Trivia for D&C Lesson #6

What Indonesian event in 1815 put in place the events that resulted in the Smith family moving from Vermont to Palmyra?

In April 1815 the Mt. Tambora volcano in Indonesia erupted with a rating of seven on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (which has a maximum rating of 8), making it the largest eruption in the world since the AD 181. For comparison purposes, Mount Saint Helens had a rating of 5. And since each rating point represents a 10X increase in power, the eruption of Mt. Tambora was 100 times more explosive than Mt. Saint Helens. Mount Vesuvias/Pompeii was also a category 5. There hasn’t been a category 8 volcanic eruption during recorded history.

The explosion of Mt. Tambora was heard on Sumatra island (more than 1,200 miles away). The volcano sent dust and ash miles into the earth’s atmosphere, obscuring the sun. Seasons were affected around the world. The volcano resulted in at least 71,000 deaths (perhaps the most deadly eruption in history), of whom 11,000–12,000 were killed directly by the eruption.

The next year, 1816, was known as “The year without summer” because of the effect on North American and European weather. Agricultural crops failed and livestock died in much of the northern hemisphere, resulting in the worst famine of the 19th century. In Vermont, where the Smiths lived, and in many other places in the northern hemisphere, snow fell in June; killing frosts came in July and then again in August.

The Smith family worked hard, but nothing they did could overcome the near-famine caused by the unusual weather. Father Smith decided to move the family to New York where land was cheap. He left for Palmyra in the fall of 1816, and later sent a wagon for his family to follow and make the difficult 300-mile journey through the snow and cold of November.