The summer of 1816 convinced many residents of the
Adirondacks, John Brown Francis in particular, to give up on the land and find
fortune elsewhere. While Herreshoff refused to give up on his tract, he did move
away from agriculture to pursue the mining industry. That particular summer saw
heavy snow in June and ice throughout July and August, which, unbeknownst to people
like the Browns, were caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora. Mount Tambora is
a volcano in the Indian Ocean and its eruption in 1815 was the greatest
volcanic explosion to occur in ten thousand years, affecting climates around
the world and creating “the year of no summer.”
When Tambora erupted, volcanic ash entered the earth’s
atmosphere, which blocked sunlight from reaching the surface of the planet. The
lack of sunlight caused colder temperatures, cloudy skies, and even snow/ice
across Europe and North America. Because these weather patterns coincided with
the growing seasons of many crops, farmers lost much of their harvest and food
shortages were reported. Many farmers who were already struggling in the
Adirondacks chose to leave the area and head West, hoping to find a better life
there. However, Mary Shelley did write the classic Frankenstein during this gloomy period, and many other writers used
the circumstances as inspiration for darker works. Interestingly enough, it
wasn’t until the 20th century that the eruption of Mount Tambora and
the year of no summer were linked to each other.
Examining what pushed settlers of the Adirondacks to finally
call it quits can be an interesting topic to explore. Throughout the history of
the park, many industries have thrived before collapsing and becoming abandoned
completely. The year of no summer, along with repeatedly difficult and hardly
profitable years residents spent pursuing agriculture, led to an increase in
migration to the Western United States from the Adirondacks. Finally, the
agriculture industry grew smaller until it reached the point it’s at today,
with local farms and community gardens dominating the niche and large
commercial farms supplying many grocery stores and restaurants within the park.
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I’m glad you wrote about this topic Amanda because while we’ve been discussing the Adirondacks Park itself, we rarely mention external influences on the park. The intensity with which the volcanic eruption affected the temperatures in the park, causing ice and snow in the summer, is fascinating. However, it also worries me when to consider how the external influences associated with global warming – acid rain, temperature changes, and overabundance of CO2 in the atmosphere – might also affect the Adirondack Park.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I was surprised when you mentioned that it wasn’t until recently that the eruption of Mt. Tambora was linked with the year with no summer. If it took scientists years to associate the eruption with drastic temperature change in the park, how long will it take scientists to realize the effects of global warming on the Adirondacks?
Laura, you've brought up a really interesting and relevant point with your comment! Even though 97% of scientists agree that climate change is happening, there are still people who deny that it exists. Scientists themselves might already realize the effects that climate change has and will have on the Adirondacks; I think it's the general public that we need to be concerned about. Until climate change directly affects a community, most people aren't willing to go out of their way to make lifestyle changes to become more environmentally friendly. Even though the burden really does fall on the general public, action probably won't be taken until it's too late. Climate change has already caused irreversible damage to our planet, yet you don't see much of a visible response to fight it. It's not just the Adirondacks we need to be concerned about, but maybe the importance of this particular area will encourage the government to step up and finally create legislation to combat climate change.
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