May 20, 1673 Eruption of Gamkonora

Name: May 20, 1673 Eruption of Gamkonora
Start: 1673-05-20
Location: Gamkonora, Indonesia

May 20, 1673 · VEI 5 · Deaths: many

Gamkonora in Indonesia erupted on May 20, 1673 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Gamkonora, Indonesia, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: May 20, 1673
Volcano: Gamkonora, stratovolcano
Country: Indonesia
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 5, very large (eruption column over 25 km)
Killed by: Waves or tsunami
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 1.380° N, 127.530° E

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses destroyed: Few (about 1 to 50)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Reference #414:

1673, May 20. An additional date for the tsunami of August 12, 1673.

1673, August 12, between 22:00 and 22:30 local time. The southern slope of Ternate Volcano split from top to bottom. Avalanches and rock falls occurred. The houses of the King of Ternate, standing at the foot of the volcano, made of stone and covered with tiles, collapsed completely.

Reference #40:

Ash falls reported from Manado (1.5oN, 1oS) on Celebes (2oS, 121oE) and southern Mindanao in the Philippines.

Reference #2432:

The shifting of eruption centers on Gamkonora, at 1635 m the highest peak of Halmahera, has produced an elongated series of summit craters along a N-S trending rift. Youthful-looking lava flows originate near the cones of Gunung Alon and Popolojo, south of Gamkonora. Since its first recorded eruption in the 16th century, Gamkonora has typically produced small-to-moderate explosive eruptions. Its largest historical eruption, in 1673, was accompanied by tsunamis that inundated villages.

Other significant eruptions of Gamkonora

December 31, 1564VEI 3 · Deaths: few

Every eruption in 1673 The 1600s Gamkonora Earthquakes near Gamkonora This day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 599.