Phenomena
1257 Samalas Eruption
Volcanic Eruption
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A catastrophic eruption of the Samalas volcano on the Indonesian island of Lombok, with a probable Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7, one of the largest eruptions of the Holocene epoch. It destroyed the city of Pamatan and buried much of Lombok under pyroclastic flows that reached the neighboring island of Sumbawa, and it injected enough sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere to cause a volcanic winter, contributing to famines in Europe and, by some accounts, helping trigger the multi-century Little Ice Age, a link that remains debated among researchers.
Facts
Disputed
Magnitude or ScaleProbable Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 7, one of the largest eruptions of the Holocene 1 Death TollUnknown at Lombok itself, though the eruption is linked to famines and crop failures abroad; the city of Pamatan was destroyed 1 LocationSamalas volcano, Lombok, Indonesia 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Rated a probable Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7; the value is a reconstruction from tephra volume and ice-core sulfate signals rather than a direct historical observation, since no eyewitness account of the eruption survives.
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