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Ujung Kulon
National Park and Mt. Krakatoa
Ujung Kulon National Park is
located at the western-most tip of Java, Indonesia. It includes the volcanic
island group of Krakatoa and other islands including Panaitan, Handeuleum
and Peucang. The park encompasses an area of 1,206 km² (443 km² marine),
most of which lies on a peninsula reaching into the Indian Ocean. The
mainland part of Ujung Kulon was formerly farmland until it was devastated
and depopulated by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa after which it returned to
its original forested state.
It is Indonesia's first national park and was declared a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1992 for containing the largest remaining lowland
rainforest in Java. It is also one of only two homes of the critically
endangered Javan Rhinoceros. A population of fifty to sixty live in Ujung
Kulon, a smaller population of possibly 10 or less, live in Cat Tien
National Park, Vietnam. The park protects 57 rare species of plant. The 35
species of mammal include Banteng, Silvery Gibbon, Javan Lutung, Crab-eating
Macaque, Leopard, Java Mouse-deer and Rusa Deer. There are also 72 species
of reptiles & amphibians, and 240 species of birds.
Permits for the park are available at the town of Labuan, where there is a
National Park office. There is also an office at Tamanjaya. Accommodation is
available on Handeuleum and Peucang islands.
Krakatau - Krakatoa The
Volcanic Island
Krakatoa, also spelled as Krakatao, is an island in the Sunda Strait in
Indonesia. It is a volcanic island, and its name is used for the volcano,
the island and the island group as well.
In 1883, the most well-known
eruption of Krakatoa cemented its place as one of the most famous volcanoes
in history. This eruption was among one of the most violent anywhere in
human history. This eruption had the explosive power equivalent to 13,000
times the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It ejected about twenty-one
cubic kilometers of ash, rock and pumice.
The explosion was heard as far
away as Perth in Australia, which is 1930 miles away, and on the island of
Rodrigues, about three thousand miles away.
Near Krakatoa, 166 towns and villages were destroyed, and 130+ cities
severely damaged. More than 36,000 people were killed, with many thousand
others having been injured. Tsunamis after the eruption caused many of the
deaths.
Further eruptions at the site since then have actually built up new land in
the same area as the original island. Its name is Anak Krakatau, which is
Indonesian for "Child of Krakatoa". This island is about two kilometers
around, and at its highest point, is 300 meters high. The island grows at a
rate of 5 meters a year. In an area with many destructive and famous
volcanoes, Krakatoa still stands alone.
The strait in Indonesia has over 130 active volcanoes, by far the most of
any nation in the world. The volcanoes make up the axis of the island arc
system of Indonesia. Most of the strait's volcanoes lie along the two
largest islands, Sumatra and Java.
Volcanologists have put forward the belief that a violent eruption of
Krakatoa in 535 A.D. may have been the catalyst for a global climate change
that took place in 535 and 536 A.D. There isn't any datable charcoal from
that eruption that has been found to date. But this could speak of the size
of Krakatoa's caldera. Krakatoa, one of the most famous volcanoes, is also
called "The Fire Mountain" by early historians, with seven eruptions
tentatively dated from 850 to 1530 A.D.
Since 1950, Anak Krakatau has grown at a rate of five inches per week. The
island is still very active; its most recent eruption began in 1994. Quiet
periods numbering days have alternated with continuous Strombolian
eruptions, and occasionally larger explosions. The most recent eruption
started in 2008, when lava, rocks and hot gases were released.
Volcanologists who monitor the volcano have warned area residents, boaters
and tourists to stay out of a three km zone around the island. |
