The large magma chamber under Tambora had been drained by pre-1815 eruptions and underwent

several centuries of dormancy as it refilled. Volcanic activity reached a peak that year, culminating in the
eruption. With a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7, the eruption was the most devastating in recorded
history. The explosion was heard on Sumatra island, more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away.
Heavy volcanic ash rains were observed as far away as Borneo, Sulawesi, Java and Maluku islands, and
the maximum elevation of Tambora was reduced from about 4,300 metres (14,100 ft) to 2,850 metres
(9,350 feet). Although estimates vary, the death toll was at least 71,000 people. The eruption caused
global climate anomalies in the following years, while 1816 became known as the "year without a
summer" due to the impact on North American and European weather. In the Northern Hemisphere,
crops failed and livestock died, resulting in the worst famine of the century.

Before 1815, Mount Tambora was dormant for several centuries as hydrous magma cooled gradually in
a closed magma chamber.[4] Inside the chamber, at depths of 1.5 to 4.5 kilometres (0.93 to 2.80 mi),
cooling and partial crystallization of the magma exsolved high-pressure magmatic fluid. Overpressure of
the chamber of about 4,000 to 5,000 bars (58,000 to 73,000 psi) was generated as temperatures ranged
from 700 to 850 °C (1,292 to 1,562 °F).[4] In 1812, the crater began to rumble and generated a dark
cloud.[29]

A moderate-sized eruption on 5 April 1815 was followed by thunderous detonation sounds that could be
heard in Makassar on Sulawesi, at a distance of 380 kilometres (240 mi), Batavia (now Jakarta) on Java,
1,260 kilometres (780 mi) away, and Ternate on the Molucca Islands at 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) from
Mount Tambora. What was first thought to be the sound of firing guns was heard on 10 and 11 April on
Sumatra island (more than 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) away).[30] On the morning of 6 April 1815,
volcanic ash began to fall in East Java, with faint detonation sounds lasting until 10 April.[29]

The eruptions intensified at about 7 p.m. on the same day.[29] Three columns of "flame" rose and
merged as the mountain became a flowing mass of "liquid fire".[30] Pieces of pumice of up to 20
centimetres (7.9 in) in diameter rained down at approximately 8 p.m., followed by ash at around 9–10
p.m. The eruption column collapsed, producing hot pyroclastic flows that cascaded down the mountain
to the sea on all sides of the peninsula, wiping out the village of Tambora. Loud explosions were heard
until the next evening, 11 April. The veil of ash spread as far as West Java and South Sulawesi, while a
"nitrous odor" was noticeable in Batavia. The heavy tephra-tinged rain did not finally recede until 17
April.[29] Analysis of various sites on Mount Tambora using ground-penetrating radar has revealed
alternations of pumice and ash deposits covered by the pyroclastic surge and flow sediments that vary
in thickness regionally.[31]

The eruption is estimated to have had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7.[32] It had roughly four times the
energy of the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. An estimated 100 cubic kilometres (24 cu mi) of pyroclastic
trachyandesite was ejected, weighing approximately 1.4×1014 kg.[5] This has left a caldera measuring 6
to 7 kilometres (3.7 to 4.3 mi) across and 600 to 700 metres (2,000 to 2,300 ft) deep.[29] The density of
fallen ash in Makassar was 636 kg/m3.[33] Before the explosion, Mount Tambora was approximately
4,300 metres (14,100 ft) high,[29] one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago. After the
eruption of 1815, the maximum elevation has been reduced to 2,851 metres (9,354 ft).[34]

The 1815 Tambora eruption is the most devastating observed eruption in recorded history; a
comparison with other major eruptions is listed below.[5][29][35] The explosion was heard 2,600
kilometres (1,600 mi) away, and ash deposits were registered at a distance of at least 1,300 kilometres
(810 mi). A pitch of darkness was observed as far away as 600 kilometres (370 mi) from the mountain
summit for up to two days.[29] Pyroclastic flows spread to distances of about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from
the summit and an estimated 9.3–11.8 × 1013 g of stratispheric sulfate aerosols were generated by the
eruption.[36]

he island's entire vegetation was destroyed as uprooted trees, mixed with pumice ash, washed into the
sea and formed rafts of up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) across.[29] One pumice raft was found in the Indian
Ocean, near Calcutta, on 1 and 3 October 1815.[5] Clouds of thick ash still covered the summit on 23
April. Explosions ceased on 15 July, although smoke emissions were still observed as late as 23 August.
Flames and rumbling aftershocks were reported in August 1819, four years after the event.

On my trip towards the western part of the island, I passed through nearly the whole of Dompo and a
considerable part of Bima. The extreme misery to which the inhabitants have been reduced is shocking
to behold. There were still on the road side the remains of several corpses, and the marks of where
many others had been interred: the villages almost entirely deserted and the houses fallen down, the
surviving inhabitants having dispersed in search of food.

...

Since the eruption, a violent diarrhoea has prevailed in Bima, Dompo, and Sang’ir, which has carried off
a great number of people. It is supposed by the natives to have been caused by drinking water which
has been impregnated with ashes; and horses have also died, in great numbers, from a similar
complaint.

—Lt. Philips, ordered by Sir Stamford Raffles to go to Sumbawa[30]

A moderate tsunami struck the shores of various islands in the Indonesian archipelago on 10 April, with
waves reaching 4 metres (13 ft) in Sanggar at around 10 p.m. A tsunami causing waves of 1 to 2 metres
(3.3 to 6.6 ft) was reported in Besuki, East Java before midnight and another exceeded 2 metres (6.6 ft)
in the Molucca Islands.[29] The eruption column reached the stratosphere at an altitude of more than
43 kilometres (141,000 ft).[5] Coarser ash particles fell one to two weeks after the eruptions, while finer
particles stayed in the atmosphere for months to years at an altitude of 10 to 30 kilometres (33,000 to
98,000 ft).[29] There are various estimates of the volume of ash emitted: a recent study estimates a
dense-rock equivalent volume for the ash of 23 ± 3 cubic kilometres (5.52 ± 0.72 cu mi) and a dense-rock
equivalent volume of 18 ± 6 cubic kilometres (4.3 ± 1.4 cu mi) for the pyroclastic flows.[37] Longitudinal
winds spread these fine particles around the globe, creating optical phenomena. Between 28 June and 2
July, and between 3 September and 7 October 1815, prolonged and brilliantly coloured sunsets and
twilights were frequently seen in London, England. Most commonly, pink or purple colours appeared
above the horizon at twilight and orange or red near the horizon.[29]