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Mount Vesuvius – Interior of the crater Photo By Pietro Fabris – Wikimedia Commons
10 Most Famous Volcanoes in the World
The most common image of a volcano is of a conical mountain with a crater at its peak spewing lava and deadly gases; however, this is only one of many forms of volcanoes.
Volcanoes have far more sophisticated features, and their structure and behaviour are influenced by a variety of variables. Rather than a summit crater, some volcanoes have rocky peaks built by lava domes, while others have landscape features such as vast plateaus.
There are around 1,500 volcanoes on the planet, but they are not all made equal. Composite volcanoes, like Mount Fuji in Japan, are among the most visible and spectacular mountains on the planet. Mauna Loa, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, is composed of a series of these volcanoes to form a linear chain.
Here, we look at the most famous volcanoes in the world.
1. Mount Vesuvius
Mt. Vesuvius, the active volcano that looms over the Bay of Naples in southern Italy, has erupted at least 30 times, according to historical records.
Vesuvius, a 1,281-meter-high volcano that is universally regarded as extremely dangerous, has a colourful history.
The volcano’s most famous eruption occurred in A.D. 79, when it ejected a cloud of stones, ash, and volcanic gases, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice and releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
During this catastrophic eruption, pyroclastic surges destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the ruins were buried beneath tens of meters of tephra.
Today, visitors can trek to the top and stare into the caldera, which appears to be tranquil. Appearances can be deceiving, as we all know!
2. Eyjafjallajokull
Eyjafjallajokull Photo By Bjarki Sigursveinsson – Wikimedia Commons
Few people can pronounce Eyjafjallajokull, which means “Island Mountain Glacier” in Icelandic and is a volcanic mountain located in the country’s East Volcanic Zone in southern Iceland.
Because of its recent occurrence and the fact that it affected the lives of thousands of individuals, it has received worldwide attention.
The 1,666 m high mountain wreaked havoc on the aviation industry in April 2010. A massive cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano swept across Europe, closing airports and stranding hundreds of thousands of people for days.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled, with the airline industry losing more than $1 billion as a result.
3. Krakatoa
In the Indonesian province of Lampung, Krakatoa is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra. The caldera is one of four volcanic islands that make up a volcanic island group.
The volcano erupted with the force of 13,000 atomic bombs in 1883, resulting in the cataclysmic explosion of Gunung Krakatoa. The sound of the exploding smoke and rock was believed to have been heard hundreds of kilometres away, as far as islands off Africa’s east coast.
It is known to be the most powerful volcanic eruption in modern history.
Anak Krakatoa, or Child of Krakatoa, is a minor volcano on Krakatoa Island that began erupting in 2008. The most recent eruption occurred in 2018, and it was huge, resulting in a tsunami that killed at least 426 people.
4. Mount St. Helens
Mount Saint Helens is a volcanic summit in the Cascade Range in the United States, located in southwestern Washington with an elevation of 2,549 m.
On May 18, 1980, it erupted in one of the most powerful volcanic explosions ever seen in North America. A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck around 8:32 a.m., causing the north face of the mountain to crumble massively.
It was the world’s largest debris avalanche (landslide) ever recorded. A mushroom-shaped plume of ash flew 16 miles into the air at the same time, eventually spanning three states.
While the eruption was expected, how it occurred was unexpected, resulting in the obliteration of 200 square kilometres of trees.
In 1982, Congress and President Ronald Reagan designated the surrounding land as the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
5. Mauna Loa
A channel flow from Mauna Loa Photo By R.W. Decker. – Wikimedia Commons
Mauna Loa is located on the Big Island of Hawaii and is not only the world’s largest volcano, with a summit nearly 4,169 m high but also one of the most active.
It’s incredibly active, with 33 eruptions since 1843, when it had a big blowout.
During the famous 1950 eruption, massive lava flows were sent through the upper reaches of what is now the Kahuku Unit of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The Mauna Loa eruption was the fastest high-volume eruption in recorded history, with one flow reaching the ocean in just three hours. Although no lives were lost, it destroyed approximately two dozen buildings and buried more than a mile of highway.
6. Mount Tambora
Mount Tambora, also known as Tomboro, is an active stratovolcano in the Indonesian province of West Nusa Tenggara.
With an elevation of 2,850 m, the mountain was formed by the active subduction zones beneath Sumbawa in the Lesser Sunda Islands.
Mount Tambora famously erupted on April 10th, 1815, following a series of smaller eruptions. It was one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in human recorded history. The volcano’s explosions could be heard over 1,600 miles away.
Its eruption was powerful enough to block out the sun. Many thousands of people were killed not only by the volcano’s eruption but also by the ash cloud and tsunamis it caused.
The eruption had an impact on the weather all over the world.
7. Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée, which stands more than 1,397 meters above sea level on the Caribbean island of Martinique, has had the highest number of casualties for a volcanic eruption this century.
Pelée, a French term that means “Bald,” is made up of layers of volcanic ash and lavas.
There have been at least four eruptions in the last 250 years, the most famous of which was the devastating eruption in 1902, which killed tens of thousands of people and violently destroyed the port of Saint-Pierre.
The devastation was so severe that the term pelean — used to describe that specific type of ash, gas, and fiery cloud eruption — became part of volcanic jargon.
8. Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji Photo By Alpsdake – Wikimedia Commons
Mount Fuji, Japan’s most popular and visited tourist attraction, is a perfectly shaped volcano with a conical shape and a beautiful snow-capped peak.
Mount Fuji, located on the island of Honshū, is Japan’s highest peak, standing at 3,776 meters.
The mountain, famous for its nearly perfect conic shape, is the country’s sacred symbol, and temples and shrines are located around and on the volcano.
It is still considered active, even though its most recent eruption occurred at the end of 1707. Despite recent earthquakes not far from it, the volcano has been sleeping since then.
Most of the year, the sacred, beautiful, and clouded mystery mountain is covered in snow.
9. Mount Etna
Mount Etna is Europe’s tallest active volcano. It is situated on the Italian island of Sicily, which is situated in the Mediterranean Sea to the south-west of mainland Italy.
Etna is named after the Greek word “Aitne,” which means “I burn.” Geologists believe it has been active for approximately 2.6 million years, but even more surprising, it has been moving for millions of years. It appears to be getting closer to the Mediterranean Sea, according to data.
The largest of Italy’s three volcanoes, Mount Etna towers over Mount Vesuvius by more than 2.5 times.
Mount Etna has erupted regularly for thousands of years and remains a highly active volcano. Eruptions as recently as of February 2021 left a shower of ash that reached Catania.
10. Pico do Fogo
Pico do Fogo Photo By Cayambe – Wikimedia Commons
Pico do Fogo is the highest point in Cape Verde and West Africa, rising 2,829 meters above sea level.
Its basalt flows shaped the ribbed landscape of Fogo Island, which is inhabited along its coastline.
The main cone erupted last in 1680, causing a mass exodus from the island. In 1995, a secondary vent erupted. The only fatal eruption occurred in 1847 when earthquakes killed several people.
It is still an active volcano, having erupted in late 2014 to early 2015, but brave farmers continue to cultivate coffee, vineyards, and fruit trees on its black slopes. Some hotels have even been rebuilt around the surroundings and are now open to travellers.
