A listing of the world’s most well-known volcanoes and volcanic eruptions, with places, photos and info.
- You will discover out extra about volcanoes and why they erupt on this web page: Volcano Details
Web page Index
Well-known Volcanoes: Introduction
Volcanoes are mountains fashioned by magma (molten rock) rising from cracks within the Earth’s skinny outer crust.
Most volcanoes seem alongside the perimeters of the massive plates (generally known as tectonic plates) that make up the floor of the world – both the place the plates are shifting aside, or the place they’re shifting collectively and one plate is compelled beneath one other.
Throughout a volcanic eruption, molten rock, ash and poisonous gases are expelled from a magma chamber beneath the bottom, typically with nice power.
A lethal cloud of rock fragments and scorching fuel generally known as a pyroclastic stream can stream from a volcano at as much as 430 mph (700 km/h), wiping out every thing in its path.
Unsurprisingly, volcanic eruptions may be extraordinarily harmful, particularly after they happen close to cities or cities.
Within the checklist of well-known volcanoes beneath we’ve included not solely well-known volcanic eruptions from historical past, similar to that of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, but in addition current eruptions, similar to these of Mount St Helen in 1980, and Eyjafjallajökull (an Icelandic volcano) in 2010.
Checklist of Well-known Volcanoes
Mount Vesuvius, Italy
Situated close to Naples in Italy, Mount Vesuvius is maybe the world’s most well-known volcano.
Nearly two thousand years in the past, in early autumn of AD 79, Mount Vesuvius violently erupted. The eruption continued for 2 days, inflicting big quantities of volcanic ash to rain down on the encircling space.
At instances throughout the eruption, molten rock and scorching ash had been being ejected from the volcano at a price of 1.5 million tons per second.
The close by metropolis of Pompeii, along with a number of different settlements, was engulfed by the volcanic fallout. Many individuals had been trapped inside town, unable to flee.
Watch the animation beneath to get an concept of what it will need to have been like residing in Pompeii on that fateful day:
The ash blanketed Pompeii, quickly protecting it and creating an hermetic seal that preserved buildings, artifacts, and even the impressions of our bodies, offering modern-day historians with a novel snapshot of historical Roman life, frozen in time.
Immediately, Mount Vesuvius is a nationwide park and well-liked vacationer vacation spot. Judging by the video beneath, it’s a way more peaceable place now than it was in AD79!
Krakatoa, Indonesia
The eruption of the volcanic island Krakatoa, now a part of Indonesia, is sort of as well-known as that of Vesuvius.
The principle eruption occurred in August 1883. For a number of months previous to this the island, which on the time was beneath Dutch rule, had been the scene of accelerating volcanic exercise.
On the times main as much as the ultimate explosion the exercise intensified, with a near-continuous collection of explosions and eruptions.
Lastly, on twenty seventh August, the eruption reached its peak with 4 great explosions, the third of which might be heard on islands 4,800 km (3,000 miles) away! It’s nonetheless considered the loudest sound in historical past.
The explosions destroyed most of Krakatoa and brought about tsunamis (tidal waves) to cowl many surrounding islands. Over 36,000 folks drowned on account of the eruption.
Clouds of ash emitted by the volcano brought about the sky to darken all around the globe. The common world temperature dropped for 3 years after the eruption because of the volcanic ash within the environment. The ash additionally brought about strikingly colourful sunsets in lots of elements of the world.
Mount St. Helens, United States
Mount St. Helens is an energetic volcano positioned in Washington State, USA. It’s a part of the Cascade Vary, a mountain vary working alongside the western facet of North America from British Columbia in Canada to northern California, USA.
Mount St. Helens was named after a British diplomat by explorer George Vancouver.
The volcano is most well-known for its devastating eruption on Might 18, 1980.
An earthquake instantly previous the eruption brought about a big landslide on the North face of the mountain (the biggest landslide ever recorded).
On account of the landslide, there was much less rock on the volcano to comprise the immense underground stress, and the volcano erupted nearly instantly.
The massive explosion brought about ash, lava and different particles to be expelled from the facet of the mountain. 57 folks misplaced their lives on account of the eruption, which additionally brought about the destruction of buildings, railways, forests and crops.
Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
Eyjafjallajökull is a volcano positioned within the south of Iceland. In comparison with these of different well-known volcanoes, its eruption in 2010 was not significantly highly effective.
Its worldwide fame is because of its comparatively current incidence, and the truth that it affected the lives of many hundreds of individuals.
Eyjafjallajökull erupted on April 14th 2010. The eruption, which continued for per week, brought about an enormous cloud of ash to fill the sky. The cloud unfold southwards and lined a lot of Europe.
As a result of it’s harmful for a aircraft to fly by means of an ash cloud (ash can solidify on shifting elements or clog up an engine) the volcano prevented hundreds of thousands of individuals from touring.
Mount Fuji, Japan
Mount Fuji, an iconic image of Japan, stands because the nation’s highest peak at 3,776 meters. Lined in snow for a lot of the 12 months, Mount Fuji at this time appears an image of peace and tranquility; a scene completely at odds with its violent previous.
This stratovolcano, composed of layers of lava, ash, and volcanic rock, was fashioned over millennia by means of a number of eruptions.
A stratovolcano, often known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano composed of a number of layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash, sometimes characterised by a steep profile and periodic explosive eruptions.
The bottom of Mount Fuji started forming roughly 100,000 years in the past within the Pleistocene epoch, with its present iconic form being the results of 4 main phases of volcanic exercise.
The primary part, generally known as Sen-komitake, is hidden deep beneath the present-day mountain and consists primarily of an previous andesite core. The second part, Komitake Fuji, constructed upon this base with basalt deposits. The subsequent layer was Previous Fuji, and the latest and visual layer, generally known as New Fuji, started forming roughly 10,000 years in the past.
Mount Fuji’s most up-to-date main eruption occurred in 1707-1708, and in generally known as the Hoei Eruption. This occasion considerably formed the mountain’s present profile and resulted within the formation of the Hoei Crater on its southeastern flank.
The mountain stays an energetic volcano, with its potential for future eruptions carefully monitored by scientists.
Mount Pinatubo, Philippines
Mount Pinatubo is a volcano on the island of Luzon within the Philippines. Its eruption on June 15th, 1991 was the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
For a number of months previous to the primary eruption there had been earthquakes and smaller ash emissions from the volcano.
Fortunately, these served to warn people who Pinatubo was about to erupt. Over 58,000 folks had been evacuated. Though over 800 folks had been killed by the eruption, the catastrophe may have been a lot worse.
Popocatépetl, Mexico
Popocatépetl, sometimes called “El Popo,” is one in every of Mexico’s most energetic volcanoes, located within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt between the states of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico State. Its title is derived from the Nahuatl phrases for “smoking mountain,” a becoming title given its frequent exercise.
The volcano’s construction is complicated, with a symmetrical cone that rises to a top of 5,426 meters (17,802 ft), making it the second-highest peak in Mexico after Citlaltépetl.
Popocatépetl has a storied historical past with proof of eruptions courting again 23,000 years. Its present exercise part started in 1994, ending many years of dormancy, and since then, there have been periodic eruptions of various depth, typically together with ash plumes, fuel emissions, and pyroclastic flows.
The encircling space, together with the close by metropolis of Puebla, stays beneath fixed look ahead to potential evacuations. The volcano is a part of the Izta-Popo Zoquiapan Nationwide Park.
Mount Etna, Italy (Sicily)
Mount Etna is the tallest energetic volcano in Europe. It’s positioned on the Italian island of Sicily, which lies within the Mediterranean Sea to the south west of mainland Italy. (Sicily is the ‘ball’ being ‘kicked’ by Italy on a world map).
Mount Etna is the biggest of Italy’s three volcanoes. It’s over 2.5 instances taller than Mount Vesuvius.
Residing within the shadow of an energetic volcano truly supplies some advantages to the individuals who dwell on Sicily. Not solely is the volcanic soil good for rising crops in, however the volcano additionally attracts vacationers, who spend cash within the native financial system.
Mount Etna has erupted recurrently for hundreds of years, and remains to be a really energetic volcano. Eruptions as just lately as 2014 brought about air site visitors to be affected. You’ll be able to see a information story about these eruptions right here.
Mount Tambora, Indonesia
Mount Tambora is an energetic volcano positioned on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa.
Mount Tambora famously erupted on 10th April 1815, after a collection of smaller eruptions. It was one of many largest volcanic eruptions in historical past. Explosions from the volcano might be heard over 1,600 miles away.
Many hundreds of individuals had been killed not simply by the eruption itself, but in addition by the ash cloud and the tsunamis brought on by the volcano. The eruption affected the climate all around the globe.
Mauna Loa, Hawaii
Mauna Loa, which interprets to “Lengthy Mountain” in Hawaiian, just isn’t solely the largest energetic volcano on Earth but in addition one of the vital spectacular. It’s one in every of two well-known volcanoes in Hawaii, the opposite being Kilauea.
Mauna Loa is a large defend volcano makes up greater than half of the Huge Island of Hawaii and rises 4,169 meters (13,678 ft) above sea degree; its true enormity is hidden as its base extends deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, reaching right down to the ocean flooring.
A defend volcano is a kind of volcano normally constructed nearly totally of fluid lava flows, with broad, gently sloping sides resembling a warrior’s defend because of the low viscosity of the magma.
Mauna Loa’s sprawling slopes prolong for miles, contributing to its title because the world’s largest volcano by quantity and space.
Though Mauna Loa doesn’t erupt as violently as different volcanoes, it does produce a considerable amount of lava. Fortunately, that is normally comparatively slow-moving (normally slower than strolling tempo).
Mauna Loa has a protracted historical past of exercise, with its final eruption occurring in 1984. Its light lava flows can journey far and vast, shaping the panorama round it and including new land to the island.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory retains a vigilant watch over Mauna Loa resulting from its potential to impression close by communities considerably.
Kīlauea, Hawaii, USA
Kīlauea, positioned on the Huge Island of Hawaii, is among the world’s most energetic volcanoes and a quintessential instance of a defend volcano, distinguished by its broad, gently sloping sides fashioned by the stream of extremely fluid lava.
A key characteristic of Hawaii Volcanoes Nationwide Park, Kilauea has been erupting persistently since 1983, making it not solely a useful web site for volcanic analysis but in addition a preferred vacationer attraction.
The volcano’s comparatively calm lava flows have created spectacular landscapes and added new land to the island’s shoreline.
Kīlauea stands at 1,247 meters (4,091 ft) above sea degree, however its base extends about 5,000 meters (16,400 ft) beneath the ocean, making it considerably taller when measured from its true base. This well-known volcano’s eruptions are sometimes effusive, that means that lava flows freely, creating vast lava fields. These eruptions have been monitored carefully by scientists on the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
The cultural impression of Kilauea is deep-rooted; it’s thought-about the house of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fireside.
Mount Pelée, West Indies
Mount Pelée is a volcano positioned on Martinique, an island within the West Indies.
Its eruption in Might 1902 killed over 40,000 folks, most of whom lived within the close by metropolis of Saint Pierre. A lot of the fatalities had been brought on by fast-moving pyroclastic flows from the volcano.
A pyroclastic stream is a lethal cascade of scorching fuel and ash that flows from a volcano.
Solely two folks in Saint Pierre survived the lethal stream; one was a assassin who was serving time within the metropolis’s jail.
Cotopaxi, Ecuador
Cotopaxi is a well-known volcano in Ecuador. A part of the Andes mountain vary, Cotopaxi is the second highest peak within the South American nation.
Cotopaxi is among the most energetic volcanoes on the planet. It has erupted greater than 50 instances since 1738. Regardless of this, it stays a preferred vacation spot for mountaineers.
Yellowstone Caldera, USA
The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes called the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a colossal volcanic caldera positioned in Yellowstone Nationwide Park in the USA.
This supervolcano is the results of a number of large eruptions, the primary of which occurred round 2.1 million years in the past. Its most up-to-date cataclysmic occasion was 640,000 years in the past, creating the present caldera that measures about 55 kilometers (34 miles) by 72 kilometers (45 miles).
The Yellowstone Caldera lies over the Yellowstone Hotspot, which fuels Yellowstone Nationwide Park’s quite a few geysers, scorching springs, fumaroles, and dust pots.
A volcanic hotspot is a location on the Earth’s floor that has skilled persistent volcanic exercise over a protracted interval, sometimes brought on by a plume of scorching magma rising from deep inside the mantle to the crust.
Regardless of its potential for big explosive eruptions, the present volcanic exercise at Yellowstone is usually restricted to those geothermal options. The caldera’s flooring periodically rises and falls resulting from adjustments in magma chamber stress, a sign of the dynamic nature of the area’s subterranean forces.
The supervolcano has a monitoring and alert system managed by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, which retains an in depth eye on seismic exercise, floor deformation, and different geophysical parameters. The implications of a significant eruption could be profound, impacting world local weather and ecosystems.
The Yellowstone Caldera stays a topic of intense research, fascination, and generally concern, given its explosive historical past and the dimensions of its potential future exercise.
Well-known Volcanoes: Conclusion
A skinny crust is all that separates us from a fiery world of molten rock and unimaginably sturdy pure forces. Sometimes, within the form of a volcano, these forces break by means of into our world.
Though extra is thought about volcanoes at this time than at the time of Vesuvius, they nonetheless function a strong – and generally lethal – reminder of the ability of nature. Regardless of understanding all that we all know, we will’t stop a volcano from erupting!
We hope that you just’ve loved studying about these well-known volcanoes. This checklist is certainly not exhaustive; there are lots of extra volcanoes around the globe, many of that are energetic at this time.
Tell us within the feedback beneath if you happen to’ve ever been to any of the volcanoes listed above, or if you realize of any that aren’t on the checklist; we’d love to listen to about your volcano adventures!