Mt. Tambora, Indonesia, is located just east of Bali and Lombok-both being popular tourist destinations.
In 1812, small quantities of steam and ash exploded from the volcano and miniature earthquakes occurred also. This continued until 5 April, 1815.
On this day, a major eruption occurred and was heard over 1000 kilometres away. Then, 10 days later, a number of major explosions took place.
Columns of volcanic material were created, stretching up to 40 kilometres into the sky. When these columns collapsed, a wave of ash, cinders and volcanic rocks swept across the island, killing up to 10,000 people instantly.The sky became dark as the ashes and dust blocked out the sun for 3 days and was oneof the main causes for making 1816-'The Year Without A Summer'. When the ashes and dust fell to the ground, they destroyed vegetation and killed nearly up to 80,000 people by disease and famine.
This death toll is the largest caused by a volcanic eruption in history.
Source from volcanicvolcanoes.blogspot.com
