In 2021, we’ve seen lava erupt from volcanoes in Iceland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and, most recently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
While volcanic eruptions are certainly nothing new, these recent eruptions serve as a reminder that dangerous active volcanoes exist and will continue to serve as a potential threat to the surrounding creatures and environment.
While there are many active volcanoes around the world (and in space), experts generally classify the most dangerous ones as those that are closest to highly populated areas, as they can have the most deadly effects.
Cotopaxi, Ecuador
Cotopaxi is located in the Cordillera Central mountain range of central Ecuador and is one of the world’s tallest volcanoes, with a height of 19,393 feet. It’s also one of Ecuador’s most active volcanoes, having produced more than 50 eruptions since the 16th century.
Fifty of those eruptions have occurred since 1738, and the 1877 eruption was the most violent, producing mudflows that traveled 60 miles from the volcano and into the Pacific Ocean.
The most recent eruption was back in 1904, although there was a scare in 2005. As the volcano is close to a highly populated area of Ecuador, the results would be devastating if it did indeed erupt today.
Mount Vesuvius, Italy
Perhaps you’ve heard of Mount Vesuvius: It’s the volcano responsible for the destruction of the city of Pompeii back in A.D. 79. In the last 17,000 years, there have been eight major explosive eruptions that preceded large pyroclastic flows—fast-moving streams of extremely hot gas and volcanic matter that can reach speeds up to 430 miles an hour.
The last known eruption was in 1944. As Vesuvius is close to many populated areas of Italy, like the city of Naples, the Italian government does all it can to prepare for future eruptions.
Popocatépetl, Mexico
Popocatépetl is North America’s second highest volcano, located only 40 miles southeast of Mexico City—one of the largest urban areas in the world, with a huge population.
While there haven’t been any massive eruptions, there have been periods of activity throughout history, and in 1994, smoke poured from the volcano for the first time in 1,000 years, making many fearful of an eruption.
Scientists predict there will be a massive eruption eventually—they just don’t know when it will happen.
If it occurs, the event will bring with it 1,000-degree lahars (mudflows) and pyroclastic flows at speeds of 60 miles per hour, which would reach heavily populated areas, as well as lava ash that would destroy everything in the vicinity.
Mayon Volcano, Philippines
Mayon is the most famous of the active volcanos in the Philippines, rising to 8,077 feet on Luzon Island in a perfect stratovolcano shape. It erupts very often, producing pyroclastic flows, mudflows, and ash falls that result in huge evacuations.
The most violent eruption happened in 1814, killing more than 1,200 people. Historical records of eruptions go back to 1616. The volcano recently erupted in January 2018, leading to spews of lava and giant ash plumes that caused more than 56,000 people to be evacuated.
Mount St. Helens, Washington, U.S.
When it comes to volcanoes in the United States, Mount St. Helens is one of the deadliest. At just over 8,000 feet, it’s an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, only 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon.
In 1980, the eruption of Mount St. Helens became the deadliest and most destructive volcanic event in U.S. history: 57 people died, about 200 square miles of forest was destroyed, and thousands of animals perished.
The USGS says history proves future eruptions will almost certainly occur—and the event would send large amounts of ash fall across the Pacific Northwest.
Mount Merapi, Indonesia
Mount Merapi (which means “mountain of fire”), one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, has been erupting for centuries. It’s located near the center of the island of Java, about 20 miles north of Yogyakarta, and stands 9,551 feet tall.
One of the largest recorded eruptions happened in 1006 and spread ash throughout Java. The biggest risk with this volcano is the pyroclastic flow, which killed 64 during a 1994 eruption.
There were also several eruptions in late 2010, with pyroclastic flows that claimed more lives and had tens of thousands evacuated.
Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, U.S.
You might recognize the name of this volcano from its most recent explosive eruption in 2018. Kilauea is an active shield volcano and is the most active of the five volcanoes on the island of Hawaii.
Located along the southern shore of the island (on the Big Island), it’s the current eruptive center of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, and it’s between 210,000 and 280,000 years old. It’s also extremely active: Kilauea erupted almost continuously from 1983 until 2018, which caused a lot of damage and destruction, along with strong earthquakes that prompted evacuation.
Coatepeque Caldera, El Salvador
The Coatepeque volcano is a large caldera, with a lake that was formed by the collapse of a group of stratovolcanoes east of the Santa Ana volcano and part of the Santa Ana volcano during eruptions between 72,000 and 51,000 years ago.
The magma is prone to large, explosive eruptions—and, on top of that, it’s centrally located in El Salvador, meaning an eruption could cause mass destruction and chaos. The lake-filled caldera makes it more dangerous because it increases explosivity or mudflows.
Galeras Volcano, Colombia
Galeras is a stratovolcano with a large caldera that’s located west of the city of Pasto, and is one of Colombia’s most frequently active volcanoes. It has been active for more than one million years.
Long-term extensive hydrothermal alteration has affected the volcano, leading to edifice collapse, which has produced debris avalanches. Major explosions could produce dangerous pyroclastic flows.
A 1993 eruption killed nine people, including six scientists, and there were two recent eruptions in 2010.
Campi Flegrei, Italy
“If you’re the sort of person who wants to worry about Yellowstone, maybe you should turn your attention to the Campi Flegrei instead,” Wired says.
Campi Flegrei is an 18-mile-wide volcanic area, giving it the title of “supervolcano,” with a history of recent, large, explosive eruptions. It’s located partially beneath the Ɓɑy of Naples, extremely close to an area that is populated with more than 6 million people.
It hasn’t erupted since 1538, but there are signs it may happen soon, and the effects would be devastating.
Scientists say it could produce an eruption that would be 100 to 1,000 times greater than that of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
Plus, about 1 million people live inside the crater of the supervolcano, and they would be killed instantly in such an eruption. On top of that, the ash cloud it would produce could blot out the sun and cool the entire planet.
Glacier Peak, Washington, USA
With an elevation of over 10,000 feet, Glacier Peak is basically a hidden volcano found 70 miles northeast of Seattle. In fact, settlers didn’t even realize it was a volcano until the 1850s. But don’t let that fool you: geologists have recently discovered it’s one of the state’s most active and explosive volcanoes.
Since the end of the last ice age, it has erupted at least six times, producing blasts five times bigger than Mount St. Helens’ epic eruption in 1980. An eruption today would destroy nearby communities with mud, debris, and rolling columns of ash more than 100,00 feet high.
The USGS ranks Glacier Peak as one of the country’s highest-threat volcanoes.
Mount Pinatubo, the Philippines
Mount Pinatubo, located in western Luzon in the Philippines, is sits about 55 miles northwest of Manila and has a height of about 4,800 feet.
It became a known threat after its first huge eruption in 600 years in 1991, when it produced columns of ash and smoke more than 19 miles high, with rock debris falling the same distance.
It caused 700 deaths and left about 100,000 people homeless. It didn’t have a history of explosive eruptions before that monumentally destructive blast.
Kelud Volcano, Indonesia
Kelud is one of the most active volcanoes in East Java. It has a large crater that contains a lake, made from devastating mudflows. In 2007, a new lava dome grew in the lake to form an island. It’s notoriously violent with frequent, deadly, explosive eruptions.
One of the worst explosions was in 1919, when the crater lake drained and formed mudflows that killed more than 5,000 people. A destructive explosion in February 2014 destroyed the lava dome and produced a huge ash column that drifted over the Indian Ocean.
Mount Hood, Oregon, U.S.
Rising over 11,000 feet high, Mount Hood is Oregon’s highest peak, located close to Portland. It has erupted episodically for about 500,000 years and has had two major eruptive periods during the last 1,500 years.
These eruptions produced growing lava domes that formed pyroclastic flows and mudflows. Although it hasn’t erupted since the 1700s, scientists expect the next eruption to have small explosions.
These will cause the growth and collapse of lava domes, which will generate serious hazards, including pyroclastic flows, ash clouds, and mudflows.
Mount Agung, Indonesia
Mount Agung is a continuously erupting volcano in Indonesia. The last major eruption was in 1963 and lasted 11 months; it was one of the most devastating eruptions in Indonesian history.
It produced dangerous ash fall and pyroclastic flows that caused over 1,000 deaths and widespread damage. Most recently, an eruption in 2017 sent ash tens of thousands of feet into the sky.
Taal, Philippines
Taal is another lake-filled caldera in the Philippines to watch out for. It’s produced four major eruptions in the last 200 years, including one that met a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6 (7 is the maximum).
If it erupts again, it could be highly explosive, and the lake makes it even more dangerous. It’s also near a highly populated area that would be severely impacted by ash.
