Tuesday 24 may 2022Indonesia is known for its diversity of cultures, traditions, and cuisines. Not only that, each province also has very beautiful natural scenery, so it is widely used as a tourist destination for local and international communities.
One of Indonesia's natural beauty is shown in Lake Toba which is identical to being one of the tourist destinations in North Sumatra Province. Lake Toba offers beautiful natural scenery, ranging from green expanses of hills, blue lakes, to Samosir Island in the middle of the lake.
Behind its beauty, there are some interesting facts about Lake Toba that you need to know.
The following are the facts.
1. Lake Toba was originally a mountain
When someone talks about "Toba", maybe people who don't know will answer that it is a lake. However, behind the lake is wide and beautiful. Lake Toba was originally a mountain. In 1939, Van Bemmelen, a Dutch geologist, first said that Toba was a volcano.
The location which is now Lake Toba, was once a giant volcano or supervolcano which then erupted violently. Now the giant volcano is "hidden" under Lake Toba or what is known as the Toba Caldera.
After a violent eruption, the Toba Caldera was covered with igneous rocks, and water began to fill the caldera to form a lake that we know as Lake Toba.
2. The eruption of Mount Toba became the strongest eruption in history
Lake Toba was formed by the great eruption of Mount Toba about 74,000 years ago. CA Chesner, a geologist from Eastern Illiois University, said that Mount Toba ejected 2,800 cubic kilometers of magma.
This eruption is a scale of 8 in the Volcano Explosivity Index (VEI), which is the strongest eruption in the last two million years. In fact, the hot clouds from the eruption of Mount Toba reached an area of 20,000 square km.
These hot clouds had covered almost the entire mainland of Sumatra, from the Indian Ocean in the west to the Malacca Strait in the east, with an average thickness of 100 meters and in some areas up to 400 meters.
3. There is a folklore circulating about the origin of Lake Toba
There is a folklore circulating about Lake Toba which comes from the story of a man named Toba who was looking for fish in the river. In the story, Toba's fishing hook is caught in a goldfish, which suddenly turns into a charming woman. Toba married the woman.
On the condition that he is not allowed to tell anyone where his wife comes from. Until one day, when Toba already had a child, he was annoyed with his son and accidentally said "you are a fish child!".
Not long after, an earthquake shook the earth followed by the discharge of water from the ground. Then it rained heavily. Toba became aware and regretted that his words exposed his wife's secret which should have been tightly closed. However, it was too late.
The wife who was disappointed, returned to being a fish. He jumped into a puddle that turned into a big lake. Initially, the lake was called Tao Toba. On the instructions of the mother, the child survived by climbing a high hill in the middle of the lake, known as Samosir Island.
But this is only a legend and only folklore there, there are also some who believe in the story. But actually Lake Toba is a former caldera from the eruption of Mount Toba.
4. The uniqueness of the island and the lake
There are natural wonders that occur on Lake Toba, making it even more unique. Different from most lakes and islands, Lake Toba is said to have islands on islands, and lakes on lakes.
This is indicated by Samosir Island above Sumatra Island, and Sidihoni Lake and Aek Natonang Lake which are above Toba Lake.
5. Samosir Island comes from the bottom of a raised lake
Experts reveal that Samosir Island is a raised lakebed. This can be seen from the fossil algae found in various places on Samosir Island. When there was a great eruption, and the lake began to form, slowly the green algae also began to grow at the bottom of the lake.
After being drained violently during an eruption, the magma pocket or chamber below fills up again and slowly pushes the rock that clogs it up. So that Samosir Island slowly formed from the bottom of the lake which began to rise.
6. Believed to change the journey of modern humans in the world
The eruption of the Toba supervolcano, which occurred tens of thousands of years ago, had an impact not only on Indonesia, but also on a global scale.
It is even believed, this eruption changed the course of modern humans, or Homo sapiens. It is known that when Mount Toba erupted, the Homo sapiens species that became the ancestor of modern humans almost became extinct.
Migration stopped and they were isolated somewhere in Africa, as recorded in the genetic resemblance of modern humans all over the world. This period is referred to as the population bottleneck period, which has raised questions for experts for decades. But lately it is often associated with the eruption of Mount Toba.
7. The volume of water in Lake Toba is said to be able to flood the whole of England up to one meter
Mount Toba is a supervolcano and the largest volcanic lake in the world. In addition, the lake is also surrounded by steep cliffs with an average height of 1,200 meters with the deepest point filled with water reaching 500 meters.
Reporting from Tribun Travel, the volume of water in Lake Toba is said to be able to flood the entire territory of the UK to a depth of one meter. Meanwhile, Samosir Island, which is located in the center, has an area of about 647 square kilometers, which is almost the same as the area of Singapore. The beauty of Lake Toba and Samosir Island is what makes it a popular tourist spot.
Those are some interesting facts about Lake Toba. Not only showing its beauty, knowing the facts of Lake Toba can make children more proud and increase their desire to protect the natural beauty of Indonesia.
Lead image from unsplash
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