164 



PHYSIOGRAPHY 



masonry construction that the uninvaded part of the town was not 

 burned at all. At Ottajano the roofs fell in under the weight of 

 sand and gravel. The roofs were largely flat or slightly sloping 

 tiled affairs. The ash and lapilli reached a depth of three feet on 

 level surfaces. The roofs carried the walls with them in many 

 cases, but there was no significant earthquake. There was no fire, 

 destructive lightning, nor strong wind. The persons who perished 

 were all found in the houses, where the sole cause of death was en- 

 tombment in the ruins." 



Krakatoa. One of the most violent and destructive volcanic 

 explosions of which there is record was that of 1883, in Krakatoa, 

 an island in the Strait of Sunda, between Sumatra and Java. 



Previous to the eruption, the island had been shaken by earth- 

 quakes and minor explosions for some years. On the morning of 

 the 27th of August there was a series of terrible explosions, by 

 which about two-thirds of the island was blown away (Fig. 165), 



Fig. 165. Krakatoa after the eruption of 1883. 



and the sea is now 1 ,000 feet deep where the center of the mountain 

 formerly stood. Sea-waves spread to Cape Horn, and possibly to 

 the English Channel. On the shores of neighboring islands the 

 water rose 50 feet. More than 36,000 persons perished, mostly 

 by drowning, and 295 villages were wholly or partially destroyed. 

 The sky over the island and the bordering coasts became black 

 as night from the clouds of dust. It was estimated that steam 

 and dust were shot up into the air 17 to 23 miles. The finest 

 particles of the dust were carried by the wind to all parts of 

 the earth, and it is thought to have been two or three years 

 before all of it had fallen from the air. This dust in the air 

 caused brilliant sunsets, and by knowing the places where the red 



