The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa caused the loudest sound in recorded history.
Krakatoa, also spelled Krakatau, was a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. Its catastrophic eruption reached its climax on 27 August 1883, when a series of enormous explosions destroyed much of the island. The final blast was heard thousands of kilometres away, and atmospheric pressure waves were recorded around the globe.
The eruption generated devastating tsunamis that killed tens of thousands of people along nearby coastlines. Fine volcanic material also entered the atmosphere and contributed to striking red sunsets worldwide for months afterward. The eruption largely destroyed the original island, but a new volcanic cone, Anak Krakatau (“Child of Krakatoa”), later emerged in the caldera. Krakatoa is not the same volcano as Mount Vesuvius, whose famous eruption destroyed Pompeii in AD 79.