Largest Volcanic Eruption in Recorded History

Mount Tambora on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa erupted explosively on April 10-11, 1815, ejecting more than 150 cubic kilometers of material in a blast rated 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, the largest eruption directly observed and recorded by humans. Sulfur it threw into the atmosphere cooled the planet enough to cause the "Year Without a Summer" in 1816, bringing crop failures across the Northern Hemisphere.