708.
Pre 1883 history
Before the 1883 eruption, Krakatoa consisted of three main islands: Lang ('Long', now called Rakata Kecil or Panjang) and Verlaten ('Forsaken' or 'Deserted', now Sertung), which were edge remnants of a previous very large caldera-forming eruption; and Krakatoa itself, an island 9 km long by 5 km wide. Also there was a tree-covered islet near Lang named Poolsche Hoed ('Polish Hat', apparently because it looked like one from the sea), and several small rocks or banks between Krakatoa and Verlaten. There were three volcanic cones on Krakatoa: running South to North they were: Rakata (823 m), Danan (445 m), and Perboewatan (also spelled Perbuatan) (122 m). (Danan may have been a twin volcano). Krakatoa is directly above the subduction zone of the Eurasian Plate and Indo-Australian Plate, where the plate boundaries undertake a sharp change of direction, possibly resulting in an unusually weak crust in the region.
416 AD event
There is no geological evidence of a Krakatoa eruption of this size around that time; it may describe loss of land which previously joined Java to Sumatra across what is now the narrow east end of the Sunda Strait; or it may be a mistaken date, referring to an eruption in 535 AD, also referred to in the Javanese Book of Kings, and for which there is geological and some corroborating historical evidence.
535 AD event
David Keys and others have postulated that the violent eruption of Krakatoa in 535 may have been responsible for the global climate changes of 535-536. Keys explores what he believes to be the radical and far ranging global effects of just such a putative 6th century eruption in his book Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World. Additionally, in recent times, it has been argued that it was this eruption which created the islands of Verlaten and Lang (remnants of the original) and the beginnings of Rakata — all indicators of early Krakatoa's caldera's size. However, there seems to be little, if any, datable charcoal from that eruption, even if there is plenty of circumstantial evidence.
1600s
At least three Dutch travelers reported that Danan and Perboewatan were seen erupting in May 1680 and February 1681.
The 1883 eruption
In the years before the 1883 eruption, seismic activity around the volcano was intense, with some earthquakes felt as far distant as Australia. Beginning 20 May 1883, three months before the final explosion, steam venting began to occur regularly from Perboewatan, the northernmost of the island's three cones. Eruptions of ash reached an altitude of 6 km (20,000 ft) and explosions could be heard in Batavia (Jakarta) 160 km (100 miles) away. Activity died down by the end of May. Also, to help the eruption along, water seeped into the magma chamber and created vast amounts of super-pressured steam. It had been thought Krakatoa was 3 different volcanoes, but it was actually just one with a huge magma chamber.
The volcano began erupting again around 20 July. The seat of the eruption is believed to have been a new vent or vents which formed between Perboewatan and Danan, more or less where the current volcanic cone of Anak Krakatau is. The violence of the eruption caused tides in the vicinity to be unusually high, and ships at anchor had to be moored with chains as a result. On 11 August larger eruptions began, with ashy plumes being emitted from at least eleven vents. On 24 August, eruptions further intensified. At about 1pm (local time) on 26 August, the volcano went into its paroxysmal phase, and by 2pm observers could see a black cloud of ash 27 km (17 miles) high. At this point, the eruption was virtually continuous and explosions could be heard every ten minutes or so. Ships within 20 km (11 nautical miles) of the volcano reported heavy ash fall, with pieces of hot pumice up to 10 cm in diameter landing on their decks. A small tsunami hit the shores of Java and Sumatra some 40 km (28 miles) away between 6pm and 7pm.
Cataclysmic stage
On August 27, the volcano entered the final cataclysmic stage of its eruption. Four enormous explosions took place at 5:30 a.m., 6:42 a.m., 8:20 a.m., and 10:02 a.m., the last of which was worst and loudest. Each was accompanied by very large tsunamis believed to have been over 30 meters (100 ft) high in places. A large area of the Sunda Strait and a number of places on the Sumatran coast were affected by pyroclastic flows from the volcano. The explosions were so violent that they were heard 2,200 miles (3,500 km) away in Australia and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius, 4,800 km away; the sound of Krakatoa's destruction is believed to be the loudest sound in recorded history, reaching levels of 180 dBSPL 100 miles (160 km) away.[4] Ash was propelled to a height of 50 miles (80 km). The eruptions diminished rapidly after that point, and by the morning of August 28 Krakatoa was quiet.
"The Burning Ashes of Ketimbang"
Around noon on August 27, a rain of hot ash fell around Ketimbang in Sumatra. Around a thousand people were killed, the only large number of victims killed by Krakatoa itself, and not the waves or after-effects.[5] Verbeek and later writers believe this unique event was a lateral blast or pyroclastic flow (perhaps traveling over the floating pumice rafts), similar to what happened in 1980 at Mt. St. Helens. The region of the ashfall ended to the northwest of Ketimbang, where the bulk of Sebesi Island offered protection from any horizontal surges.
After eruptions
Small eruptions continued through October, and continued to be reported through February 1884 (although any after mid October were discounted by Verbeek). In the aftermath of the eruption, it was found that the island of Krakatoa had almost entirely disappeared, except for the southern half of Rakata cone cut off along a vertical cliff, leaving behind a 250-meter-deep caldera.
Effects
The combined effects of pyroclastic flows, volcanic ashes and tsunamis had disastrous results in the region. There were no survivors from 3,000 people located at the island of Sebesi, about 13 km from Krakatoa. Pyroclastic flows killed around 1,000 people at Ketimbang on the coast of Sumatra some 40 km north from Krakatoa. The official death toll recorded by the Dutch authorities was 36,417 and many settlements were destroyed, including Teluk Betung and Ketimbang in Sumatra, and Sirik and Semarang in Java. The areas of Banten on Java and the Lampung on Sumatra were devastated. 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. Some land on Java was never repopulated; it reverted to jungle and is now the Ujung Kulon National Park.
Tsunamis
Ships as far away as South Africa rocked as tsunamis hit them, and the bodies of victims were found floating in the ocean for weeks after the event. The tsunamis which accompanied the eruption are believed to have been caused by gigantic pyroclastic flows entering the sea; each of the five great explosions was accompanied by a massive pyroclastic flow resulting from the gravitational collapse of the eruption column. This caused several cubic kilometers of material to enter the sea, displacing an equally huge volume of seawater. In the town of Merak, a Tsunami 46 metres high destroyed the little town. Some of the pyroclastic flows reached the Sumatran coast as much as 25 miles (40 km) away, having apparently moved across the water on a "cushion" of superheated steam. There are also indications of submarine pyroclastic flows reaching 10 miles (15 km) from the volcano.
On a recent film and documentary, a research team at Kiel University of Germany conducted tests of pyroclastic flows moving over water. The tests revealed that hot ash traveled over the water on a cloud of superheated steam with the heavy matter precipitating out of the flow, shortly after initial contact with the water, to create a tsunami due to the precipitate mass.
Geographic effects
As a result of the huge amount of material deposited by the volcano, the surrounding ocean floor was drastically altered. It is estimated that as much as 18-21 km³ of ignimbrite was deposited over an area of 1.1 million km², largely filling the 30-40 m deep basin around Krakatoa. The land masses of Verlaten and Lang were increased, and volcanic ash continues to be a significant part of the geological composition of these islands. Poolsche Hoed ("Polish Hat") disappeared. A new rock islet called Bootsmansrots ('Bosun's Rock', a fragment of Danan) was left.
Two nearby sandbanks (called Steers and Calmeyer after the two naval officers who investigated them) were built up into islands by ashfall, but the sea later washed them away. Seawater on hot volcanic deposits on Steers and Calmeyer caused steam which some people mistook for continued eruption.
The fate of Krakatoa itself has been the subject of some dispute among geologists. It was originally proposed that the island had been blown apart by the force of the eruption. However, most of the material deposited by the volcano is clearly magmatic in origin and the caldera formed by the eruption is not extensively filled with deposits from the 1883 eruption. This indicates that the island subsided into an empty magma chamber at the end of the eruption
sequence, rather than having been destroyed during the eruptions.
Global climate
In the year following the eruption, average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2 degrees Celsius. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years, and temperatures did not return to normal until 1888. The eruption injected an unusually large amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas high into the stratosphere which was subsequently transported by high-level winds all over the planet. This led to a global increase in sulfurous acid (H2SO3) concentration in high-level cirrus clouds. The resulting increase in cloud reflectivity (or albedo) would reflect more incoming light from the sun than usual, and cool the entire planet until the suspended sulfur fell to the ground as acid precipitation
Legacy of the 1883 eruption
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa is among the most violent volcanic events in modern times (a VEI of 6, equivalent to 200 megatonnes of TNT — about 13,000 times the yield of the Little Boy bomb which devastated Hiroshima, Japan). Concussive air waves from the explosions travelled seven times around the world.[8] The sky was darkened for days afterwards. Sea waves caused by the eruption were recorded as far away as the English Channel.[9] The explosion is considered to be the loudest noise ever recorded to be heard by humans
The 1883 eruption ejected more than 25 cubic kilometres of rock, ash, and pumice, and generated the loudest sound historically reported: the cataclysmic explosion was distinctly heard as far away as Perth in Australia approx. 1,930 miles (3,110 km), and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius approx. 3,000 miles (5,000 km). Near Krakatoa, according to official records, 165 villages and towns were destroyed and 132 seriously damaged, at least 36,417 (official toll) people died, and many thousands were injured by the eruption, mostly from the tsunamis which followed the explosion.
The eruption destroyed two thirds of the island of Krakatoa. Eruptions at the volcano since 1927 have built a new island in the same location, called Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatoa).
Origin and spelling of the name
The earliest mention of the island in the Western world was on a map by Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, who labelled the island "Pulo Carcata". ("Pulo" is a form of pulau, the Indonesian word for "island".) There are two generally accepted spellings, Krakatoa and Krakatau. While Krakatoa is more common in the English-speaking world, Krakatau (or Krakatao in an older Portuguese based spelling) tends to be favored by Indonesians and geologists. The origin of the spelling Krakatoa is unclear, but may have been the result of a typographical error made in a British source reporting on the massive eruption of 1883.
Theories as to the origin of the Indonesian name Krakatoa include:
* Onomatopoeia, imitating the noise made by cockatoos which used to inhabit the island.
* From Sanskrit karka or karkata or karkataka, meaning "lobster" or "crab".
* From Malay kelakatu, meaning "white-winged ant".
There is a popular story that Krakatau was the result of a linguistic error. According to legend, "Krakatau" was adopted when a visiting ship's captain asked a local inhabitant the island's name, and the latter replied "Kaga tau" — a Jakartan/Betawinese slang phrase meaning "I don't know". This story is largely discounted; it closely resembles famous linguistic myths about the origin of the word kangaroo and the name of the Yucatán Peninsula.
The name is spelled Karata on a map drawn before 1708.
Pre 1883 history
Before the 1883 eruption, Krakatoa consisted of three main islands: Lang ('Long', now called Rakata Kecil or Panjang) and Verlaten ('Forsaken' or 'Deserted', now Sertung), which were edge remnants of a previous very large caldera-forming eruption; and Krakatoa itself, an island 9 km long by 5 km wide. Also there was a tree-covered islet near Lang named Poolsche Hoed ('Polish Hat', apparently because it looked like one from the sea), and several small rocks or banks between Krakatoa and Verlaten. There were three volcanic cones on Krakatoa: running South to North they were: Rakata (823 m), Danan (445 m), and Perboewatan (also spelled Perbuatan) (122 m). (Danan may have been a twin volcano). Krakatoa is directly above the subduction zone of the Eurasian Plate and Indo-Australian Plate, where the plate boundaries undertake a sharp change of direction, possibly resulting in an unusually weak crust in the region.
416 AD event
There is no geological evidence of a Krakatoa eruption of this size around that time; it may describe loss of land which previously joined Java to Sumatra across what is now the narrow east end of the Sunda Strait; or it may be a mistaken date, referring to an eruption in 535 AD, also referred to in the Javanese Book of Kings, and for which there is geological and some corroborating historical evidence.
535 AD event
David Keys and others have postulated that the violent eruption of Krakatoa in 535 may have been responsible for the global climate changes of 535-536. Keys explores what he believes to be the radical and far ranging global effects of just such a putative 6th century eruption in his book Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World. Additionally, in recent times, it has been argued that it was this eruption which created the islands of Verlaten and Lang (remnants of the original) and the beginnings of Rakata — all indicators of early Krakatoa's caldera's size. However, there seems to be little, if any, datable charcoal from that eruption, even if there is plenty of circumstantial evidence.
1600s
At least three Dutch travelers reported that Danan and Perboewatan were seen erupting in May 1680 and February 1681.
The 1883 eruption
In the years before the 1883 eruption, seismic activity around the volcano was intense, with some earthquakes felt as far distant as Australia. Beginning 20 May 1883, three months before the final explosion, steam venting began to occur regularly from Perboewatan, the northernmost of the island's three cones. Eruptions of ash reached an altitude of 6 km (20,000 ft) and explosions could be heard in Batavia (Jakarta) 160 km (100 miles) away. Activity died down by the end of May. Also, to help the eruption along, water seeped into the magma chamber and created vast amounts of super-pressured steam. It had been thought Krakatoa was 3 different volcanoes, but it was actually just one with a huge magma chamber.
The volcano began erupting again around 20 July. The seat of the eruption is believed to have been a new vent or vents which formed between Perboewatan and Danan, more or less where the current volcanic cone of Anak Krakatau is. The violence of the eruption caused tides in the vicinity to be unusually high, and ships at anchor had to be moored with chains as a result. On 11 August larger eruptions began, with ashy plumes being emitted from at least eleven vents. On 24 August, eruptions further intensified. At about 1pm (local time) on 26 August, the volcano went into its paroxysmal phase, and by 2pm observers could see a black cloud of ash 27 km (17 miles) high. At this point, the eruption was virtually continuous and explosions could be heard every ten minutes or so. Ships within 20 km (11 nautical miles) of the volcano reported heavy ash fall, with pieces of hot pumice up to 10 cm in diameter landing on their decks. A small tsunami hit the shores of Java and Sumatra some 40 km (28 miles) away between 6pm and 7pm.
Cataclysmic stage
On August 27, the volcano entered the final cataclysmic stage of its eruption. Four enormous explosions took place at 5:30 a.m., 6:42 a.m., 8:20 a.m., and 10:02 a.m., the last of which was worst and loudest. Each was accompanied by very large tsunamis believed to have been over 30 meters (100 ft) high in places. A large area of the Sunda Strait and a number of places on the Sumatran coast were affected by pyroclastic flows from the volcano. The explosions were so violent that they were heard 2,200 miles (3,500 km) away in Australia and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius, 4,800 km away; the sound of Krakatoa's destruction is believed to be the loudest sound in recorded history, reaching levels of 180 dBSPL 100 miles (160 km) away.[4] Ash was propelled to a height of 50 miles (80 km). The eruptions diminished rapidly after that point, and by the morning of August 28 Krakatoa was quiet.
"The Burning Ashes of Ketimbang"
Around noon on August 27, a rain of hot ash fell around Ketimbang in Sumatra. Around a thousand people were killed, the only large number of victims killed by Krakatoa itself, and not the waves or after-effects.[5] Verbeek and later writers believe this unique event was a lateral blast or pyroclastic flow (perhaps traveling over the floating pumice rafts), similar to what happened in 1980 at Mt. St. Helens. The region of the ashfall ended to the northwest of Ketimbang, where the bulk of Sebesi Island offered protection from any horizontal surges.
After eruptions
Small eruptions continued through October, and continued to be reported through February 1884 (although any after mid October were discounted by Verbeek). In the aftermath of the eruption, it was found that the island of Krakatoa had almost entirely disappeared, except for the southern half of Rakata cone cut off along a vertical cliff, leaving behind a 250-meter-deep caldera.
Effects
The combined effects of pyroclastic flows, volcanic ashes and tsunamis had disastrous results in the region. There were no survivors from 3,000 people located at the island of Sebesi, about 13 km from Krakatoa. Pyroclastic flows killed around 1,000 people at Ketimbang on the coast of Sumatra some 40 km north from Krakatoa. The official death toll recorded by the Dutch authorities was 36,417 and many settlements were destroyed, including Teluk Betung and Ketimbang in Sumatra, and Sirik and Semarang in Java. The areas of Banten on Java and the Lampung on Sumatra were devastated. 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. Some land on Java was never repopulated; it reverted to jungle and is now the Ujung Kulon National Park.
Tsunamis
Ships as far away as South Africa rocked as tsunamis hit them, and the bodies of victims were found floating in the ocean for weeks after the event. The tsunamis which accompanied the eruption are believed to have been caused by gigantic pyroclastic flows entering the sea; each of the five great explosions was accompanied by a massive pyroclastic flow resulting from the gravitational collapse of the eruption column. This caused several cubic kilometers of material to enter the sea, displacing an equally huge volume of seawater. In the town of Merak, a Tsunami 46 metres high destroyed the little town. Some of the pyroclastic flows reached the Sumatran coast as much as 25 miles (40 km) away, having apparently moved across the water on a "cushion" of superheated steam. There are also indications of submarine pyroclastic flows reaching 10 miles (15 km) from the volcano.
On a recent film and documentary, a research team at Kiel University of Germany conducted tests of pyroclastic flows moving over water. The tests revealed that hot ash traveled over the water on a cloud of superheated steam with the heavy matter precipitating out of the flow, shortly after initial contact with the water, to create a tsunami due to the precipitate mass.
Geographic effects
As a result of the huge amount of material deposited by the volcano, the surrounding ocean floor was drastically altered. It is estimated that as much as 18-21 km³ of ignimbrite was deposited over an area of 1.1 million km², largely filling the 30-40 m deep basin around Krakatoa. The land masses of Verlaten and Lang were increased, and volcanic ash continues to be a significant part of the geological composition of these islands. Poolsche Hoed ("Polish Hat") disappeared. A new rock islet called Bootsmansrots ('Bosun's Rock', a fragment of Danan) was left.
Two nearby sandbanks (called Steers and Calmeyer after the two naval officers who investigated them) were built up into islands by ashfall, but the sea later washed them away. Seawater on hot volcanic deposits on Steers and Calmeyer caused steam which some people mistook for continued eruption.
The fate of Krakatoa itself has been the subject of some dispute among geologists. It was originally proposed that the island had been blown apart by the force of the eruption. However, most of the material deposited by the volcano is clearly magmatic in origin and the caldera formed by the eruption is not extensively filled with deposits from the 1883 eruption. This indicates that the island subsided into an empty magma chamber at the end of the eruption
sequence, rather than having been destroyed during the eruptions.
Global climate
In the year following the eruption, average global temperatures fell by as much as 1.2 degrees Celsius. Weather patterns continued to be chaotic for years, and temperatures did not return to normal until 1888. The eruption injected an unusually large amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas high into the stratosphere which was subsequently transported by high-level winds all over the planet. This led to a global increase in sulfurous acid (H2SO3) concentration in high-level cirrus clouds. The resulting increase in cloud reflectivity (or albedo) would reflect more incoming light from the sun than usual, and cool the entire planet until the suspended sulfur fell to the ground as acid precipitation
Legacy of the 1883 eruption
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa is among the most violent volcanic events in modern times (a VEI of 6, equivalent to 200 megatonnes of TNT — about 13,000 times the yield of the Little Boy bomb which devastated Hiroshima, Japan). Concussive air waves from the explosions travelled seven times around the world.[8] The sky was darkened for days afterwards. Sea waves caused by the eruption were recorded as far away as the English Channel.[9] The explosion is considered to be the loudest noise ever recorded to be heard by humans
MOUNT CRACATOA - VOLCANO TREKKING
Duration: 03 DAYS / 02 NIGHTS
Start / Finish: JAKARTA
Grade: Easy - Moderate
DAY 01: JAKARTA - CARITA BEACH
Upon arrival at Jakarta Airport, you will have drive to Carita beach on the western overcoast Jakarta.This land journey will takes 6- 7hours drive in normaly traffic road condition. Stay Overnight at simple hotel in Carita beach. (D)
DAY 02: CARITA BEACH - SERTUNG ISLAND "CAMPSITE"
Transfer to Sertung island by speedboat from Carita beach. You will enjoy cross the sunda strait for about 3 - 4 hours through the Cracatoa island. You will have stay overnight in tents at Sertung island as our campsite. (B, L, D)
DAY 03: SUMMIT MOUNT CRACATOA - CARITA BEACH - JAKARTA
On this morning, you will leave campsite by speadboat across to the opposite island of the Sertung island which "Sun of Cracatoa" situated, for trek to summit. Return to Carita beach and transfer to Jakarta. Stop at local restaurant in Carita enroute to Jakarta. (B,L)
Duration: 03 DAYS / 02 NIGHTS
Start / Finish: JAKARTA
Grade: Easy - Moderate
DAY 01: JAKARTA - CARITA BEACH
Upon arrival at Jakarta Airport, you will have drive to Carita beach on the western overcoast Jakarta.This land journey will takes 6- 7hours drive in normaly traffic road condition. Stay Overnight at simple hotel in Carita beach. (D)
DAY 02: CARITA BEACH - SERTUNG ISLAND "CAMPSITE"
Transfer to Sertung island by speedboat from Carita beach. You will enjoy cross the sunda strait for about 3 - 4 hours through the Cracatoa island. You will have stay overnight in tents at Sertung island as our campsite. (B, L, D)
DAY 03: SUMMIT MOUNT CRACATOA - CARITA BEACH - JAKARTA
On this morning, you will leave campsite by speadboat across to the opposite island of the Sertung island which "Sun of Cracatoa" situated, for trek to summit. Return to Carita beach and transfer to Jakarta. Stop at local restaurant in Carita enroute to Jakarta. (B,L)