The Sunda Strait owes its name to the Indonesian term Pa-Sudan - West Java. It is here that the island with the Krakatau volcano of the same name is located, the eruption of which at the end of the century before last, without exaggeration, shocked the whole world.
Where is the Sunda Strait?
Heavenly or natural forces seem to have deliberately tried to break a narrow sea path for the ancient merchant ships of mankind between the largest islands of one of the world's largest archipelagos - the Sunda. The minimum width of the formed strait is about 24 km, the length is 130 km. It separates the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, and also connects two oceans - Indian and Pacific.
According to some researchers, the strait is quite young. Appeared as a result of the collapse of the rock after a volcanic eruption, presumably in 535. The depth ranges from 12 m in the eastern part to 40 m in the western part. This makes it impassable for heavy ships (such as modern tankers). But in ancient times, the Sunda Strait served as an important trade route.
Road to the Islandsspices
It was between Java and Sumatra that the routes of all ships, seeking to get from the waters of the Indian Ocean to the shores of the Celestial Empire, Japan or the Philippines, ran. The Dutch East India Company attached particular importance to the Sunda Strait in the period from the beginning of the XVΙΙ century until almost the end of the XVΙΙΙ. Through the waters of the gulf, traders significantly shortened the path to the Moluccas of Indonesia, which is the main supplier of spices. Cloves and nutmeg were brought from here, 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, shoals and strong tidal currents.
Catastrophe on a planetary scale
The Strait became notorious in 1883 for the eruption of the Krakatau volcano, which quietly "slumbered" for about 200 years. The first signs of activity were noticed back in May, but real hell broke loose on August 26-27. The eruption was preceded by the emission of an ash column up to 28 km high. Then, within 4.5 hours, four deafening explosions followed, the echoes of which were heard for 4 thousand km. The force of the latter, which split the island apart, was 10,000 times greater than the power of the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima.
Shock waves circled the planet 7 times and were registered all over the world. The radius of scattering of stone fragments and ash was about 500 km. More than 90% of the 36,417 dead were killed by a giant, up to 36 m high, tsunami. In Java and Sumatraabout 200 villages were destroyed. For several days, total darkness dominated all of Indonesia. Even on the other side of the globe, in Nicaragua, the Sun has taken on a blue tint. The abundance of volcanic debris in the atmosphere caused a decrease in the next five years in the average temperature around the world by 1.2 ˚С.
In 1927, on the site of the disappeared island, a new one appeared, called Anak-Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) with an active volcano. Today, its height is 813 m and continues to grow at an average rate of 7 m/year.
Pacific Blitzkrieg
Another important historical milestone of the water area is World War II. In 1942, the Japanese Navy dominated the waters off the coast of Southeast Asia. The command was preparing a landing on the island of Java, which was given great strategic importance by rich oil fields and refineries.
The plans of the Japanese were to be thwarted by the forces of the combined fleet, consisting of American, British, Australian and Dutch ships, but in the decisive battle the allies suffered a crushing defeat. Two cruisers "Houston" (USA) and "Perth" tried to break through between the islands of Java and Sumatra into the Indian Ocean, but were blocked by the Japanese destroyers and cruisers who came to the rescue. The battle in the Sunda Strait lasted 99 minutes. "Houston" and "Perth" were eventually torpedoed and sunk, but even in hopeless conditions remained faithful to military duty.
Features of modern infrastructure
Indonesia today - the largest country 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 plying between the islands cannot cope with the ever-increasing flow of cargo and passengers.
Today, the construction is in the stage of design and preparatory work. The bridge, about 30 km long, with a six-lane highway, double-track railway, pipelines, electricity and telecommunications, will cost the treasury $12 billion. The complexity of construction lies not only in the scale of the project, but also in the fact that the region belongs to a seismically dangerous territory. The implementation of plans will become a real monument to the engineering genius of mankind, its perseverance and hard work.
