I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. Is it likely for Krakatoa to explode
again? I am American and 10 years old.
Sarah McGrath
Hi Sara,
Krakatau is still active. The presently-active vent has formed a
small island in the middle of the ocean-filled caldera that
developed during the famous big eruption of 1883. The island is
called Anak Krakatau, which means child-of-Krakatau. It is pretty
much erupting all the time at a low level, but once or twice a year
it has slightly larger eruptions that people notice and sometimes
report in the news. Of course none of these are anywhere near the
size of the famous 1883 eruption.
Krakatau is following a pattern that is pretty common for
volcanoes. This pattern involves hundreds to thousands of years of
small eruptions to build up the volcano followed by 1 or more huge
eruptions that causes the volcano to collapse into a caldera, and
then the cycle starts over again.
I think the chances of a huge 1883-style eruption are very small for
the time being. However, it is certainly dangerous to go onto Anak
Krakatau, especially if it is one of its more agitated moods. It
is probably not even very smart to spend too much time on the small
islands that form the remnants of what was once the main Krakatau
island. This is because even a small collapse of Anak Krakatau
could generate a small tsunami that could sweep towards these
islands. Since they are so close to Anak Krakatau there wouldn't
be very much time for a warning.
I hope this helps to answer your question. You are very lucky to
live in a country that has so many beautiful volcanoes to visit and
study.
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland
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