Most people can remember at least one powerful volcanic eruption during their lifetime. Along with the explosive release of hot lava and gasses, black ash and rocks, there is often the loss of animal and human life. But volcanoes not only kill with their initial blasts; they can also kill in many other ways, such as by volcanic mudslides, tsunamis, lava flows and pyroclastic flows. A pyroclastic flow is a dense cloud of extremely hot gasses mixed with other matter that rolls along the ground at a high rate of speed, killing and destroying everything in its path.
But there is another way a volcano can kill, a far deadlier way that can reach around the world, affecting the lives of millions of people. It has already happened at least once in recorded volcanic history. This is where the story of Mount Tambora and “the year without a summer” comes in. It played a big part in U.S. history, as you will see.
Mount Tambora, April 1815
Most people have heard of Mount Vesuvius, Italy’s famous volcano that erupted in A. D. 79, burying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in several feet of volcanic ash and killing about 30,000 people. But not many know about Mount Tambora, the most powerful eruption on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) in modern times. Just as hurricanes and earthquakes are measured on a scale, so are volcanoes. Tambora’s eruption measured a 7 out of 8 on the VEI and was far more powerful and deadly than Krakatoa or Mount St. Helens!
Mount Tambora is located in modern-day Indonesia and is inside what is known as the Ring of Fire. It was thought to be an extinct volcano, but about three years before it erupted, it started to rumble and come to life. Even when the volcano began to erupt, people thought it was the sound of cannon being fired!
Then it happened. On the evening of April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora blew her top off. A witness 15 miles away later described seeing three columns of flames shooting into the air. Another witness 10 miles away said the entire mountain appeared to turn into “liquid fire”! Fierce, violent hurricane-like winds swept the island, snapping trees and tearing houses from their foundations, propelling them into the sea, along with people and animals. Tsunamis from the Tambora eruption swept up nearby islands, wiping out settlements and killing tens of thousands of people. The entire culture of Sumbawa was wiped out. Those that survived the eruption faced an even worse fate, that of slowly starving to death in the following months. Tambora’s direct death toll is estimated to be about 92,000 lives.
When Tambora blasted away a third of her 12,000-foot peak, a giant mushroom cloud of volcanic ash and gasses powered high into the stratosphere, rising to a height of 25 miles. The worst was yet to come, and people had no idea that it was connected to Tambora’s stupendous eruption.
Why?
Many might ask, “Why does God allow such terrible natural disasters that cause such suffering and loss of life?” First of all, the Bible tells us that God is in control of the weather. The oldest book in the Bible tells us, “By the breath of God frost is given. ... Also by watering He wearieth the thick cloud: He scattereth His bright cloud: and it is turned round about by His counsels: that they may do whatsoever He commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth” (Job 37:10-1210By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened. 11Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: 12And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth. (Job 37:10‑12)).
Next, God tells Job why He allows changes in the weather. “He causeth it to come [weather changes], whether for correction, or for His land, or for mercy” (Job 37:13-1413He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. 14Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. (Job 37:13‑14)). God, who is both righteous and holy, gives Job the answer that so many people ask when disasters occur! For CORRECTION — God wants to turn men from their wicked and self-serving ways to seek after Him. For His LAND — God can use natural disasters to bless or curse the earth. The flood was a curse. Many volcanic eruptions can cause the ground to become very fertile! For MERCY — God knows what weather the earth needs in order to bring forth rich harvests.
The Year Without a Summer, 1816
The winter and the onset of spring 1816 after Tambora’s eruption were normal. But then the temperatures seemed to go backwards! Abnormally cold weather, killing frosts, torrential rains and withering drought spread throughout Europe and North America. Powerful thunderstorms with fierce lightning and high winds were frequent throughout the world, resulting in total crop failures. In many places, the sky appeared to be permanently overcast. There was also a persistent red fog, which neither rain nor sun would dissipate, that disrupted shipping.
The lack of sunlight caused a much rainier than normal summer in Ireland, causing them to lose an entire potato harvest, resulting in widespread starvation among the poor of the land. France and England reported grain shortages due to crop failures, resulting in a shortage of bread and grains for cattle and horses, let alone people. People became desperate due to the widespread famine and starvation. In Switzerland, the weather was so gloomy, cold and rainy, with fierce thunderstorms, that three friends challenged each other to write the best horror story, resulting in the creation of the famous novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.
The United States experienced its own bizarre weather. The entire eastern seaboard from Georgia to Quebec, Canada, was affected. Summer simply never came! On June 7, parts of New England woke up to see nearly a foot of snow on the ground, and more falling from the sky! This, of course, killed all of the crops that they had planted. There were hard frosts every month of the summer, and ice formed on lakes and ponds. The ground froze, making it impossible to plant anything. For people who depended on everything that they could grow from the ground to feed themselves and their cattle, this was a disaster of unimagined proportions!
The impossible weather conditions of 1816 precipitated one of the greatest migrations in the history of the U. S. Tens of thousands of families migrated to Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. So many people fled to Indiana that it became a state in 1816, and Illinois became a state in 1818. Those that migrated west to Ohio found the ground to be richer and more fertile than New England’s rocky, hard soil.
Not only did tens of thousands die from Tambora’s eruption, but hundreds of thousands more died from starvation afterwards. But that was not the end for them. God tells us what happens after death! God has given man a never-dying soul. “Then shall the dust [our bodies] return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:77Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)). Time on earth will cease to be, as our spirits return to “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy” (Isaiah 57:1515For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15)). Are you prepared to meet Him now?
Find out how the mysteries of Tambora were unraveled by reading A Mystery Solved.