Active volcano

Short description: Geological feature

World map of active volcanoes and major tectonic plate boundaries

Kīlauea's lava entering the sea

Lava flows at Holuhraun, Iceland, September 2014

An active volcano is a volcano which is either erupting or is likely to erupt in the future. An active volcano which is not currently erupting is known as a dormant volcano.

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 By country
* 2.1 Philippines
* 2.2 United States
* 2.2.1 Oregon
* 2.2.2 Washington
* 2.2.3 California
* 3 References
* 4 See also

## Overview

Tlocene Epoch.[1] Most volcanoes are situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire.[2] An estimated 500 million people live near active volcanoes.[2]

Historical time (or recorded history) is another timeframe for active.[3][4] However, the span of recorded history differs from region to region. In China and the Mediterranean, it reaches back nearly 3,000 years, but in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada, it reaches back less than 300 years, and in Hawaii and New Zealand it is only around 200 years.[3] The incomplete Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes of the World, published in parts between 1951 and 1975 by the International Association of Volcanology, uses this definition, by which there are more than 500 active volcanoes.[3][5] (As of March 2021), the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program recognizes 560 volcanoes with confirmed historical eruptions.[1]

As of 2013, the following are considered Earth's most active volcanoes:[6]

* Kīlauea, the famous Hawaiian volcano, was in nearly continuous, effusive eruption (in which lava steadily flows onto the ground) between 1983 through 2018, and had the longest-observed lava lake.
* Mount Etna and nearby Stromboli, two Mediterranean volcanoes in "almost continuous eruption"[vague] since antiquity.[clarification needed]
* Piton de la Fournaise, in Réunion, erupts frequently enough to be a tourist attraction.

(As of 2010), the longest ongoing (but not necessarily continuous) volcanic eruptive phases are:[7]

* Mount Yasur, 111 years
* Mount Etna, 110 years
* Stromboli, 108 years
* Santa María, 101 years
* Sangay, 94 years

Other very active volcanoes include:

* Mount Nyiragongo and its neighbor, Nyamuragira, are Africa's most active volcanoes

Nyiragongo's lava lake

* Erta Ale, in the Afar Triangle, has maintained a lava lake since at least 1906.
* Mount Erebus, in Antarctica, has maintained a lava lake since at least 1972.
* Mount Merapi
* Whakaari / White Island, has been in a continuous state of releasing volcanic gas since before European observation in 1769.
* Ol Doinyo Lengai
* Ambrym
* Arenal Volcano
* Pacaya
* Klyuchevskaya Sopka
* Sheveluch

## By country

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

### Philippines

Further information: List of active volcanoes in the Philippines

### United States

This section is missing information about Hawaii, location of the United States' most-active volcanos. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (April 2023)

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#### Oregon

* Boring Lava Field, a volcanic field that intersects with Washington
* Mount Hood, a stratovolcano
* Mount Jefferson (Oregon), a stratovolcano
* Olallie Butte, a shield volcano
* Blue Lake Crater, a maar
* Sand Mountain Volcanic Field, a volcanic field
* Mount Washington (Oregon), a shield volcano or stratovolcano
* Belknap Crater, a shield volcano
* Three Sisters, a shield volcano, stratovolcano(es), and complex volcano
* Mount Bachelor, a stratovolcano and shield volcano
* Newberry Volcano, a shield volcano, stratovolcano, and caldera
* Devils Garden volcanic field, a volcanic field
* East Lava Field, a volcanic field
* Four Craters Lava Field, a volcanic field
* Fort Rock–Christmas Lake Valley basin, a volcanic field
* Davis Lake volcanic field, a volcanic field
* Cinnamon Butte, a volcanic field, lava domes, and cinder cones
* Mount Bailey (Oregon), a shield volcano and tephra cone
* Mount Mazama, a stratovolcano, shield volcano, caldera, and complex volcano
* Wizard Island, a cinder cone and volcanic island
* Merriam Cone, a cinder cone and seamount under Mount Mazama's waters
* Mount McLoughlin, a stratovolcano, shield volcano, and cinder cone
* Brown Mountain (Oregon), a shield volcano and cinder cone
* Pelican Butte, a shield volcano
* Modoc Plateau, a volcanic field and volcanic plateau
* Diamond Craters, a volcanic field and shield volcano
* Jordan Craters, a volcanic field
* Jackies Butte, a volcanic field, shield volcanoes, and cinder cones

#### Washington

* Mount Saint Helens, a stratovolcano with lava domes
* Mount Adams (Washington), a stratovolcano
* Mount Rainier, a stratovolcano
* Glacier Peak, a stratovolcano
* Mount Baker, a stratovolcano
* Sherman Crater, a volcanic crater and the most active volcanic crater on Mount Baker
* Tumac Mountain, a shield volcano
* Spiral Butte, a cinder cone and lava dome with a preserved lava flow
* King Mountain (Washington), a shield volcano with a series of spatter cones
* Indian Heaven, a volcanic field and group of shield volcanoes
* Marble Mountain-Trout Creek Hill, a volcanic field
* Boring Lava Field, a volcanic field that intersects with Oregon

#### California

* Mount Shasta, a stratovolcano
* Shastina, a stratovolcano and flank cone of Mount Shasta
* Hotlum Cone, a stratovolcanic cinder cone and most recent cone of Mount Shasta
* Misery Hill (California), a stratovolcanic cone near the peak of Mount Shasta
* Sargents Ridge, a stratovolcanic cone of Mount Shasta that is also in a volcano complex with Shastarama Point
* Shastarama Point, a stratovolcanic cone of Mount Shasta that has a crater and lava dome and shares a volcano complex with Sargents Ridge
* Black Butte (Siskiyou County, California), a group of overlapping lava domes that are also a smaller cone of Mount Shasta
* Medicine Lake Volcano, a large shield volcano and caldera east to northeast of Mount Shasta
* Brushy Butte, a poorly-known shield volcano with a cinder cone on its west flank called Timbered Crater
* Chaos Crags, a group of lava domes northwest of Lassen Peak
* Lassen Peak, a large lava dome
* Lassen Volcanic National Park, a volcanic area and volcanic field
* Clear Lake Volcanic Field, a volcanic field full of lava domes and cinder cones
* Mount Konocti, a lava dome
* Mono-Inyo Craters, a volcanic field and volcanic arc within the Sierra Nevada
* Negit Island, an island with a volcanic cone on it
* Paoha Island, an island with a volcanic cone on it
* Panum Crater, a cinder cone with a lava dome
* Mammoth Mountain, a large lava dome
* Long Valley Caldera, a caldera and supervolcano
* Little Walker Caldera, a caldera and possible supervolcano
* Big Pine volcanic field, a volcanic field
* Coso Volcanic Field, a volcanic field
* Cima volcanic field, a volcanic field
* Lavic Lake volcanic field, a volcanic field
* Amboy Crater, a cinder cone
* Pisgah Crater, a cinder cone
* Aiken's Wash, a cinder cone
* Salton Buttes, a group of short and small lava domes southeast of the Salton Sea
* Red Island Volcano, a short lava dome

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Venzke, E., ed (2013). "How many active volcanoes are there?". Global Volcanism Program Volcanoes of the World (version 4.9.4). Smithsonian Institution. https://volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?question=activevolcanoes.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Volcanoes". European Space Agency. 2009. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Space_for_our_climate/SEM3XU2VQUD_0.html.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Decker, Robert Wayne; Decker, Barbara (1991). Mountains of Fire: The Nature of Volcanoes. Cambridge University Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-521-31290-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=-P83AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA7.
4. ↑ Tilling, Robert I. (1997). "Volcano environment". Volcanoes. Denver, Colorado: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/environments.html. Retrieved August 16, 2012. "There are more than 500 active volcanoes (those that have erupted at least once within recorded history) in the world"
5. ↑ DeFelice, B.; Spydell, D.R.; Stoiber, R.E. (14 November 1997). "Catalogs of Active Volcanoes". The Electronic Volcano. Dartmouth College. https://www.dartmouth.edu/~volcano/EvA.html.
6. ↑ "The most active volcanoes in the world". VolcanoDiscovery.com. http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/558.html.
7. ↑ Leontiou, A. (2 November 2010). "The World's Five Most Active Volcanoes". livescience.com. http://www.livescience.com/29790-worlds-five-most-active-volcanoes.html.

## See also

* Category:Active volcanoes

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