THE ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA IN 1883 227 



islands of Krakatoa, Verlaten, Lang, and Polish Hat are but the re- 

 mains of the "basal wreck" of a volcano that rose 10,000 feet above the 

 sea, with a circumference, at its base, of twenty-five miles. At some 

 unknown period an eruption took place that removed the central mass 

 of this volcanic mountain, leaving a crater, about four miles in cir- 

 cumference, the highest points of which were but a few hundred feet 

 above the surrounding water. 



After a series of quiet eruptions that gradually filled up this old 

 crater, a lateral or parasitic outburst seems to have taken place at its 



Fig. I . — Map of the Islands of the Krakatoa Group before the Eruption of 

 August, 1883. 

 From the "English Krakatoa." 



southern edge. This activity must have continued for a long time, as 

 it resulted in the formation of a cone about 2600 feet in height. It is 

 this cone "that was called by the natives the peak of Rakata, which, 

 in the old Kawi or Javanese language, signifies a crab. The name, 

 under the Dutch form, Krakatau, the Portuguese Krakatao, and the 

 English Krakatoa, has been extended to the whole island upon which 

 the striking cinder cone stood." 



From the meager accounts that have been preserved, it seems that 

 in May, 1680, an eruption occurred at some point on the island, and it 

 is probable that Perboewatan was in activity, as fresh lava streams 

 have been seen on its sides by several later authors. 



The relative positions of Krakatoa and the adjacent islands are 

 shown in Figure i . The broken line indicates the form of the old crater, 

 of which the islands of Verlaten and Lang are portions rising above the 



