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Tambora, Indonesia
On April 10, 1815, for the first time in about 5000 years, Tambora erupted. A series of large explosions began, sending a massive volcanic column into the air. This eruption was the biggest eruption in recorded history. -
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Recent famous volcanic eruptions timeline
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Krakatoa, Indonesia
The eruption of Krakatoa in August 1883 was one of the most deadly volcanic eruptions of modern history. It is estimated that more than 36,000 people died. Many died as a result of thermal injury from the blasts and many more were victims of the tsunamis that followed the collapse of the volcano into the caldera below sea level. -
Mount Pelée, Martinique
Saturday, May 10, 1902, will long figure as a day of terror and horror in the news of the world, and notably in the United States. The press report of the matter exceeded in horror any story of battle ever told: St. Pierre, the principal city of Martinique, the gem of the Windward Islands, has been blotted out under a storm of fire and avalanches of molten rock and ashes. With a population of upward of 25,000 persons, the city has been totally destroyed, and the survivors are reported to num -
Mount Etna erupts
On this day in 1669, Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily in modern-day Italy, begins rumbling. Multiple eruptions over the next few weeks killed more than 20,000 people and left thousands more homeless. Most of the victims could have saved themselves by fleeing, but stayed, in a vain attempt to save their city. -
Mount St. Helens, USA
Mount Saint Helens, volcanic peak in the Cascade Range, southwestern Washington, U.S. Its eruption on May 18, 1980, was one of the greatest volcanic explosions ever recorded in North America. Mount St. Helens, named by the English navigator George Vancouver for a British ambassador, had been dormant since 1857. An explosive steam eruption on March 27, 1980, was followed by alternating periods of quiescence and minor eruption. Pressure from rising magma within the volcano caused extensive fissur -
Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, Colombia
Nevado del Ruiz volcano in central Colombia, 130 km WNW of Bogota, is a broad, glacier covered volcano. A relatively small eruption in 1985 caused a devastating mud flow that killed almost 25,000 people in the town of Armero, marking one of the worst volcanic disasters in history. Sadly, this tragedy could have been easily avoided if clear warnings by volcanologists had been taken seriously. -
Eyjafjallajökull Iceland
The volcano Eyjafjallajökull, in Iceland, just before dawn on April 23, 2010: The worst is over. Lava flows freely. Earlier, as it punched through the ice cap, it triggered a meltwater flood that destroyed roads and farms, and a steam explosion that hurled ash into the stratosphere, stopping air traffic for a week.
