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On the morning of August 27, 1883, the rumbling volcano of Krakatoa stood more than 6,000 feet high, with a diameter of approximately 10 miles. Later that day, this giant cone exploded so violently it was literally blown away. KRAKATOA, airing on PBS March 29, 2005, brings to life the story of this mammoth eruption, using dramatic recreation, contemporary documentary footage and breathtaking special effects.


The effects of the volcanic explosion caused a tsunami more than 140 feet high; one ship was carried more than two miles inland. Hail-sized stones fell as far as 100 miles away, and the city of Jakarta fell into total darkness. For many of the area's inhabitants, Armageddon had arrived. The noise of the eruption was unprecedented - it was heard as far away as Alice Springs and Madagascar. Its power has been calculated as the equivalent of 21,000 megatons of nuclear explosion. Over 36,000 people were killed immediately, and countries all over the globe were affected by the volcano's devastating after-effects.


The eruption of Krakatoa was one of the best-documented natural cataclysms in history; from the first indications that something was amiss to the final explosion, each step was witnessed and recorded by the Dutch settlers living in the region. Through these testimonies, viewers can once again witness the volcano's reawakening and its final devastating eruption. KRAKATOA also examines the geological processes through which a seemingly benign, supposedly extinct volcano could have burst back to life with such ferocity and such disastrous consequences.

1080i, DD 5.1