Active Volcanoes in the World

Wondering which are the most active volcanoes in the world today? We put forth the list of them, with reference to general details, like where they are located, when was the last they erupted, etc.

When we talk about the most destructive forces of nature, volcanoes surely deserve a mention in bold. The widespread destruction attributed to them doesn’t need any introduction. A look at the recorded history, and you come across numerous instances wherein large cities have been buried under lava by volcanic eruptions. With hundreds of volcanoes being tagged as ‘active’ today, the threat of this natural disaster is looming over several regions.

What is an Active Volcano?

Geologists classify volcanoes into three distinct groups: extinct, dormant, and active. While extinct volcanoes are the ones which have erupted for thousands of years in the past, but don’t show any activity today, dormant volcanoes are the ones which haven’t shown any activity over a significant period, but the chances of eruption cannot be ruled out. Active volcanoes, on the other hand, are the ones which have been erupting continuously over the last few years, and are expected to continue erupting in the near future. According to the Smithsonian Institute’s Global Volcanism Program, a volcano can be technically defined as ‘active’ if any activity has been recorded in it over the last 10,000 years. Going by this definition, a large number of famous volcanoes on the surface of the planet today fall in this category. Add to this the numerous volcanoes at the ocean floor, and the number swells.

List of Active Volcanoes

Given below are two tables, the first has all volcanoes that have erupted in the last decade, enlisted in it―along with their details, the second has the details of those volcanoes that are located in the United States.

With no consensus whatsoever, it is difficult to determine which volcano should be included in the list of active volcanoes, and which one should be excluded from it. If the criteria is changed to include all those volcanoes that have erupted at least once in the last 10,000 years, compiling the list would be next to impossible. One has to also take into consideration the fact that dormant volcanoes may not have had any activity in the recent past, but that doesn’t mean their chances of becoming active are none.