KRAKATAU. 



87 



Krakatau. 



Till recently Krakatau, rising- to a height of 2,270 feet, was hailed with joy. by 

 mariners crossing the strait, and vessels confidently rode at anchor under its 

 shelter in depths of from 25 to 30 fathoms. The last recorded outburst, that of 

 1680, had already long been forgotten by the natives. But in the month of May, 

 1883, the fiery demon again awoke : on one of the northern shoulders the ground 

 was rent asunder, flames burst forth, detonations and discharges of vapours and 

 ashes followed in rapid succession. 



But so far the display differed in no respect from similar manifestations 



Fig. 30. — Krakatau and Neighbouring Islets after the Eruption. 

 Scale 1 : 150,000. 



Depths. 



OtoSO 

 Feet 



80 to 320 

 Feet. 



320 to 960 

 Feet. 



960 i'eet ;md 

 vpwards. 



3 J Miles. 



observed in so many parts of Indonesia, and excursionists from Batavia even 

 landed on the island and approached the crater. But after three months of 

 groaniugs and rumblings the volcano put forth all its strength, and in a few 

 hours the whole topography of the Sunda Strait was changed. At Batavia, 

 90 miles distant, the uproar was so terrific that an eruption was supposed 

 to have occurred in the immediate vicinity, and every moment the ground was 

 expected to open. In all the surrounding waters, as far as the China Sea, in 

 the Bay of Bengal, throughout half of the Indian Ocean as far as Rodrigues, 

 the detonations were clearly heard, and everywhere the people wondered 



