Krakatoa Research Paper

Geography Landform It was 1883 in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Little did the people know that a catastrophic event would change their lives forever. Later in 1902, another catastrophe took place on the Caribbean island of Martinique that would haunt the island for centuries. Although both of these events took place during different centuries and were located on different continents, they happened the same way. These life-altering disasters were both caused by a mountain that expels lava through the summit or, in simpler terms, a volcano. Having been the second worst volcano eruption of the 19th century, there is no doubt that the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa (also called Krakatau) drastically impacted Indonesia. The small, uninhabited island of Krakatoa lies in the Sunda Strait between the larger Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. During the time of the eruption,

As reported by Paul Mansfield, “Thousands of tons of ash and lava poured on to St. Pierre. The Martiniquan capital, also known as the ‘Little Paris of the West Indies,’ was destroyed in a matter of minutes; 30,000 people died. The scale and speed of the disaster, even now, is almost unimaginable.” (Mansfield). Only two people in the entire city, one being a prisoner in an underground cell, survived. The city of St. Pierre burned for three entire days following the eruption. The eruption of Mount Pelee utterly wiped out St. Pierre. Prior to the devastating eruption, St. Pierre was the economic and cultural capital of Martinique. After St. Pierre was obliterated by the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee, economic and cultural importance shifted to the administrative capital of Fort-de-France. Sadly, St. Pierre was never restored to its former glory after the eruption. Nevertheless, the ruins of St. Pierre are now a popular tourist attraction in Martinique. Overall, St. Pierre has recovered, but the monstrosities of 1902 will never be