LCANIC BAND OF THE MOLUCCAS.
Map showing the volcanic belt to which Krakatoa belongs. The shaded
portion is volcanic.]

PART VI.

SPECIAL VOLCANIC AND SEISMIC PHENOMENA.

CHAPTER I.

THE ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA IN 1883.

I propose to introduce here some account of one of the most terrible
outbursts of volcanic action that have taken place in modern times;
namely, the eruption of the volcano of Krakatoa (a corruption of Rakata)
in the strait of Sunda, between the islands of Sumatra and Java, in the
year 1883. The Malay Archipelago, of which this island once formed a
member, is a region where volcanic action is constant, and where the
outbursts are exceptionally violent. With the great island of Borneo as
a solid, non-volcanic central core, a line of volcanic islands extends
from Chedooba off the coast of Pegu through Sumatra, Java, Sumbawa,
Flores, and, reaching the Moluccas, stretches northwards through the
Philippines into Japan and Kamtschatka. This is probably the most active
volcanic belt in the world, and the recent terrible earthquake and
eruption in Japan (November, 1891) gives proof that the volcanic forces
are as powerful and destructive as ever.[1]

(_a._) _Dormant Condition down to 1680._--Down to the year 1680, this
island, although from its form and structure evidently volcanic, appears
to have been in a dormant state; its sides were covered with luxuriant
forests, and numerous habitations dotted its shore. But in May of that
year an eruption occurred, owing to which the aspect of Krakatoa as
described by Vogel was entirely changed; the surface of the island when
this writer passed on his voyage to Sumatra appeared burnt up and arid,
while blocks of incandescent rock were being hurled into the air from
four distinct points. After this first recorded eruption the island
relapsed into a state of repose, and except for a stream of molten lava
which issued from the northern extremity, there was no evidence of its
dangerous condition. The luxuriant vegetation of the tropics speedily
re-established itself, and the volcano was generally regarded as
"extinct."[2] History repeats itself; and the history of Vesuvius was
repeated in the case of Krakatoa.

[Illustration: Fig. 35.--Map Of The Krakatoa Group Of Islands Before
The Eruption Of August 1883 (From Admiralty Chart)]

(_b._) _Eruption of May, 1883._[3]--On the morning of May 20, 1883, the
inhabitants of Batavia, of Buitenzorg, and neighbour