Mount Tambora, or Tomboro, is an active stratovolcano in the northern part of Sumbawa, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. Tambora is known for its major eruption in 1815. It was formed due to the active subduction zones beneath it, and before the eruption of 1815, it was more than 4,300 metres high, making it then one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago. 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 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 to 2,850 metres . 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. During a 2004 excavation, archaeologists discovered the remains of a house destroyed and buried by the 1815 eruption. The site has remained intact beneath three metres of pyroclastic deposits and provides insight into the culture that vanished. Today, Mount Tambora is closely monitored for volcanic activity; a powerful eruption would affect millions of Indonesians. The mountain is administered by the Bima Regency in the northeast and by the Dompu Regency in the west and south.
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