Mount Tambora - Geographical Setting

Geographical Setting

Mount Tambora is located on Sumbawa Island, part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is a segment of the Sunda Arc, a string of volcanic islands that forms the southern chain of the Indonesian archipelago. Tambora forms its own peninsula on Sumbawa, known as the Sanggar peninsula. At the north of the peninsula is the Flores Sea, and at the south is Saleh Bay, 86 km (53 mi) long and 36 km (22 mi) wide. At the mouth of Saleh Bay there is an 30,000 hectares islet called Moyo (Indonesian: Pulau Moyo) which has a guest shelter or luxurious resort where celebrities such as Princess Diana once stayed.

Besides its interest for seismologists and volcanologists, who monitor the mountain's activity, Mount Tambora is an area of scientific studies for archaeologists and biologists. The mountain also attracts tourists for hiking and wildlife activities. The two nearest cities are Dompu and Bima. There are three concentrations of villages around the mountain slope. At the east is Sanggar village, to the northwest are Doro Peti and Pesanggrahan villages, and to the west is Calabai village.

There are three ascent routes to reach the caldera. The first route starts from Doro Mboha village south of the mountain. This route follows a paved road through a cashew plantation until it reaches 1,150 m (3,770 ft) above sea level. The end of this route is the southern part of the caldera at 1,950 m (6,400 ft), reachable by a hiking track. This location is usually used as a base camp to monitor the volcanic activity, because it only takes one hour to reach the caldera. The second route is located in southwest of the mountain start from Doro Peti village, the Tambora volcanic monitoring station is located in this village. The third route starts from Pancasila village northwest of the mountain. This route passing through a coffee plantation. Using the third route, the caldera is accessible only by foot. The highest point of Tambora located on a hill near the westen rim of the caldera.

In August 2011, the alert level for the volcano was raised from Level I to Level II after increasing activity was reported in the caldera, including earthquakes and smoke emissions. In September 2011 the alert level was raised to Level III after further increases in activity.