Monday 11 March 2013

Pumice from Krakatoa (Krakatau)


Pumice from Krakatoa
BGS sample: MR17778

This pumice was taken from the deck of the ship "Charles Bal" after the eruption of Krakatoa.

Krakatoa (or more correctly Krakatau) is in the Sundra Strait between Java and Sumatra. The eruption of 1883 was one of the most violent volcanic events in recorded history.

In an interview in The Atlantic Monthly, Captain Watson who was in command of the "Charles Bal" recalled:

"At five the roaring noise continued and was increasing; darkness spread over the sky, and a hail of pumice stone fell on us, of which many pieces were of considerable size and quite warm. We were obliged to cover up the skylights to save the glass, while our feet and heads had to be protected with boots and sou-westers. About six the fall of larger stones ceased, but there continued a steady downpour of a smaller kind, most blinding to the eyes, and covering the deck to a depth of three or four inches very speedily”

Andrew L Morrison

1 comment:

  1. I would absolutely *love* to acquire a tiny fragment of this for the museum that I curate at the school that I teach at. Are you able to spare a tiny tiny little crumble from what you have? I promise that it would be used for educational purposes for years to come, especially since this had such an amazingly fascinating story.

    Thank you so much for your thoughtful consideration.

    Michael J Wallace
    Gilman Middle School
    5407 Roland Ave
    Baltimore, MD 21210

    ReplyDelete