Anak Krakatau Volcanic Eruption
Anak Krakatoa, or Anak Krakatau (Indonesian for 'child of Krakatoa'), is a volcanic island and an active volcano in Indonesia.
Geography:
Brown and almost barren, Anak Krakatau rises out of the Sunda Strait, the narrow band of the Indian Ocean that separates the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java.
Anak Krakatau emerged from the sea less than 80 years ago, and is a natural laboratory to watch the development of an ecosystem. Since the soil is new, it was uncontaminated with seeds. All of the plants seen growing on the island came from seeds that drifted in on the sea or blew across the ocean on the wind. As a result, the plants are clumped on the shallowly sloped eastern shores of the volcano where loose ash and volcanic sand cover the ground. In contrast to the solid rock seen elsewhere on the island, these loose soils allow plants to take root easily.
Like most of the approximately 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, Krakatau was formed along the Sunda Arc, a 3,000-kilometer-long curve where the Australia Plate sinks beneath the Eurasia Plate. Where these two sections of the Earth’s crust meet, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common. Krakatau and the Sunda Strait sit at the hinge of the curve between Sumatra and Java, making this a region particularly prone to geologic activity.
Volcanic Activity:
The explosions heard in the 1883 eruption remain the loudest noise on human record. The sound was heard across the Indian Ocean, as far away as Rodriguez Island, 4,653 kilometers to the west, and Australia, 3,450 kilometers to the east. The massive eruption also generated a series of tsunamis, which produced waves as much as 30 meters tall. In contrast, the December 26 tsunami that devastated the region in 2004 reached up to 20 meters in height in a few locations. The huge waves created when Krakatau erupted were responsible for most of the 36,000 deaths associated with the eruption.
Recent Activity:
21 minor eruptions occurred in early 2022; the largest was on 24 April. A further eruption cycle began on 15 September 2023. This was followed by an eruption in July 2026, beginning on 2 July 2026.
Continuous eruption occurred on 4–6 September 2026, followed by several Strombolian eruptions.
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