The Sunda Strait owes its name to the Indonesian term Pa-Sudan - West Java. It is here that the island with the volcano of the same name Krakatau is located, the eruption of which at the end of the year before last, without exaggeration, shocked the whole world.
Where is the Sunda Strait?
The heavenly or natural forces seemed to specifically try to break the narrow sea lane to the ancient merchant ships of mankind between the largest islands of one of the largest world archipelagos - Sunda. The minimum width of the strait formed is about 24 km, length -130 km. It divides the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, and also connects the two oceans - the Indian and Pacific.
According to some researchers, the strait is quite young. Appeared as a result of rock collapse after a volcanic eruption, presumably in 535. Depth ranges from 12 m in the eastern part and up to 40 m in the western. This makes it impassable for heavy vessels (for example, modern tankers). But in ancient times, the Sunda Strait served as an important trade route.
Road to the Spice Islands
It was between Java and Sumatra that the routes of all ships that sought to get from the waters of the Indian Ocean to the shores of the Middle Kingdom, Japan or the Philippines ran. Of particular importance to the Sunda Strait was the Dutch East India Company from the beginning of the 15th century to almost the end of the 15th century. Through the waters of the bay, merchants significantly reduced the path to the Moluccas of Indonesia, the main supplier of spices. From here brought cloves and nutmeg, as well as cocoa beans, coffee and fruits.
It is worth noting that navigation in the Sunda Strait has always been considered a rather dangerous occupation due to the abundance of small islands of volcanic origin, shallows and strong tidal currents.
Planetary catastrophe
The strait was notorious in 1883 for the eruption of the volcano Krakatau, which quietly "snoozed" for about 200 years. The first signs of activity were noticed in May, but the real hell broke out on August 26-27. The eruption was preceded by an ejection of a column of ash up to 28 km high. Then, for four and a half hours four deafening explosions followed, the echoes of which were heard over 4 thousand km. The strength of the latter, which split the island into parts, was 10 thousand times higher than the power of the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima.
Shock waves circled the planet 7 times and recorded around the world. The radius of expansion of the stone fragments and ash was about 500 km. More than 90% of the 36,417 dead were killed by a giant tsunami up to 36 m high. In Java and Sumatra, about two hundred villages were destroyed. For several days over the whole Indonesia dominated by a complete haze. Even on the other side of the globe, in Nicaragua, the Sun has acquired a blue tint. The abundance of volcanic debris in the atmosphere caused a decrease in the average temperature around the world by 1.2 ° C over the next five years.
In 1927, a new one appeared on the site of the disappeared island, named Anak-Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) with an active volcano. Today its height is 813 m and continues to grow at an average speed of 7 m / year.
Pacific Blitzkrieg
Another important historical milestone in the water area is World War II. In 1942, the Japanese fleet reigned supreme in the waters off the coast of Southeast Asia. The command was preparing an amphibious landing on the island of Java, an important strategic importance which was attached to rich oil fields and refineries.
The plans of the Japanese were to be hindered by the forces of the combined fleet, consisting of American, British, Australian and Dutch ships, but in a decisive battle the Allies suffered a crushing defeat. Two cruisers “Houston” (USA) and “Perth” attempted to break between the islands of Java and Sumatra into the Indian Ocean, but were blocked by the arriving destroyers and cruisers of the Japanese. The battle in the Sunda Strait lasted 99 minutes. “Houston” and “Perth” were eventually torpedoed and sunk, but even in hopeless conditions remained loyal to military duty.
Features of modern infrastructure
Indonesia today is the largest state in Southeast Asia with a population of about 250 million people, 80% of whom live in Sumatra and Java. The construction of a bridge across the Sunda Strait in a country with a dynamically developing economy has been planned since the 60s of the last century. More than 25 thousand ships and ferries, cruising between the islands, can not cope with the ever-increasing flow of goods and passengers.
Today, construction is at the stage of design and preparatory work. A bridge about 30 km long with a six-lane highway, a double-track railway, pipelines, electrical and telecommunications will cost the treasury $ 12 billion. The complexity of the construction lies not only in the scale of the project, but also in the fact that the region belongs to seismically dangerous territory. The implementation of the plans will become a real monument to the engineering genius of mankind, its perseverance and hard work.