Large volcanoes of the world and their location. Where are the largest volcanoes on the world map? The most famous volcanoes in the world

Volcano. This word is enchanting and scary at the same time. People have always been drawn to something beautiful and dangerous, because beauty, accompanied by risk, becomes even more attractive, but at the same time, the history of the city of Pompeii immediately comes to mind. Volcanoes have not brought such terrible destruction for a long time, which are still stored on the pages of our history, because thanks to scientists who can tell which mountain is a volcano and which is not, people stopped settling at the foot dangerous mountains. But, nevertheless, volcanoes continue to exist and then fall into hibernation, then wake up from sleep to begin active life. Let's look at which volcanoes are the largest in the world.

10 biggest volcanoes in the world

1. Volcano Yellowstone. This volcano is located in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It is Yellowstone that can rightfully be called the largest volcano in the world, as well as the most dangerous volcano in the world. The height of the volcano is 3142 meters above sea level, and the area of ​​the volcano is 4000 square kilometers. The area of ​​this volcano is twenty times the size of Washington, the capital of the United States of America. This volcano is still dormant, although it has begun to show signs of activity since the beginning of the twenty-first century. According to scientists, this volcano erupts approximately every 600 thousand years, and about 640 thousand years have passed since the last eruption.


2. Volcano Vesuvius. This is the highest active volcano in Eurasia at the moment. It is also the highest volcano in Europe. It is located fifteen kilometers from Italian city. Its height is 1281 meters. Currently, Vesuvius is the only active volcano in Europe, and in addition, it is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes. Science is aware of more than eighty of its eruptions, one of which destroyed the famous ones.


3. Volcano Popocatepetl. This volcano is also active. It is located in the southern part of Mexico. The height of Popocateptl is 5452 meters. Over the past half century, its activity has been quite insignificant, and in general, about thirty-six major eruptions of this volcano are known to history. Popocatepetl can be called the largest active volcano on this moment.


4. Volcano Sakurajima.Active volcano located in Japan. Once it was on the island, but during one of the eruptions a huge amount of lava connected it to the mainland. The height of the volcano is 1118 meters above sea level. At the moment, Sakurajima is visited by many tourists every year, despite the fact that the volcano is almost constantly active - smoke comes out of its mouth, and sometimes small eruptions occur.


5. Volcano Galeras. This volcano is located in Colombia. The height of Galeras is 4267 meters above sea level. The activity of this volcano was noticed in 2006, at the same time people were evacuated from the settlements closest to it. In 2010, more were evacuated more people, as the volcano continues its vigorous activity. Although over the past few thousand years, Galeras, if erupted, is extremely insignificant.


6. Volcano Merapi. An active Indonesian volcano located in Java. Height above sea level - 2914 meters. This volcano is active almost constantly. Small eruptions occur several times a year, and large ones about once every ten years. Merapi claimed many lives of people, and in one of its largest eruptions, even changed the surrounding landscape.


7. Volcano Nyiragongo. This volcano is located in Africa, in the Virunga mountains. At the moment it is more in sleep mode, although minor activity is sometimes observed. The most terrible eruption of this volcano was recorded in 1977. In general, this volcano is interesting in that its lava is very liquid due to its composition, therefore, during an eruption, its speed can reach even one hundred kilometers per hour.


8. Volcano Ulavun. The volcano is located on the island New Guinea and is currently an active volcano. Its height is 2334 meters above sea level. This volcano erupts frequently. Once this volcano was located under water, and it came to the surface only in 1878.


9. Volcano Taal. This active volcano is located in the Philippines, on the island of Luzon. Taal is remarkable in that it is the smallest of all the currently dormant volcanoes in the world, and there is a lake in the Taal crater. Every year, Taal is visited by many tourists from all over the world.


10. Volcano Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa is an active volcano in Hawaii, USA. The height of this volcano is 4169 above sea level. This volcano can be considered the highest volcano on earth, if we take into account its underwater part, the height of which reaches 4500 meters. The last time this volcano erupted seriously was in 1950.

Volcanic activity is one of the forces of nature that can change the face of the Earth. And at the moment, the underground forces continue their titanic work. Created from many layers of lava, of monstrous proportions, largest volcanoes in the world lurk under the water surface or hang over nearby cities.

Which of them are considered the largest? Scientists have not yet come to a consensus. Some believe that it is necessary to build a rating according to the height above sea level. Others - that it is necessary to take into account the area over which lava flows spread, forming a new surface. Thirdly, what is most important is the human factor: the danger to human settlements.

Most high volcano in Europe is located on the island of Sicily and is still valid. Last eruption started on December 25, 2018. Because of frequent eruptions it is impossible to determine its height exactly - it is constantly changing. For example, over the past 30 years, Etna has "lost" more than 20 meters in height. At the moment, it rises above the island at 3295 m.

The mountain is famous for its bad character - its slopes are dotted with craters, from where lava steadily pours out every couple of months. About once a century, eruptions are larger, representing a direct danger to the human settlements inhabiting the slopes. However, this does not stop stubborn people - due to frequent eruptions, the soil on the slopes of the mountain is rich in elements useful for plants, which allow them to harvest large crops.

9. Erebus - 3794 meters

If the rest of the volcanoes are in the inhabited part of the world, then Erebus is located on the uninhabited continent of Antarctica. It is the largest active volcano in the southern polar region. Despite the lifeless ice expanses surrounding it, Erebus leads a very active life. And him geographic location- exactly above several faults in the earth's crust - this contributes a lot.

Despite the fact that people do not live near Erebus, it still affects their lives in a negative way. From the bowels of the volcano, streams of gases contained inside the Earth periodically break out, mainly methane and hydrogen, which destroy the ozone layer. It is believed that the smallest thickness of the ozone sea is exactly in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe volcano.

8. Klyuchevskaya Sopka - 4835 meters

Like Etna, the height of the Klyuchevskoy volcano is constantly changing. Although he lost about 15 meters after five years ago, he still remains the highest active volcano in Russia and Asia.

Although, compared to other peaks of Kamchatka, the Klyuchevskoy volcano loses in frequency, but it successfully compensates for this with its power. For example, the 1938 eruption lasted 13 months and caused the emergence of several craters up to 1900 m high. And the 1980 eruption tore off and threw into the air to a height of more than 500 m a block of ice with an area of ​​at least half a kilometer.

But the most spectacular and most terrible was the eruption of 1994, when an impressive ash column more than 12 km high rose above the volcano, and the plume of volcanic ash extended from the place of release for many tens of kilometers and disappeared somewhere in the ocean.

7. Orizaba - 5636 meters

“The top of the volcano must touch the sky itself,” the ancient Incas probably thought and gave it the name Sitlaltepetl, or “Star Mountain”. It is the highest active volcano in Northern and Central America, and the third highest peak of this region. It can be seen from afar - even many miles from the coast, the cone of Orizaba can be seen from the side of the next through Gulf of Mexico to the port of Veracruz ship.

Although the volcano is sleeping now, its calmness is deceptive - it led a very active existence from the moment the conquistadors came to these places until the 19th century, and in last years the station located at its foot recorded constant internal activity.

6. Elbrus - 5642 meters

The most high mountain at the same time it is the largest volcano in Russia and Europe. Glaciers descending from the snow-covered surface give rise to several significant rivers that feed the plains of the Caucasus region.

In addition to beauty, a snow-white cone with two peaks and a small saddle between them is distinguished by a meek and peaceful character. Elbrus has been sleeping for a long time, and its last eruption was more than 5000 years ago. Despite the external severity, climbing Elbrus is easy and simple - climbing routes to the top of the sleeping patriarch are some of the easiest.

5. Kilimanjaro - 5885 meters

Gorgeous handsome Kilimanjaro - business card Africa, her most big volcano. The sleeping giant is actually three volcanic cones that are visible from almost anywhere in neighboring Tanzania and Kenya.

Unlike many volcanoes in the rating, Kilimanjaro is the most famous volcano in the world, a typical stratovolcano. If you ask a child to draw it, most likely, he will draw a conical mountain, from the top of which ash, burning gases and very viscous lava erupt, which quickly solidifies, increasing the cone higher and higher. This is the stratovolcano. The size of Kilimanjaro is 4800 km3, and its height is 5885 m. last time the volcano was active at the dawn of mankind - 360,000 years ago.

4. Ojos del Salado - 6,893 meters

If the second and third places in the ranking are the largest volcanoes in the world, if you count from the seabed, then Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world located above the sea surface. It rises 6,893 meters above the ground. The giant mountain is located on the border between Argentina and Chile.

Although the last active volcanic eruption occurred before the invention of writing by mankind - no data on it has been preserved - however, Ojos del Salado cannot be called sleeping in the full sense of the word. In the bowels huge mountain as if a mysterious hidden work is taking place, the echo of which reaches the inhabitants of the earth in the form of clouds of steam and ash. The last such activity took place as recently as 1993.

3. Mauna Loa - 9800 meters

Mauna Loa - underwater volcano, the top of which (together with five others) caused the occurrence big island archipelago of Hawaii. Value mauna loa 40,000 km3, an area of ​​​​75,000 m2, and a height (if you count from the seabed) - as much as 9800 m. And it is the highest active volcano in the world - the last eruption of Mauna Loa was only 34 years ago, in 1984. In total, over the past 170 years, Mauna Loa has scared people with its activity, throwing out lava, 33 times.

2. Mauna Kea - 10058 meters

"Sister" Mauna Loa rises almost 4267 m above sea level. Seems like a little, right? However, Mauna Kea has more potential than meets the eye - its base is located deep under the water column at a depth of more than 6000 m. Mauna Kea does it. If it were located entirely on land, it would break the record of all the highest volcanoes in the world, beating the "terrestrial" favorite Ojos del Salado by almost 3000 m.

At the top of Mauna Kea, there is very low humidity and there are almost never clouds - now one of the largest observatories in the world is located there.

Mauna Kea arose over a hot spot of the earth - a place where red-hot and molten magma rises from the Earth's mantle layer. Over millions of years, the outward molten rock created the surface of everything Hawaiian archipelago. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano; this means that it has been inactive for more than 4,000 years, and the hot spot of magma outflow has shifted. However, inaction does not mean that he will doze forever.

1. The largest volcano in the world: Tamu Massif - 4000 meters

“How, only 4000 meters - and the largest volcano in the world?” The reader may be indignant. Yes, Tamu's height is not too impressive. But let's look at it in more detail from all sides.

Most of the largest natural objects in the world have been discovered by mankind long ago, at the dawn of its existence. But the Tamu massif is the most huge volcano on planet Earth - for many years he managed to hide from people.

It is amazing that mankind knew more about the huge volcanoes on Mars than about the giant mountain under their very noses. The reason for this is both the remote location (it is located more than 1,600 kilometers east of Japan) and the depth. Its top is submerged in the thickness of the World Ocean for 2000 km. And only in 2013, scientists found out that the amazing mountain of lava at the bottom of the ocean is actually a single volcano.

Its volume is approximately equal to 2.5 million km3, and its area is more than 311 km2. Fortunately, he has been sleeping for a long time - the last eruption of Tamu was about 144 million years ago.

The most dangerous volcano in the world

The Yellowstone supervolcano is considered the most active and dangerous today. Located in national park USA, it poses a huge threat not only to the state of Wyoming, but to the entire planet. It is believed that the eruption of the Yellowstone Volcano can lead to climate change throughout the Earth.

As a result of the disaster, more than 70% of the US territory will be destroyed. Magma and ash will cover the territory with a 3-meter layer. Losses will amount to more than 10 million lives, and the territory will turn into uninhabited due to high levels of radiation.

Today, visiting the park is limited, entry is completely prohibited to some territories. Scientists carefully examine the caldera, the eruption may begin in the coming decades.

Volcanic eruptions are dangerous primarily due to their direct impact - the release of tons of burning lava, under which entire cities can die. But, in addition to this, such side factors as the suffocating effect of volcanic gases, the threat of a tsunami, isolation from sunlight, terrain distortion and local climatic changes.

Merapi, Indonesia

Merapi is one of the largest volcanoes on the islands of Indonesia. He is one of the most active: large eruptions occur once every seven to eight years, and small ones - once every two years. At the same time, smoke from the top of the volcano appears almost daily, preventing the locals from forgetting about the threat. Merapi is also famous for the fact that in 1006 the whole medieval Javanese-Indian state of Mataram was seriously affected by his activities. The special danger of the volcano is that it is located near the large Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, which is home to about 400 thousand people.

Sakurajima, Japan

Sakurajima is in constant volcanic activity since 1955, and the last eruption took place in early 2009. Until 1914, the volcano was located on a separate island of the same name, but frozen lava flows connected the island with the Osumi Peninsula. Residents of Kagoshima City have become accustomed to the erratic behavior of the volcano and are constantly ready to take refuge in shelters.

Aso Volcano, Japan

The last time the volcanic activity of the volcano was recorded quite recently, in 2011. Then the ash cloud spread over a territory of more than 100 km. From that time to the present, about 2,500 tremors have been recorded, which indicates the activity of the volcano and its readiness for an eruption. Despite the direct danger, about 50 thousand people live in the immediate vicinity of it, and the crater is popular tourist attraction for the daredevils. In winter, the slopes are covered with snow and people go skiing and tobogganing in the valley.

Popocatepetl, Mexico

One of the largest volcanoes in Mexico is located literally fifty kilometers from. This is a city with a population of 20 million people who are in constant readiness for evacuation. In addition to Mexico City, there are such big cities like Puebla and Tlaxcala de Jicotencatl. Popocatepetl also gives them a reason to be nervous: emissions of gas, sulfur, dust and stones occur literally every month. Over the past decades, the volcano has erupted in 2000, 2005 and 2012. Many climbers strive to climb to its summit. Popocatepetl is famous for being conquered by Ernesto Che Guevara in 1955.

Etna, Italy

This Sicilian volcano is interesting in that it has not only one main wide crater, but also many small craters on the slopes. Etna is in constant activity, and small eruptions occur at intervals of several months. This does not prevent the Sicilians from densely populating the slopes of the volcano, since the presence of minerals and trace elements makes the soil very fertile. The last major eruption was in May 2011, and small ash and dust emissions were in April 2013. By the way, Etna is the largest volcano in: it is two and a half times larger than Vesuvius.

Vesuvius, Italy

Vesuvius is one of three active volcanoes in Italy along with Etna and Stromboli. They are even jokingly called the "hot Italian family." In 79, the eruption of Vesuvius destroyed the city of Pompeii with all the inhabitants who were buried under layers of lava, pumice and mud. During one of the last strong eruptions, which occurred in 1944, about 60 people died and were almost completely destroyed. nearby cities San Sebastiano and Massa. According to scientists, Vesuvius destroyed nearby cities about 80 times! By the way, this volcano has set many records. First, this is the only active volcano in the mainland, secondly, it is the most studied and predictable, and thirdly, the territory of the volcano is a reserve and a national park in which excursions are held. You can only go up on foot, as the lift and funicular have not yet been restored.

Colima, Mexico

The volcanic mountain consists of two peaks: the already extinct Nevado de Colima, which most time covered with snow, and the active volcano Colima. Colima is particularly active: since 1576, it has erupted more than 40 times. A strong eruption happened in the summer of 2005, when the authorities had to evacuate people from nearby villages. Then a column of ash was thrown to a height of about 5 km, spreading a cloud of smoke and dust behind it. Now the volcano is fraught with danger not only for local residents but for the entire country.

Mauna Loa, Hawaii, USA

Scientists have been observing the volcano since 1912 - there is a volcanological station on its slopes, as well as solar and atmospheric observatories. The height of the volcano reaches 4169 m. strong eruption Mauna Loa destroyed several villages in 1950. Until 2002, the seismic activity of the volcano was low, until its increase was recorded, which indicates the possibility of eruptions in the near future.

Galeras, Colombia

The Galeras volcano is very powerful: its diameter at the base exceeds 20 km, and the width of the crater is about 320 m. The volcano is very dangerous - every few years, due to its activity, the population of the nearby town of Pasto has to be evacuated. The last such evacuation took place in 2010, when about 9 thousand people found themselves in shelters due to the threat of a strong eruption. Thus, the restless Galeras keeps the locals in constant tension.

Nyiragongo, Republic of the Congo

Volcano Nyiragongo is considered the most dangerous in all: it accounts for about half of all cases of volcanic activity recorded on the continent. There have been 34 eruptions since 1882. Lava Nyiragongo has a special chemical composition, so it is unusually liquid and fluid. The speed of erupting lava can reach 100 km/h. There is a lava lake in the main crater of the volcano, the temperature of which heats up to 982 Cº, and bursts reach a height of 7 to 30 m. The last largest eruption occurred in 2002, when 147 people died, 14 thousand buildings were destroyed, and 350 thousand people left homeless.

It is worth noting that scientists have been studying the activity of volcanoes for many years and modern technology recognizes the beginning of their seismic activity. Many volcanoes are equipped with webcams, with the help of which you can follow what is happening in real time. People living nearby are already accustomed to this behavior of volcanoes and know what to do when an eruption begins, and emergency services have the means to evacuate local residents. So every year the probability of victims from volcanic eruptions becomes less and less.

There are hundreds of volcanoes on the surface of the Earth. Among them are the highest volcanoes, the most powerful volcanoes, the largest volcanoes. And they are united by one thing - each rises to tens and hundreds of meters and frightens with its power: it is possible that the volcano will begin to release steam and ash.

Where are the most active volcanoes?

A volcano is called active if it showed signs of activity (for example, emitted gas and steam) in a historical time for a person.

The largest number of active volcanoes is located in the territory Malay Archipelago. It is the largest on the planet, located between the continents of Australia and Asia. And in Russia, a large cluster of volcanoes is located in Kamchatka and on Kuril Islands. About 60 volcanoes erupt every year in this part. But there is evidence of 627 volcanoes that have shown signs of life in the last 10,000 years.

The largest volcano

Hawaiian is not only the largest and most powerful volcano, it is also the most massive. Its volume from the base to the top is 75 thousand cubic kilometers. By the way, there are many legends around Mauna Low. According to one of them, the mistress of the volcanoes Pele was expelled from the house by her older sister, who was the goddess of water and the sea. When Pele tried to build herself own house, her sister sent waves to destroy him. As a result, Pele settled on the island and made herself a house called Mauna Low, it was so massive that the waves could not overwhelm it.

Tallest active volcano

However, on the question of which is the highest active volcano in the world, the opinions of scientists differ. Some believe that the highest is Cotopaxi. It is located in the South American Andes, in Ecuador. Its height is less than that of the previous one, only 5,897 meters. But the last major eruption was recorded in 1942. Cotopaxi can rightly be called the most beautiful in Ecuador. This is due to the riot of greenery at the foot and the graceful crater. However, the picture is deceiving. Cotopaxi, like a number of others, are the most dangerous volcanoes. In Ecuador, since 1742, 10 fairly large eruptions have been recorded that destroyed the city of Latacunga (it lies very close to Cotopaxi).

The most famous volcanoes

Vesuvius is located in southern Italy near Naples and is active. True, the volcano is not very large, its height is only 1281 meters. Vesuvius is one of three active volcanoes in the country. And one of the most dangerous in the world. To date, more than 80 eruptions are known to mankind, and the most famous occurred 2 millennia ago - in 79. It was then that the cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, Herculaneum were destroyed. The last eruption was recorded in 1944, the lava destroyed the cities of Massa and San Sebastiano.

The highest volcano in Africa and in general the highest point of the continent is Kilimanjaro. The volcano is located in Tanzania, 300 kilometers south of the equator. One of the peaks of Kilimanjaro - Kibo - reaches 5895 meters. Uhuru Peak is the highest point of the volcano. Scientists suggest that the age of Kilimanjaro is more than a million years. And what is most surprising, although the volcano is located almost on the equator, many glaciers have accumulated on its slopes.

The largest volcanoes can be seen in Asia. The famous Fujiyama is located on Japanese island Honshu, which is 150 kilometers from Tokyo. The volcano has an almost perfect conical shape and has been the subject of a cult for local residents since ancient times. The height of the mountain is 3776 meters. Now the volcano is weakly active, the last time experts recorded an eruption in 1707.

The strongest volcanic eruption

On August 27 of the same year, there was a strong volcanic eruption that a person has ever seen. The rumble was heard even 5 thousand kilometers from the epicenter. Ashes rose to a height of up to 30 kilometers. The volcanic structure scattered over a vast territory, within a radius of up to 500 kilometers. The gas-ash column towered 70 kilometers, that is, it rose right into the mesosphere. The ash covered over 4 million square kilometers and occupied a total of 18 cubic kilometers. The strength of the explosion was rated at 6 points. According to experts, this is 200 thousand times more power explosion that destroyed Hiroshima. The largest volcano in the world Ojos del Salado is considered extinct

The volcano is said to be inactive. This is because not a single case of an eruption has been recorded in the history of mankind. However, sometimes Ojos del Salado reminds of itself. For example, in 1993, the release of water vapor and sulfur was noticed.

By the way, as the editors of the site managed to find out, some geographers have already reclassified the volcano into an active one. Thus, displacing Llullaillaco from the first place in the list of the highest active volcanoes. However, the controversy has not subsided yet.

Also interesting is the fact that the highest mountain in Russia, Elbrus, is also a volcano.
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