Mr. Tambora, an active volcano located on the island of Sum- bawa, Indonesia, symbolizes the remarkable global impact of nature on human society. Regarded as extinct and inactive for about five thousand years before the second decade of the nineteenth century, Mt. Tambora stood as a known landmark for sailors out at sea, with a height of more than 4,200 meters above sea level. Its awakening began some time in 1812. Earthquakes and small eruptions of steam and ash continued for three years until the evening of 5 April 1815, when the first significant eruption occurred.