Decade Volcanoes

Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands

Pico de Teide, a large stratovolcano volcano with a summit caldera, is the third largest volcano on Earth. Seven historic eruptions have been documented. Most eruptions generate lava flows. The most recent eruption was on the northwest flank of the volcano in 1909.

Vesuvius, Italy

Vesuvius is made of several overlapping active and inactive volcanic centers. Vesuvius is a dangerous and deadly volcano. Mudflows and lava flows from the eruption in 1631 killed 3,500 people. About 3,360 people died in the 79 A.D. eruption from ash flows and falls. Studies of past eruptions and their deposits continue. These studies help volcanologists understand the hazards associated with future eruptions. The population density in some areas of high risk is 20,000 to 30,000 per square km. About 3 million people could be seriously affected by future eruptions. In the first 15 minutes of a medium-to large-scale eruption an area with a 7km radius of the volcano could be destroyed (Dobran and others, 1994). About 1 million people live and work in this area. Photo by Italian Air Force from Green and Short (1971).

Unzen, Japan

Unzen is made of overlapping lava domes. In 1792, collapse of the Mayu-yama lava dome created an avalanche and tsunami that killed an estimated 14,524 people. Most of the people were killed by the tsunami. A pyroclastic flow killed 43 people, including 3 volcanologists, in 1993.

Ulawun, Papua New Guinea

Ulawun has erupted at least 21 times since 1700. Nearly all of the eruptions have been explosive with a VEI of 2-3. None of the eruptions have caused fatalities but a few have caused damage. The most recent eruption was in 1993 and lasted 19 days. Photograph courtesy of Jack Lockwood, U.S. Geological Survey.

Taal, Philippines

Taal is a stratovolcano with large summit caldera. The black area in the center is Taal Lake, which nearly fills the 30-kilometer-diameter caldera. The caldera rim consists of deeply eroded hills and cliffs. The large island in Taal Lake, which itself contains a crater lake, is known as Volcano Island. The bright yellow patch on the southwest side of the island marks the site of an explosion crater that formed during a deadly eruption of Taal in 1965. Since 1572, Taal has erupted at least 34 times. Six of these eruptions caused fatalities. More than 1,335 people were killed by pyroclastic flows during the explosive eruption in 1911. More than 200 people were killed by pyroclaastic flows and tsunami during the 1965 eruption. The last eruption was in 1977. Since early 1991, the volcano has been restless, with swarms of earthquakes, new steaming areas, ground fracturing, and increases in water temperature of the lake. Volcanologists and other local authorities are carefully monitoring Taal to understand if the current activity may foretell an eruption. Taal is only 50 kilometers south of the densely populated city of Manila.

Santorini, Greece

The eruption of Santorini in 1,650 B.C. was one of the largest (VEI=6) in the last 10,000years. About 30 cubic km of rhyodacite magma was erupted. The plinian column during the initial phase of the eruption was about 36 km high. The removal of such a large volume of magma caused the volcano to collapse, producing a caldera. Ash fell over a large area in the eastern Mediterranean and Turkey. The eruption probably caused the end of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. An eruption at Santorini in 1650 AD caused more than 120 deaths by toxic gas, tsunami, and tephra. An earthquake at Santorini killed 48 people in 1926. This photo shows an exposure of about 50m of tephra from the caldera-forming eruption. The tephra consists of pumice, pyroclastic surge, and pyroclastic flow deposits. Photography copyrighted by Robert Decker.

Santa Maria/Santiaguito, Guatemala

Santa Maria is a stratovolcano. Santiaguito, a dacite lava dome on the flank of Santa Maria, has been continuously active since 1922. About 1,500 people were killed by tephra and gas during the 1902 eruption of Santa Maria. Another 3,000 people died after the eruption due to a malaria outbreak. (The ash had killed birds but not mosquitoes). Pyroclastic flows and mudflows generated by a dome collapse at Santiaguito in 1929 killed more than 200 people. Photograph copyrighted and provided by Steve O'Meara of Volcano Watch International, November 26, 1992.

Sakurajima, Japan

Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. Since 764 AD eleven eruptions have caused fatalities. The largest historic eruption was in 1471-1476 and caused an unknown number of deaths, probably from pyroclastic flows. An eruption in 1779 caused 153 deaths from tsunami and tephra. Evacuation of the island in 1914 prevent a larger death toll from that eruption. The current eruptive activity began in 1955. Photograph by Mike Lyvers, December 30, 1991.

Rainier, USA

Rainier is the highest and third most voluminous volcano in the Cascade Range. Mount Rainier is potentially the most dangerous volcano in the Cascades because it is very steep, covered in large amounts of ice and snow, and near a large population that lives in lowland drainages. Numerous debris avalanches start on the volcano. The largest debris avalanche traveled more than 100 km to Puget Sound. The most recent eruption was about 2,200 years ago and covered the eastern half of the park with up to 30 cm of lapilli, blocks, and bombs. Photo by Austin Post, US Geological Survey, Sep 22, 1966. Mowich Glacier is in the foreground.

Nyiragongo, Zaire

Merapi, Indonesia

Mauna Loa, USA

Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on Earth, is in the shield-building stage and is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, erupting 15 times since 1900. The last eruption was in 1984 and sent lava flows within 6.5 km of Hilo. Photo of the upper Northeast Rift Zone and summit caldera of Mauna Loa.

Galeras, Colombia

Galeras has erupted more than 20 times since the 1500s. An eruption in January 1993 killed nine people on a scientific expedition to the volcano summit.

Etna, Italy

Etna's documented eruptive history is the longest of any volcano, dating back to 1500 BC. Catania, Sicily's largest city with a population over one million, is on the lower slopes of the volcano. Etna has produced ten eruptions that caused fatalities since 141 BC. Fatalities have been caused by earthquakes, tsunami, ballistic impacts, explosions at the fronts of lava flows, lava flows, and phreatic explosions. The current eruption at Etna is described in VolcanoWorld. Photo from the Space Shuttle, April 1981.

Colima, Mexico

Colima is the most active volcano in Mexico. Eruptions causing fatalities occurred in 1576 and 1818. The 1576 eruption caused great destruction of land and an unknown number of deaths. Deaths associated with the 1818 eruption may have been due to starvation and disease after the eruption. Colima has erupted at least 45 times since 1560, most recently in 1991. Six of these eruptions were large (VEI=4) and explosive. Most eruptions generate pyroclastic flows.

Avachinsky-Koriaksky, Russia

Avachinsky is one of the most active stratovolcanoes on the Kamchatka peninsula. It consists of a younger cone inside the rim of an older caldera. Avachinsky has been classified as a Somma volcano based on its similarities with Vesuvius. Avachinsky has erupted at least 16 times since 1737. A large (VEI=4) explosive eruption occurred at Avachinsky in 1945. The most recent eruption was in 1991 and produced lava flows, a dome, and mudflows.


Koryaksky is a stratovolcano that stands 3100 m above the surrounding plain and is located to the east of Kronotskoe Lake. It is a perfect cone with an ice capped summit. Its summit crater has been completely filled with lava. On the lower parts of its slopes, there are a number of cinder cones. This volcano is located in a belt of fractures running from northeast to southwest. The most recent eruption was in 1956. Moderate-large explosions (VEI=3) produced pyroclastic flows. The eruption lasted about 6 months. Photograph of Kronotsky by Jack Lockwood, U.S. Geological Survey.