The Krakatoa Archipelago is a small uninhabited

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

volcanic island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

s formed by the

Krakatoa Krakatoa (), also transcribed (), is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group ( Krakatoa archipelago) comprising four islands. T ...

stratovolcano located in the Sunda Strait, nestled between the much larger islands of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

and Sumatra. As of 2018, the archipelago consists of four main islands:

Verlaten Verlaten Island (Dutch: "Abandoned", "Deserted" or "Forsaken"; modern Indonesian: Sertung) is an island that was likely created in the 535 Eruption of Krakatoa. It is located in the Sunda Strait in Indonesia, between Java and Sumatra. It is part ...

(aka Sertung),

Lang Lang may refer to: * Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin Places * Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica * Lang Nunatak, Antarctica * Lang Sound, Antarctica * Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia * L ...

(aka Rakata Kecil, or Panjang),

Rakata Rakata ( ), also called Greater Krakatau, is a partially collapsed stratovolcano on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa ( id, Krakatau) in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java. Standing tall, it was the largest and southernmo ...

, and the currently volcanically active

Anak Krakatoa Anak Krakatoa ( id, Anak Krakatau)English translation and common name: ''Child of Krakatoa'' is a volcanic island in Indonesia. On 29 December 1927, Anak Krakatoa first emerged from the caldera formed in 1883 by the explosive volcanic eruptio ...

. Together, the islands are a part of the Indonesian

island arc Island arcs are long chains of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have resulted from the descent of the lithosphere into the mantle alon ...

system, created by the northeastward subduction of the

Indo-Australian Plate The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and the surrounding ocean and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent waters. It was formed by the fusion of the Indian an ...

. As part of a dynamic volcanic system, the islands have been continuously reshaped throughout recorded history, most notably in the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. Politically, the Krakatoa Archipelago lies entirely within

Lampung Lampung ( Lampung: ), officially the Province of Lampung ( id, Provinsi Lampung) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and ...

province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and forms a part of

Ujung Kulon National Park Ujung Kulon National Park is at the westernmost tip of Java, in Banten province of Indonesia. It includes the volcanic island group of Krakatoa in Lampung province, and other islands including Panaitan, as well as smaller offshore islets such a ...

Geology

Krakatoa is an active stratovolcano located in Indonesia, and lying on the far western rim of the Pacific

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...

. Krakatoa is a notably powerful volcano, with the 1883 eruption being one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in all of recorded history.

Geography

Current islands

Verlaten Island Verlaten Island (Dutch: "Abandoned", "Deserted" or "Forsaken"; modern Indonesian: Sertung) is an island that was likely created in the 535 Eruption of Krakatoa. It is located in the Sunda Strait in Indonesia, between Java and Sumatra. It is part o ...

(aka Sertung) – Verlaten is a rather low island with a hill in the middle. Other than some minor collapse in the southeast (closest to the main island of Krakatoa), Verlaten suffered little damage in the 1883 eruption. Instead, it grew almost 3 times in area due to

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

fall, although most of the gain was quickly eroded away. After the 1883 eruption, Verlaten developed a low spit of land to the north-east with a

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

lake near the end. This lake became a waterfowl haven, but has since been breached by wave erosion. *

Lang Island Lang Island (Dutch: "Long"; modern Indonesian: Krakatau Kecil or Panjang) lies in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, in Indonesia. It is one of the Krakatoa Archipelago, above the famous Krakatoa volcano. Lang suffered only slightly in t ...

(aka Lesser Krakatoa, or Panjang) – Lang, by contrast, is quite hilly. It suffered only slightly in the 1883 eruption; it actually grew in area from massive

fall, although most of the additional area washed away within several years. *

(aka Greater Krakatoa) – Standing 813 metres (2,667 ft) tall, it was the largest and southernmost of three volcanoes that formed the now destroyed island of "Krakatoa" (the others being Danan and

Perboewatan Perboewatan (also spelled Perbuatan; apparently a Malay word of uncertain derivation) was one of the three main volcanic cones (the others being Danan and Rakata) on the island of Krakatoa (or Krakatau), in the Sunda Strait, in Indonesia. It was ...

) and the only one not obliterated in the eruption of 1883. However, Rakata did lose its northern half in that eruption, leaving just its southern half. The exposed cliff is quite striking visually, partially of a large exposed

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

terminating in a large lenticular extrusion at the middle of the almost vertical cliff. The feature has been called "the Eye of Krakatoa." *

– Following the 1883 eruption, Krakatoa's lava dome was entirely beneath the surface of the ocean. However, in December 1927, an eruption led to a new island that rose above the waterline. The eruptions were initially of pumice and ash, and that island and the two islands that followed were quickly eroded away by the sea. Eventually a fourth island named Anak Krakatau (meaning "child of Krakatoa" in Indonesian) broke water in August 1930, and produced lava flows more quickly than the waves could erode them.

Former islands

* Poolsche Hoed (Dutch: "Polish Hat") – a former small rocky islet between

Island and Lang Island, which was destroyed in the 1883 eruption. The name was apparently derived from its appearance from the sea: a sharply angled point, similar to the old-styled caps worn by

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

. * Calmeyer (sometimes spelled Calmejer) – a former island created from volcanic products from the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, in the Sebesi Channel between Krakatoa Island and

Sebesi Sebesi (also Sebeezee, or 'Bleezie') is an Indonesian island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, and part of the province of Lampung. It rises to a height of and lies about north of the Krakatoa Archipelago; it is the closest large ...

, which was a fairly shallow area (about 20 meters before the eruption). Calmeyer was somewhat higher than Steers, at about 6.5 meters at the highest spot. The two rather quickly were eroded away by wave action; Calmeyer had broken up into about half a dozen smaller islets by the time of Rogier Verbeek's visit in October 1883, and was gone within two years. Sandbanks bearing the names still remain. * Steers (island) – a former island created from volcanic products from the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, in the Sebesi Channel between Krakatoa Island and Sebesi. Steers was the slightly larger of the two, but never was more than 3 meters above the waterline. They rather quickly were eroded away by wave action, and gone within two years. Sandbanks bearing the names still remain.

Gallery

References