Kilauea volcano lava lake.
Volcanoes are incredible formations that, just as they can create entire continents or islands, can also devastate everything in a single eruption . In fact, volcanologists have their eyes on the Yellowstone supervolcano, because when it erupts (and it will, sooner or later), life on Earth will never be the same.
Despite the danger, they never cease to amaze us. They are a vestige of the past, from when the planet was forming. Active volcanoes are a natural spectacle that is fascinating to see , but always from a safe distance. Would you like to know which ones there are?
Main active volcanoes in the world
Barcena
Bárcena is the name of one of Mexico's active volcanoes. It is located in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, 350 kilometers south of Baja California Sur, on San Benedicto Island, one of the country's main tourist attractions.
The first recorded eruption occurred on August 1, 1952 , the day the volcano was born, spewing an ash column that reached over 3000 meters in height. To learn more about the activity of other active volcanoes on Earth, you can consult our page dedicated to active volcanoes worldwide.
Eyjafjallajokull
Eyjafjallajökull is a 1666-meter-high stratovolcano whose caldera is covered with ice for much of the year. It is located in southern Iceland and has been active for around 8.000 years , with 2010 being the most recent year of eruption.
On April 14, it ejected approximately 250 million cubic meters of volcanic ash , reaching a height of eleven kilometers and spreading over an area of thousands of square kilometers , forcing the cancellation of more than 20.000 flights . This is just one example of the impacts that active volcanoes can have on modern life, a topic explored in depth in our article on volcanoes in Iceland.
Etna
Mount Etna (on the east coast of Sicily, Italy) is the tallest active volcano in Europe. It stands approximately 3,329 meters high and is believed to have begun its eruptive phase 500.000 years ago . It is so impressive that UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in June 2013, and it was also included among the 16 Volcanoes of the Decade by the United Nations.
Since 1600 AD, there have been at least 60 lateral eruptions and countless summit eruptions, the last one in 2008. However, since 1669, it hasn't caused many problems. That year, though, between March and July, it spewed an estimated 830.000.000 cubic meters of lava , forcing the evacuation of the town of Nicolosi. If you're interested in volcanoes in Italy, there are many more to explore in our section on volcanoes in Italy.
Galleys
The Galeras volcano is located in Colombia and has a height of 4276 meters. Its eruptions were first recorded in 1580, and the most recent in 1993. It is very dangerous, as it is close to a densely populated city, San Juan de Pasto, which has a total population of 450.815 inhabitants (in 2017).
In recent years, it has had several eruptions, such as the one on June 7, 2009. On that day, an ash column approximately eight kilometers high was ejected . Two explosions were reported on the western side of the volcano. For a more in-depth analysis of active volcanoes, check out our dedicated sections on them in the world's most dangerous volcanoes.
Island of El Hierro
The underwater volcano off the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain) attracted the attention of scientists in 2011 due to its eruption, which caused it to expel magmatic material and trigger a series of earthquakes of less than magnitude 5 on the Richter scale.
As some rocks fell and seismic intensity and frequency were expected to increase, authorities evacuated 53 people from the towns of El Lunchón, Pie Risco, Los Corchos, part of Las Puntas, and Guinea in the municipality of Frontera. For useful information about volcanoes in the Canary Islands, you can visit our guide dedicated to volcanoes in the Canary Islands.
Kilauea
Kilauea (Hawaii) is one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii and the world. It stands approximately 1247 meters tall. It is believed to be between 300.000 and 600.000 years old , and to have emerged from the water around 100.000 years ago.
The current eruption began around 1970, with its most destructive phase occurring in 1990 when lava flows inundated the nearby town of Kalapana . At that time, it destroyed over 100 homes in just nine months. To learn more about volcanic activity in Hawaii, check out our related articles on Hawaiian volcanoes.
Mount Merapi
Mount Merapi, known as the Mountain of Fire, is a volcano located in Indonesia. It stands 2911 meters tall and is one of the most dangerous volcanoes on Earth. Since 1548, it has erupted 69 times.
In October 2010, its eruption triggered a 7.7 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed 272 people . The seismic and volcanic activity of Indonesia is a fascinating topic that deserves to be explored in depth, as detailed in the section on volcanic activity in Indonesia.
Mount Nyiragongo
Mount Nyiragongo, located in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is by far one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. It stands 3470 meters tall and has recorded more than 50 eruptions in the last 150 years . Along with the Nyamuragira volcano, it is suspected of causing 40% of the volcanic eruptions recorded in Africa.
When it erupts, it rapidly expels lava, which can reach nearby towns very quickly at a speed of 60 km/h. In 2002 , some 300.000 people had to be evacuated. For an in-depth analysis of the most dangerous volcanoes, visit our dedicated section.
Mount Saint Helena
Mount St. Helens is a stratovolcano that stands 2550 meters tall. It is located in Skamania County, Washington State. It is one of the most famous volcanoes in North America, as it experienced an eruption in May 1980 so powerful that it was equivalent to the dropping of 500 Hiroshima atomic bombs.
Furthermore, it triggered a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that caused the largest debris avalanche ever recorded on Earth , with a total volume of approximately 3,3 billion cubic meters. The activity of this volcano has influenced much research on volcanoes in the United States.
Vesubio mont
Mount Vesuvius (Italy) is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its location, just 9 kilometers from Naples. It stands 1281 meters tall, and in 79 BC an eruption blanketed the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii in ash.
If it were to erupt again today in the same way, a large part of the population would have to be evacuated immediately , and those who remained would see pumice rocks so large that the gas plume wouldn't be able to contain them. For a more complete list of volcanoes in Italy, you can visit our dedicated section on volcanoes.
sakurajima
Sakurajima is 1117 meters tall and is located on the island of Kyushu (Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan). On January 11, 1914, a seismic swarm alerted the island's population, who were evacuated. The volcano erupted, spewing an ash column that rose to an altitude of eight kilometers . Two days later, a powerful earthquake killed 35 people. Due to the large amount of lava it ejected, it solidified and joined the Ōsumi Peninsula.
Although it has been dormant since roughly 1955, the large amount of magma it contains suggests it will soon erupt again . The activity of nearby volcanoes is also a topic of interest to researchers, which you can learn more about in our article on dormant volcanoes.
Santa Maria
The Santa María volcano, located near the city of Quetzaltenango in western Guatemala, stands at 3772 meters. Although it is in a region with a tropical climate, its altitude means it can sometimes be snow-covered. The most violent eruption was in 1902, which caused the deaths of 5,000 people.
On April 18 of that year, a powerful earthquake destroyed the city of Quetzaltenango, and on October 24, the volcano ejected approximately 5,5 km³ of magma . The explosion was so intense that volcanic ash was detected as far away as San Francisco, more than 4.000 km away. The history of volcanoes in Central America is fascinating, and Santa María is an excellent example that you can learn more about at [link missing].
ulawun
Image - Travel Tourism Blog
The Ulawun volcano, which has a height of 2334 meters, is located on the island of New Britain, in the Bismarck archipelago (Papua New Guinea), and has recorded a total of 22 eruptions since the 18th century , the first of which was in 1700.
Are there active volcanoes in Spain?
Teide volcano, in Tenerife
Although Spain has several volcanoes, such as Santa Margarita (Olot), the Calatrava volcanic cone, and the volcanic rocks of Cabo de Gata, the Canary Islands archipelago poses a greater risk due to its volcanic origin. There you'll find Mount Teide (Tenerife) and the Teneguía volcano (La Palma), as well as an underwater volcano near El Hierro, as mentioned earlier.
Even so, at the moment there is not as much danger as in Hawaii or Japan . Mount Teide last erupted on November 18, 1909, and Teneguia in 1971. El Hierro caused no damage. For more information about volcanoes in the Canary Islands, see our dedicated section.
