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Mount Tambora
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Map of Southeast Asia highlighting the location of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. The map shows surrounding countries including Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea, with Mount Tambora labeled in orange on the Indonesian archipelago. An inset in the top right corner provides a broader regional context. summit caldera of Mount Tambora Infographic depicting the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, with an illustration of a massive volcanic explosion and ash plume. Key statistics are highlighted, including 24 cubic miles of ash and 60 megatons of sulfur expelled, 10,000 immediate deaths, and 80,000 regional deaths from starvation and disease. Additional facts detail the volcano's dimensions, the global temperature drop in 1816, and a map showing the eruption's location on Sumbawa Island.
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Map of Southeast Asia highlighting the location of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. The map shows surrounding countries including Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea, with Mount Tambora labeled in orange on the Indonesian archipelago. An inset in the top right corner provides a broader regional context.
Mount Tambora

Mount Tambora

volcano, Indonesia
Also known as: Gunung Tambora, Mount Tamboro
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Last updated
•History
Top Questions

What is Mount Tambora?

What happened during Mount Tambora’s 1815 eruption?

How did the Mount Tambora eruption affect global weather?

Why was 1816 called the year without a summer?

Mount Tambora, volcanic mountain on the northern coast of Sumbawa island, Indonesia, that in April 1815 exploded in the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. It is now 2,851 meters (9,354 feet) high, having lost much of its top in the 1815 eruption. The volcano remains active; smaller eruptions took place in 1880 and 1967, and episodes of increased seismic activity occurred in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2026.

summit caldera of Mount Tambora
summit caldera of Mount TamboraAerial view of the summit caldera of Mount Tambora, Sumbawa island, Indonesia.
Quick Facts
Mount Tambora
  • Location: Sumbawa island, Indonesia
  • Height: 2,851 meters (9,354 feet)
  • Significance: Site of the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history (April 1815)
  • Caldera: About 6 km (3.7 miles) across

The 1815 eruption

Infographic depicting the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, with an illustration of a massive volcanic explosion and ash plume. Key statistics are highlighted, including 24 cubic miles of ash and 60 megatons of sulfur expelled, 10,000 immediate deaths, and 80,000 regional deaths from starvation and disease. Additional facts detail the volcano's dimensions, the global temperature drop in 1816, and a map showing the eruption's location on Sumbawa Island.
Mount Tambora: 1815 eruptionThe eruption of Mount Tambora, which began on April 5, 1815, devastated much of the island of Sumbawa and the surrounding region and influenced weather across the globe.

Tambora’s catastrophic eruption began on April 5, 1815, with small tremors and pyroclastic flows. A shattering blast blew the mountain apart on the evening of April 10. The blast, pyroclastic flows, and tsunamis that followed killed at least 10,000 islanders and destroyed the homes of 35,000 more. Before its eruption Mount Tambora was about 4,300 metres (14,000 feet) high. After the eruption ended, a caldera spanning some 6 km (3.7 miles) across remained.

Many volcanologists regard the Mount Tambora eruption as the largest and most-destructive volcanic event in recorded history, expelling as much as 150 cubic km (roughly 36 cubic miles) of ash, pumice and other rock, and aerosols—including an estimated 60 megatons of sulfur—into the atmosphere. As that material mixed with atmospheric gases, it prevented substantial amounts of sunlight from reaching Earth’s surface, eventually reducing the average global temperature by as much as 3 °C (5.4 °F). The immediate effects were most profound on Sumbawa and surrounding islands. Some 80,000 people perished from disease and famine, since crops could not grow. In 1816, parts of the world as far away as western Europe and eastern North America experienced sporadic periods of heavy snow and killing frost through June, July, and August. Such cold weather events led to crop failures and starvation in those regions, and the year 1816 was called the “year without a summer.”

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Ethan Teekah.