Toba Eruption, Origin of the Lake Toba

If you search for the largest volcanic lake in the world, that must be the famous Lake Toba in Indonesia. With the measurement of 100km long, 30 km wide, and 505m at its deepest point, Lake Toba is located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is surrounded by tall mountains. There is Samosir Island in the middle of the lake. Unlike any other lake located close to the equator and usually formed by damming of a large river, Lake Toba has a different and more dramatic origin. It marks the site of the largest volcanic eruption in the last 2 million years. That was the Toba eruption. Toba eruption's described as terrific horror. It can be seen from the caldera size which is so huge. The last Toba eruption was about 75,000 years ago.

Toba eruption was in Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8. The Young Toba Tuff has an estimated volume of 2,800 cubic kilometers and was erupted about 74,000 years ago. Pyroclastic flows covered an area of at least 20,000 square km. Up to 1200 feet (400 m) of Young Toba Tuff is exposed in the walls of the caldera. On Samosir Island the tuff is more than 1800 feet (600 m) thick. Ash fall from the Toba eruption covers an area of at least 4 million square km (about half the size on the continental United States). Toba eruption would not have been pleasant for our ancestors. In fact, some scientists believe that the Toba eruption, and the volcanic winter that followed, almost wiped out homo sapiens, cutting our population down to as few as 3,000, or even as few as 1,000. However, Toba eruption has formed what is known as one of the great Lake Toba with its unique and extraordinary origin.

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Toba Eruption, Origin of the Lake Toba

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