From lethal lava flows to treacherous toxic gases, here are the most dangerous active
volcanoes in the world.
Number 10: Mount Sangay, Ecuador Mount Sangay is an active volcano in Ecuador
that borders the western edge of the Amazon Rainforest.
It is the country’s most active volcano, and exhibits a relatively mild but continuous
explosion, with sporadic violent episodes.
Its third eruption in recorded history began in 1934, and is still ongoing today.
Due to its instability, geologists have estimated that two versions of the Sangay volcano have
been destroyed from massive flank collapses throughout its 500,000 year history.
The evidence could be seen in the rock formations and topographic evidence surrounding the area.
Interestingly, due to its remoteness and danger, the area is left undisturbed and is host to
a significant ecosystem with exotic animals like the mountain tapir, giant otter, Andean
cock-of-the-rock and king vulture.
Sangay is also regularly climbed by adventure seekers brave enough to face the dangers of
falling particles from the mountain's ongoing eruption.
Number 9: Mount Lascar, Chile Mount Lascar is the most active of all the
volcanoes in the Andes mountain range lining the western edge of South America.
The volcano itself has six summit craters, and is known for its constant release of gas
and explosive eruptions.
Major volcanic activities from Lascar have long been recorded, and reports of eruptions
exist since the early 1500s when Spanish conquistadors first set foot in the region.
Since the 19th Century, Lascar has erupted about 30 times, the largest of which occurred
in 1993.
In April that year, three explosions formed eruption columns over 6 miles into the atmosphere,
forming a massive mushroom cloud and creating several bouts of pyroclastic flows.
The entire episode lasted 23 hours, but the hot pyroclastic flows took months to cool
down.
Although located in a remote region, the ash fall from Mount Lascar’s eruptions could
potentially reach far, and for that reason, it is constantly monitored through remote
sensing.
Number 8: Mount Stromboli, Italy Italy's island of Stromboli is located north
off the coast of Sicily, and has a small population of 500 people.
The island is host to Mount Stromboli, a volcano that has been erupting almost continuously
for the past two millennia.
The eruptions are often visible to ships sailing in the sea around the island, causing it to
earn its nickname the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean".
Mount Stromboli's activity is almost exclusively explosive, with occasional lava flowing out
during high volcanic activities.
The volcano has influenced and inspired many works of both science and literature.
The term "Strombolian eruption" used by geologists originates from Mount Stromboli, indicating
relatively mild volcanic explosions.
Mount Stromboli also happens to be author JRR Tolkien's inspiration for the fictional
Mount Doom in Mordor.
Number 7: Kilauea, Hawaii Kilauea is currently the most active out of
the 5 Hawaiian volcanoes.
Its name means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, indicating how active
it is, as it frequently spews out lava.
The Hawaiian volcanoes were considered sacred by native Hawaiian people, and according to
their mythology, Kilauea's large crater served as the body of Pele, goddess of fire and volcano.
The volcano's activities occasionally coincide with its equally deadly neighbor, Mauna Loa.
Kilauea's most recent major eruption started in 1983, and has been erupting continuously
since, making it the world's longest living rift-zone eruption for the past 200 years.
The eruption has so far claimed 189 buildings and 14 kilometers of highways.
Number 6: Piton de la Fournaise, Réunion island
Piton de la Fournaise, or "Peak of the Furnace" is one of the world's most active volcanoes,
located on the French oversea region of Reunion Island.
The volcano is over half a million years old, and its thousands of years of activity has
largely influenced the topography of the region.
Since the 17th Century, over 150 eruptions have been observed.
The top part of Piton de la Fournaise is occupied by an 8 kilometer wide caldera, with unstable
rims that are in its initial stages of collapsing.
Some speculate that the cliff's collapse into the Indian Ocean could potentially result
in a mega tsunami.
Within the large caldera is a 400 meter high lava shield, as well as several other smaller
craters.
For safety reasons, little infrastructures exist near the active crater, and the area
is uninhabited.
On the few occasions when the lava escapes, it would flow down the mountain into the sea,
with spectacular results.
Nearby highways are occasionally destroyed by the lava and rebuilt.
The most recent eruption was in May 2016.
Number 5: Mount Etna, Italy Italy's Mount Etna is the tallest active volcano
in Europe.
It is one of the world's most active volcanoes, and is in an almost constant state of activity.
According to Greek Mythology, Zeus had trapped the monstrous giant known as Typhon underneath
the mountain, where the God of Fire Hephaestus' forges are kept.
For tens of thousands of years, the region witnessed numerous explosive eruptions from
Mount Etna, generating huge pyroclastic flows reaching as far as Rome 800 kilometers to
the north.
There are many records from Roman times describing the events and destruction caused by Etna's
destructive activities.
An eruption in 1928 led to significant destruction of infrastructure during the time of Fascist
Italy.
Five more major eruptions occurred throughout the 20th Century, seriously threatening nearby
towns and villages.
The most recent eruption was in December 2015, which resulted in a 7 km ash plume that forced
Catania Airport into a temporary shutdown.
Number 4: Mount Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of Congo
Mount Nyiragongo is an active volcano located inside Congo's Virunga National Park.
The 3500 meter volcano is known for its enormous 2 kilometer wide crater which contains large
volumes of molten lava.
The volume of the lava lake varies at time, and had once reached a depth of 600 meters
prior to an eruption in 1977, making it the most voluminous lava lake in recent history.
Together with its adjacent neighbor Mount Nyamuragira, the two volcanoes alone are responsible
for about 40 percent of all volcanic eruptions in the African continent.
Since 1882, Mount Nyiragongo is known to have erupted at least 34 times.
Due to its unusually low silica content, the lava flowing out from its eruptions are extremely
fluid in nature compared to other volcanoes.
This makes the lava more dangerous, and combined with the steep sided slopes of Mount Nyiragongo,
the lava could flow downhill at incredible speeds, reaching up to 100 kilometers an hour.
In 1977, the volcano's crater walls fractured, releasing large amounts of lava racing downhill
towards nearby villages, killing at least 70 people.
Another recent eruption occurred in 2002, and the people had to be evacuated across
the border into neighboring Rwanda.
Many buildings were damaged due to the lava and earthquakes, leaving over 100,000 people
homeless.
Additionally, about 147 people died from asphyxia due to toxic levels of CO2 gas.
The gas seeps out continuously from the ground and is still an ongoing threat today, having
recently killed many local children.
Number 3: Mount St. Helens, Washington Mount St Helens is located at Skamania County,
Washington, and is part of the 700 mile Cascade Volcanic Arc extending along North America's
western region.
It is an active stratovolcano, built up by layers upon layers of hardened lava and debris
interlayed with volcanic ash throughout its 40,000 years of existence.
The Native Americans have many lores about Mount St Helens.
According to the "Bridge of Gods" legend told by the Klickitat people of the Pacific Northwest,
the mountain was once a beautiful maiden named Loowit.
Her beauty caused two sons of the chief of all gods to fight over her, causing massive
devastation upon the Earth.
As punishment, all three of them were transformed into great mountains.
The fair Loowit became Mount St Helens, also known as Louwala-Clough by the Klickitats,
meaning "smoky mountain".
The mountain is mostly remembered today for its devastating eruption in 1980.
Prior to the eruption, an injection of magma below the volcano caused two months of repeated
earthquakes, with steam venting out of the top.
Then on May 18, 1980, an earthquake weakened St Helen's north face, causing a rock avalanche
which was followed by an eruption column that rose 80,000 feet into the air.
57 people were killed, including a photographer who was covering the story, and a geologist
who first reported the eruption.
Hundreds of miles were reduced to a wasteland, costing over a billion dollars in total damages.
Thousands of game animals were killed, and the ash from the eruption fell upon 11 US
states.
The eruption is considered the deadliest and most destructive volcanic eruption in American
history.
Number 2: Santa Maria, Guatemala Located in Guatemala's western highlands,
the Santa Maria Volcano is extremely large, measuring over 12,000 feet above sea level.
The volcano rises above the plains of Quetzaltenango city, and is part of the Sierra Madre, a major
mountain range in Central America.
Before the Spanish conquest of the region in the 16th Century, the indigenous K'iche'
people called the volcano Gagxanul, meaning "naked mountain."
Activities of the volcano begun since 30,000 years ago, and its frequent small eruptions
led to the continuous building of its large cone.
In recent millennia, Santa Maria would often go into long dormant periods before resuming
activity.
Its first eruption in recorded history was in 1902.
Before that, it had been dormant for at least five centuries.
It was a massive eruption reaching a colossal scale of 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index,
and was one of the largest three eruptions of the 20th Century.
The ejected magma reached an estimated 5.5 cubic kilometers.
During the disaster, the corrupt central Guatemalan government was busy celebrating a large propaganda
festival and tried to avoid taking responsibility in aiding the victims.
5000 people died, with heavy damages to buildings and agricultural harvest.
The disaster was then followed by a malaria outbreak and famine due to food shortages,
leading to even more deaths.
Number 1: Mount Merapi, Indonesia Mount Merapi is the most active volcano in
Indonesia, and has been erupting regularly since the mid 16th Century.
The volcano's name translates to "Fire Mountain", and heavy smoke can occasionally be seen emerging
from its top.
Both large and small eruptions typically occur very often, causing numerous fatalities throughout
the years.
In 1994, an eruption killed 27 people who fell victim to the Merapi's pyroclastic flow.
Another large eruption occured in 2006, followed shortly by the unrelated Yogyakarta earthquake,
a combination of disasters that resulted in the loss of over 5000 lives.
In late 2010, Mount Merapi went into a series of violent eruptions, the most violent since
the 1870s.
Fortunately the activity had been monitored, and the government managed to warn villagers
beforehand.
Over 300,000 people were evacuated, however, there were those who refused to leave, and
some returned home while the eruptions were still ongoing.
353 people were killed.