Anak Krakatoa

Summary

This is a chapter about volcanoes and the different types of volcanoes. It starts by telling us about Krakatoa, an island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, and the volcano there, which erupts quite frequently. 

They go on to explain what a volcano is and what it does. A volcano is a crack or opening in the Earth's crust from which hot, molten lava flows. When this lava overflows and comes out, we say that the volcano has erupted. 

Volcanic eruptions change the landforms of specific regions. When a volcano erupts, hot, lava-like substances are thrown out, and black smoke is visible in the sky. The entire area around the volcano becomes full of smoke. Volcanoes are generally classified into three types.

The first type is the active volcano, which erupts quite often. The next type is the dormant volcano, which doesn't erupt as often. We find out about these in history, but then, over a period of time, they become quiet. The last type is the extinct type. These are the types of volcanoes that are not even found in history. They don't erupt at all. They were done many years ago.

Krakatoa is a live volcano, which means it still erupts. One of the worst was in August 1883. They say the sound it created almost travelled 3500 km away and 80 km in the sky. It was so bad that the volcanic mountain collapsed on itself. It caused a lot of destruction, even to the point where there was a volcanic eruption inside the sea. About 165 villages were destroyed. 

In 1927, smoke came out of the water, and a few days later, the volcano erupted again. How did that happen? When the underwater volcano threw
up ash and rock, it was quickly taken away by the seawater. But then the lava
started flowing out of the crater faster. The waves did not all remove this volcanic material, and a new mountain grew. It kept growing and was soon seen above the water. Thus, a new island grew from the old island of Krakatoa. It was named ‘Anak Krakatoa’ or the ‘Child of Krakatoa’.

This volcano is still active. There have been eruptions since 1994. It lies quietly for a few days and erupts again because of the lava flowing out. The island is growing bigger and bigger—almost 5 inches a week. An old part of Rataka is still seen in the sea.

After the 1883 eruption, there was no life near the volcano; even the islands next to it were completely covered by ash. Scientists visited the island in 1884, but they only found one spider there. 

Life in Rakata was not entirely over. Some birds brought seeds, and some small animals came from the coast to the island, so the edge was soon quite full of plants and animals. 

It was like a science lab because scientists could see how things were progressing today. Scientists could also observe some parts of Anak Krakatoa that are not entirely covered by ash. 

The west side of Java grew in wildlife cause of the volcanic eruption.