6 largest volcanoes in the country. The most powerful volcanoes on the planet
Most of the volcanoes on our planet are located in the “ring of fire”, which stretches along the shores of the entire Pacific Ocean. There are about 1.5 thousand volcanoes on Earth, of which 540 are active.
Here is a list of the most dangerous of them.
1. Nyiragongo, height 3470 m, Democratic Republic Congo
This is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Africa. Since 1882, 34 eruptions have been recorded here. The main crater is 250 meters deep and 2 km wide, and contains a lake of actively bubbling lava. This lava is extremely fluid and its flows can reach speeds of 100 km/h. In 2002, an eruption killed 147 people and left 120,000 people homeless. The last eruption to date occurred in 2016.
2. Taal, height 311 m, Philippines
This is one of the smallest active volcanoes on our planet. It has erupted 34 times since 1572. Located on the island of Luzon, on Taal Lake. The most powerful eruption of this volcano in the 20th century occurred in 1911 - in 10 minutes, 1335 people died and, in general, all living things at a distance of up to 10 km. In 1965, 200 people died. Last eruption - 1977
3. Mauna Loa, height 4,169 m, Hawaii (USA)
There are many volcanoes in Hawaii, but this is the largest and most dangerous of them all. Since 1832, 39 eruptions have been recorded. The last eruption occurred in 1984, the last major eruption in 1950.
4. Vesuvius, height 1,281 m, Italy
One of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world is located just 15 km east of Naples. The most famous historical eruption occurred in 79 AD. As a result of this disaster, two cities - Pompeii and Herculaneum - disappeared from the face of the Earth. IN modern history The last eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 1944.
5. Merapi, altitude 2,930 m, Indonesia
This one is the most active in Indonesia active volcano located on the island of Java near the city of Yogyakarta. "Merapi" is translated as "mountain of fire." The volcano is young, so it puffs with enviable regularity. Major eruptions occur on average every 7 years. In 1930, about 1,300 people died, in 1974, two villages were destroyed, and in 2010, 353 people died. Last eruption - 2011
6. St. Helens, altitude 2,550 m, USA
Located 154 km from Seattle and 85 km from Portland. This active volcano's most famous eruption occurred in 1980, killing 57 people. The eruption was of a rare type - a “directed explosion”. The process of the volcanic eruption and the spread of the ash cloud was filmed by photographer Robert Landsburg, who died in this eruption, but saved the film. The last activity to date was recorded in 2008.
7. Etna, height 3,350 m, Italy
Volcano Etna is located on east coast Sicily. This is the highest active volcano in Europe. Throughout its existence, it has erupted about 200 times. In 1992, one of the largest eruptions was recorded, during which the town of Zafferana barely escaped. On December 3, 2015, the central crater of the volcano ejected a fountain of lava to a kilometer height. The last eruption was February 27, 2017.
8. Sakurajima, height 1,117 m, Japan
The volcano is located on the Osumi Peninsula of Kyushu Island in the Japanese Prefecture of Kagoshima. There is almost always a cloud of smoke above the volcano. Eruptions were recorded on August 18, 2013, in March 2009. The last eruption was recorded on July 26, 2016.
9. Galeras, altitude 4,276 m, Colombia
Over the past 7 thousand years, at least six large eruptions and many small ones have occurred on Galeras. In 1993, six volcanologists and three tourists died while conducting research in the crater (then the eruption also began). Latest recorded eruptions: January 2008, February 2009, January and August 2010
10. Popocatepetl, altitude 5426 m, Mexico
The name translates as "smoking hill". The volcano is located near Mexico City. It has erupted 20 times since 1519. The last eruption was recorded in 2015.
11. Unzen, altitude 1,500 m, Japan
The volcano is located on the Shimabara Peninsula. The eruption of Mount Unzen in 1792 is one of the five most destructive eruptions in human history in terms of the number of casualties. The eruption caused a tsunami 55 meters high, which killed more than 15 thousand people. And in 1991, 43 people died during an eruption. No eruptions have been observed since 1996.
12. Krakatoa, height 813 m, Indonesia 
This active volcano is located between the islands of Java and Sumatra. Before the historic eruption of 1883, the volcano was much higher and was one big Island. However, a powerful eruption in 1883 destroyed the island and the volcano. Today Krakatoa is still active and small eruptions occur quite regularly. Last activity - 2014.
13. Santa Maria, altitude 3,772 m, Guatemala
The first recorded eruption of this volcano occurred in October 1902, before which it “rested” for 500 years. The explosion was heard 800 km away in Costa Rica, and the ash column rose 28 km. About 6 thousand people died. Today the volcano is active. The last eruption was recorded in 2011.
14. Klyuchevskaya Sopka, height 4835 m, Russia
The volcano is located in the east of Kamchatka, 60 km from the coast. This is the largest active volcano in Russia. Over the past 270 years, more than 50 eruptions have been recorded, the last one in April 2016.
15. Karymskaya Sopka, height 1468 m, Russia
Also located in Kamchatka. Since 1852, more than 20 eruptions have been recorded. Recent eruptions: 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015. A very turbulent volcano.
Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano on the planet. It is located in Chilean Andes V South America, on the border of Argentina and Chile, but it belongs to Argentine territory. Its height reaches 6893 meters. It is the second highest peak on the South American continent. Not far from the volcano lies the Atacama Desert. The volcano has not erupted during the entire period of observation and is considered extinct.
The world's highest active volcano, Llullaillaco, is located in the Western Cordillera of the Andes. Its absolute height is 6739 meters. The top of the volcano is covered with ice. The snow line on the western slope of Llullaillaco has the highest position on earth - more than 6.5 thousand meters. The last volcanic eruption occurred in 1877. IN given time it is in the solfataric stage.
In Chile, on the edge of the Atacama Desert, there is an active volcano called San Pedro. Its height is 6145 meters and its shape is that of a stratovolcano. It is located in the Antofagasta region of the province of El Loa and is adjacent to the Cero Parini volcano. A huge saddle separates San Pedro from the mountain ranges of the Central Andes. The last eruption of the volcano was recorded on December 2, 1960.
Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in Ecuador (5911 meters) and the second highest peak in the country. It is located in the Cordillera Oriental in South America. The volcano is included in the list of the highest active volcanoes on earth. It has a huge crater measuring 550x800 meters and a depth of 450 meters. Cotopaxi has erupted about 50 times since 1738. The last eruption dates back to 1940.
In northeastern Tanzania, rising above the Masai plateau, lies the active volcano Kilimanjaro. It reaches 5895 meters and is considered the highest point in Africa. Having explored Kilimanjaro, in 2003, scientists discovered that only 400 meters distance the molten lava from the edge of the Kibo crater, the main peak of the volcano. There are fears that a major eruption is approaching.
El Misti stratovolcano is located in Peru in South America. Its height is 5822 meters. IN winter time The top of the volcano is covered with snow. 17 kilometers west of El Misti is the city of Arequipa with a population of one million. Most of the buildings in it are built from deposits of pyroclastic flows of the volcano, which is why Arequipa is also called the “white city”.
Most high peak Mexico is Orizaba. Her middle name is Citlaltepetl, which translates as “star mountain.” It is the third highest point in the world North America. Its peak is located at an altitude of 5636 meters, and its elevation is 4922 meters. Orizaba erupted 7 times between 1537 and 1687, but the volcano is currently considered dormant.
Elbrus is in the north Caucasus Mountains and is the most high point Russia. The stratovolcano is a saddle-shaped cone with two peaks located at a distance of 3000 meters from each other. The heights of the western and eastern peaks are 5642 and 5621 meters, respectively. The saddle separating the peaks is 5300 meters high. The date of the last eruption is approximately 50 AD.
The active volcano Popocatepetl rises above the Mexican Highlands. Its name means "smoking hill" in Nahuatl. This is the second highest stratovolcano in Mexico, its peak reaches 5455 meters. Not far from it is located dormant volcano Iztaccihuatl. Popocatepetl last erupted in 2011. North-west of the volcano is the city of Mexico with a population of 20 million.
“Sangai” closes the list of the highest volcanoes. The active volcano Sangay is located in Ecuador, on the eastern side of the equatorial Andes. Its height is 5230 meters. This stratovolcano has three craters. According to scientists, Sangai was formed approximately 14,000 years ago. In 1628, an eruption was first recorded. Since 1934, the volcano has been actively erupting, last time- in 2007.
Today on the surface of the Earth there are about 600 active volcanoes and up to 1000 extinct ones. In addition, there are approximately 10 thousand more of them hiding under water. Most of them are located at the junctions of tectonic plates. About 100 volcanoes are concentrated around Indonesia, there are about 10 of them in the western American states, a cluster of volcanoes is also noted in the region of Japan, Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. But they are all nothing compared to the one megavolcano that scientists fear most.
The most dangerous volcanoes
Any existing volcano, even a dormant one, poses one danger or another. No volcanologist or geomorphologist undertakes to determine which of them is the most dangerous, since it is impossible to accurately predict the time and strength of the eruption of any of them. The title of “the most dangerous volcano in the world” is simultaneously claimed by the Roman Vesuvius and Etna, the Mexican Popocatepetl, the Japanese Sakurajima, the Colombian Galeras, located in the Congo Nyiragongo, in Guatemala - Santa Maria, in Hawaii - Manua Loa and others.
If the danger of a volcano is assessed by the estimated damage it can cause, then it would be reasonable to turn to history that describes the consequences of the most dangerous volcanic eruptions in the world in the past. For example, the well-known Vesuvius carried away in 79 AD. e. up to 10 thousand lives and wiped out two major cities. The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which was 200 thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, echoed across the Earth and took the lives of 36 thousand islanders.
The eruption of a volcano called Laki in 1783 led to the destruction of a huge part of the livestock and food supplies, due to which 20% of the population of Iceland died of starvation. The following year became a lean year for the whole of Europe because of Lucky. All this shows what large-scale consequences it can have for people
Destructive supervolcanoes
But did you know that all the biggest dangerous ones are nothing compared to the so-called supervolcanoes, the eruption of each of which thousands of years ago brought truly catastrophic consequences for the entire Earth and changed the climate on the planet? Eruptions of such volcanoes could have a force of 8 points, and ash with a volume of at least 1000 m 3 was thrown to a height of at least 25 km. This led to prolonged sulfur precipitation, lack of sunlight for many months and covering a large area with huge layers of ash. earth's surface.
Supervolcanoes are distinguished by the fact that at the site of the eruption they have not a crater, but a caldera. This circus-shaped basin with a relatively flat bottom is formed as a result of the fact that after a series of powerful explosions with the release of smoke, ash and magma, the upper part of the mountain collapses.
The most dangerous supervolcano
Scientists know about the existence of approximately 20 supervolcanoes. Today, on the site of one of these terrifying giants, Lake Taupa in New Zealand is located; another supervolcano is hidden under the one located on the other. Examples of supervolcanoes include Long Valley in California, Valleys in New Mexico and Aira in Japan.
But the most dangerous volcano in the world is the Yellowstone supervolcano, which is most “ripe” for an eruption, located in the western American states. It is he who forces volcanologists and geomorphologists in the United States, and throughout the world, to live in a state of increasing fear, forcing them to forget about all the most dangerous active volcanoes in the world.
Location and size of Yellowstone
The Yellowstone Caldera is located in the northwestern United States, in the state of Wyoming. It was first spotted by satellite in 1960. The caldera, whose dimensions are approximately 55 * 72 km, is part of the world famous Yellowstone national park. A third of the nearly 900,000 hectares of parkland is located within the volcano's caldera.
Under the Yellowstone crater to this day rests a giant bubble of magma about 8,000 m deep. The temperature of the magma inside it is close to 1000 0 C. Thanks to this, many hot springs bubble in the territory of Yellowstone Park, and clouds of steam and gas mixtures rise from cracks in the earth’s crust.
There are also many geysers and mud pots there. The reason for this was a vertical flow of solid rock 660 km wide, heated to a temperature of 1600 0 C. Under the territory of the park at a depth of 8-16 km there are two branches of this stream.
Yellowstone's past eruptions
The first eruption of Yellowstone, which occurred, according to scientists, more than 2 million years ago, was the largest disaster on Earth in the entire history of its existence. Then, according to volcanologists, about 2.5 thousand km 3 of rock was released into the atmosphere, and the highest point these emissions reached was 50 km above the earth’s surface.
The largest and most dangerous volcano in the world began to erupt again more than 1.2 million years ago. Then the volume of emissions was approximately 10 times less. The third eruption occurred 640 thousand years ago. It was then that the walls of the crater collapsed and the caldera that exists today was formed.
Why you should be afraid of the Yellowstone Caldera today
In light of recent changes in the territory of Yellowstone National Park, it is becoming increasingly clear to scientists which volcano is the most dangerous in the world. What's going on there? Scientists were alarmed by the following changes, which especially intensified in the 2000s:
- In the six years leading up to 2013, the ground covering the caldera rose by as much as 2 meters, compared with only 10 cm in the previous 20 years.
- New hot geysers erupted from the ground.
- The frequency and strength of earthquakes in the Yellowstone caldera area is increasing. In 2014 alone, scientists recorded about 2,000 of them.
- In some places, underground gases make their way through the layers of the earth to the surface.
- The water temperature in the rivers increased by several degrees.
This frightening news alarmed the public, and especially the residents of the North American continent. Many scientists agree that the supervolcano will erupt this century.
Consequences of the eruption for America
It is not for nothing that many volcanologists believe that the Yellowstone caldera is the most dangerous volcano in the world. They assume that its next eruption will be as powerful as the previous ones. Scientists equate it to the explosion of a thousand atomic bombs. This means that within a radius of 160 km around the epicenter, everything will be completely destroyed. An ash-covered area stretching 1,600 km around will turn into a “dead zone.”
The eruption of Yellowstone can lead to the eruption of other volcanoes and the formation of powerful tsunamis. For the USA it will come emergency, and martial law will be introduced. Information comes from various sources that America is preparing for disaster: building shelters, making more than a million plastic coffins, drawing up an evacuation plan, drawing up agreements with countries on other continents. IN Lately The United States prefers to remain silent about the true state of affairs at the Yellowstone Caldera.
Yellowstone Caldera and the end of the world
The eruption of the caldera located under Yellowstone Park will bring disaster not only to America. The picture that can unfold in this case looks sad for the whole world. Scientists have calculated that if the release to a height of 50 km lasts only two days, then the “cloud of death” during this time will cover an area twice as large as the entire American continent.
In a week, emissions will reach India and Australia. The sun's rays will drown in thick volcanic smoke and a long year and a half (at least) winter will come to Earth. The average air temperature on Earth will drop to -25 0 C, and in some places it will reach -50 0. People will die under debris falling from the sky from hot lava, from cold, hunger, thirst and the inability to breathe. According to assumptions, only one person in a thousand will survive.
The eruption of the Yellowstone caldera can, if not completely destroy life on earth, then radically change the conditions of existence of all living things. No one can say for sure whether this most dangerous volcano in the world will erupt in our lifetime, but the existing fears are indeed justified.
19.02.2014
In countries where there are volcanoes, such as Indonesia, they are located in large provinces such as West Java, East Java or Central Java. One of the most terrible disasters is a volcanic eruption, which can claim hundreds or even thousands of lives. It is impossible to forget about the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, the enormous damage and thousands of victims. And here we present a list of the most dangerous and active volcanoes in the world. However, not all volcanoes are dangerous. is in great demand among travelers and wildlife lovers.
No. 10. Hawaii, Mauna Loa volcano
Mauna Loa is one of the five mountains that form the island of Hawaii. Despite the fact that this is not the most high mountain, a volcanic eruption poses a high danger, since its lava basically has a liquid consistency, which can lead to serious fires. Mauna LOA is the most big volcano in the world (by volume and area), taking into account the volume of lava, it reaches 18,000 cubic miles. The last eruption occurred on April 15, 1984.
No. 9. Philippines, Taal Volcano
About 50 km (31 miles) from the capital Manila is one of the most dangerous volcanoes, Taal. This mountain is an island on Lake Taal, which is located inside a caldera formed as a result of very strong previous eruptions (this process is similar to Lake Toba). Taal Volcano is a complex of volcanoes on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. This volcano has had several violent eruptions, including one of the most powerful eruptions that killed more than a thousand people.
No. 8. Papua New Guinea, Ulawun Volcano
Ulawun Volcano is located in Papua New Guinea, on the Bismarck Archipelago, and is one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes New Guinea. Several eruptions have been recorded, with one of the most powerful occurring in 1980, the ash column spewed from Ulawun reaching 60,000 feet in height, and its pyroclastic flows engulfing the mountains on all sides.
No. 7. Congo, Nyiragongo volcano
It has erupted at least 34 times since 1882. One of the worst eruptions occurred on September 17, 2002, when lava that flowed down the slopes of Nyiragongo covered about 40% of the city of Goma and left almost 120,000 people homeless. Nyiragongo is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa, his activity never stops.
No. 6. Indonesia, Merapi volcano
Mount Merapi is a conical volcano located in Indonesia on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta. Much of the Merapi eruption, including lava, continues to descend, accompanied at times by hot smoke capable of spreading at speeds of up to 120 km per hour. This is the most active and dangerous volcanoes in Indonesia, they became active 10,000 years ago, and their activity has not stopped since 1548.
No. 5. Colombia, Galeras volcano
This mountain most active volcano in Colombia. Since 2000, its eruptions have occurred almost every year. This is dangerous because... the frequency of eruptions is unpredictable. The Galeras volcano has been active for at least a million years. Its location near the southern Colombian border with Ecuador could result in hot lava flowing 3.5 km down the slope of Mount Galeras. The last eruption on January 3, 2010 forced the government to evacuate 8,000 people.
No. 4. Japan, Sakurajima volcano
The Sakurajima volcano is located on the island of Kyushu in Japan and is one of the most dangerous volcanoes. On March 10, 2009, a terrible eruption occurred, with the volcano throwing rocks and other rocks up to 2 miles away. The intensity of the Sakurajima eruption is one of the most powerful not only in Japan, but also in the world. Over the past 45 years, 73 eruptions have been recorded.
No. 3. Mexico, Popocatepetl volcano
The active volcano Popocatepetl is located at an altitude of 5426 meters above sea level. Beginning in December 1994, the dangerous activity of the volcano continued until in 2000 the strongest eruption known to history occurred. Since 1519, 20 eruptions have been recorded. The explosion was so strong that it threw ash over a fairly long distance.
No. 2. Italy, Vesuvius volcano
Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano in Gulf of Naples, in Italy, approximately 9 miles east of Naples. Mount Vesuvius is the only volcano in Europe that has erupted in the last 100 years. This volcano could explode at any moment and severely punish the people living in its vicinity. Lava eruptions from a volcano can reach great heights; in March 1994, lava splashed out to a height of up to 1000 meters. The famous eruption of 79 destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
No. 1. USA, Yellowstone volcano
Yellowstone Volcano – the most dangerous and active volcano in the world. Rocks and rocks ejected from this volcano can be scattered over a distance of up to 1000 km. Volcanic eruption The lava and ash of this mountain threatens the extinction of living things and can cause a mass disaster, because it will entail other volcanic activities determined by tectonic fluctuations, which will cause other explosions.