List of Top 10 Active Volcanoes in 2024

The top ten volcanoes in order of altitude from highest to lowest are Mauna Loa, Mount Kilimanjaro, Popocatepetl, Mount Fuji, Mount Semeru, Mount Etna, Mount Saint Helens, Mayon Volcano, Mount Bromo, Arenal Volcano.

About 15% of the world’s active volcanoes are found along the constructive plate margins/divergent plate margins ( along the mid-oceanic ridges where two plates move in opposite directions) whereas 80% of the volcanoes are associated with destructive plate margins/convergent plate margins (where two plates collide). Also, some volcanoes are found in intraplate regions e.g. volcanoes of Hawaii island, fault zones of East Africa etc.

In this article, we will look into the details of the top 10 active volcanoes in terms of elevation, along with their location and other significant features.

About Active Volcanoes in the World

Mauna Loa in Hawaii is considered the world’s most prominent volcano because of its regular eruptions and spectacular lava flows. In contrast, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano is Mount Etna in Italy. The destructive eruptions of Mount Merapi in Indonesia took thousands of lives throughout the years. The historic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which occurred in 79 AD and buried the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, is located close to Naples, Italy. In addition to being a well-known appearance, Mount Fuji in Japan is a live stratovolcano. Because of its catastrophic 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens in the United States is still marked in the Pacific Ring of Fire. When the ash cloud from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull delayed air travel across Europe in 2010, the volcano became well-known worldwide.

List of Top 10 Active Volcanoes in the World

The following table gives an overview of the top ten volcanoes of the world in terms of decreasing altitude along with their location and height. The prominent features are described ahead.

Name of Volcano	Country	Height (in metres)
Mauna Loa	Hawaii, USA	9170
Mount Kilimanjaro	Tanzania	5895
Popocatepetl	Mexico	5426
Mount Fuji	Tokyo, Japan	3776
Mount Semeru	East Java, Indonesia	3676
Mount Etna	Catania, Sicily, Italy	3350
Mount St. Helens	Washington, USA	2550
Mayon Volcano	Alabay, Philippines	2463
Mount Bromo	Indonesia	2329
Arenal	Costa Rica	1670

Highest Volcano – Mauna Loa

The world’s highest volcano, Mauna Loa, is located in Hawaii, USA with an elevation of 9179 metres. It is a massive shield volcano and the largest active volcano on Earth. Characterised by fluid, silica-poor and non- explosive lava eruptions, it has relatively gentle slopes about 12° at their steepest.

• The Hawaiian name “Mauna Loa” means “Long Mountain”.
• It covers a land area of 5,271 km2 and has a maximum width of 120 km.
• It makes up more than half of the surface area of the island of Hawaii, consisting of approximately 65,000 to 80,000 km³ of solid rock.
• Mauna Loa has an elevation of 9,170 m from base to summit combining the volcano’s height (5,000 m) from base to the to the seafloor and 4,170 m subaerial height, greater than the elevation of Mount Everest (8,848 metres) from sea level to its summit.
• The only volcano higher than the Mauna Loa is the Tamu Massif, located underwater, and is extinct now.
• The most recent eruption occurred on November 27, 2022, and ended on December 13, 2022. It was the first eruption since 1984.

Second Highest Volcano – Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano, is located in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. It is Africa’s tallest mountain and the highest volcano in Africa and the Eastern Hemisphere at about 5,895 metres.

• It has three volcanic cones namely- Kibo which is the highest, Mawenzi at 5,149 metres and Shira at 4,005 metres . While Kibo is dormant and could erupt again, Mawenzi and Shira are extinct
• It is the largest free-standing mountain rise in the world as it is not part of any mountain range.
• A large dormant stratovolcano, it is the fourth most prominent peak on Earth in terms of topography.
• Being a part of the Kilimanjaro National Park, it is a famous tourist destination known for hiking and climbing.
• In October 2022, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included ‘The Pleistocene Kilimanjaro volcano’ in its list of 100 ‘geological heritage sites’ around the world.

Third Highest Volcano – Popocatepetl

Popocatepetl is an active stratovolcano located in central Mexico. It is a part of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. At 5426 metres, it is the second highest peak in Mexico.

• The name Popocatépetl comes from the Nahuatl words popōca meaning “it smokes” and tepētl meaning “mountain”, hence also known as “Smoking Mountain”.
• The age of the volcano is estimated to be around 730,000 years.
• With a diameter of 25 km at its base and a peak elevation of 5,450 m, it is conical in shape.
• It contains a steep-walled, 400 m × 600 m wide crater which is elliptical in shape with an orientation northeast-southwest. The height of its walls vary from 600 to 840 m in height.
• After being dormant for about half of last century, this volcano is currently active. The activity increased in 1991 and smoke has been seen continuously coming out from the crater since 1993.

Fourth Highest Volcano – Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji, an active stratovolcano, is located on the Japanese island of Honshu. It is the tallest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia and seventh-highest peak of an island on Earth with a summit elevation of 3,776 metres.

• Its main crater is 780 m in diameter and has a depth of 240 m. The bottom of the crater is 100–130 m in diameter.
• With an exceptionally symmetrical cone, covered in snow for about five months of the year, it is commonly used as a cultural icon of Japan and is one of Japan’s “Three Holy Mountains” along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku.
• This mountain is the major feature of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
• It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site on 22nd June, 2013.
• It has been dormant since its last eruption, in 1707, but is still classified as active by geologists with a low risk of eruption.

Fifth Highest Volcano – Mount Semeru

Mount Semeru, an active stratovolcano, is located in East Java, Indonesia. With an elevation of 3676 metres, it is the highest mountain on the island of Java.

• It is a part of the Island arcs formed by the subduction of the Indo-Australian plate below Sunda Plate (part of the Eurasian Plate).
• The name “Semeru” comes from Meru which means the central world mountain in Hinduism/ Sumeru, the home of gods/ Mahameru, meaning “The Great Mountain” in Sanskrit.
• It previously erupted in December, 2022.

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Sixth Highest Volcano – Mount Etna

Mount Etna, an active stratovolcano, is located in the metropolitan city of Catania, on the east coast of Sicily, Italy. With an elevation of 3350 metres, it is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe, and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps.

• The base has a circumference of about 150 km and covers an area of about 1,600 square km.
• Due to its constant activity and hence the fertile volcanic soils, the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south is covered with extensive agriculture of vineyards and orchards.
• Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations, due to its history of recent activity and nearby population.
• It was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in June 2013.

Seventh Highest Volcano – Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens, an active stratovolcano, is located in Skamania County, Washington in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. This volcano was named by the English navigator George Vancouver, who surveyed the area in the late 18th century after his friend and British diplomat Alleyne Fitzherbert, 1st Baron St Helens.

• With an elevation of 2550 metres, this volcano is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
• Considered as “brother and sister” mountains, Mount St. Helens is 55 km west of Mount Adams, in the western part of the Cascade Range.
• One of the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic explosions ever recorded in North America was its eruption on May 18, 1980. After that, the volcano experienced continuous volcanic activity until 2008.

Eighth Highest Volcano – Mayon Volcano

Mayon volcano, an active stratovolcano, is located in the province of Albay in Bicol, Philippines. With an elevation of 2463 metres, it is famous for its “perfect cone” because of its symmetric conical shape.

• With a crater about 250 m in diameter, the volcano has an average slope gradient of 75% at its steepest upper slopes while only an average of 3% at the lower foot slope.
• Regarded as sacred in Philippine mythology, it was declared a national park on 20 July, 1938, the first in the nation. Reclassified as a natural park, it was renamed the Mayon Volcano Natural Park in 2000.
• It is at the centre of the Albay Biosphere Reserve, declared by UNESCO in 2016.
• There have been more than 30 eruptions recorded since 1616, the most destructive eruption being in 1814.

Ninth Highest Volcano – Mount Bromo

Mount Bromo, an active Somma volcano and part of the Tengger mountains, is located in East Java, Indonesia. With an elevation of 2329 metres, it is included in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.

• The name Bromo comes from the Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation.
• It is the most famous in the area and one of the most visited tourist destinations in East Java.
• Located in the midst of a plain called “Sea of Sand”, this nature reserve has been protected since 1919.

Tenth Highest Volcano – Arenal Volcano

Arenal volcano, an active andesitic stratovolcano, is located in north-western Costa Rica. It has an elevation of 1670 metres.

• Conically shaped, it has a crater diameter measuring 140 metres.
• Arenal is considered a young volcano geologically and it is estimated to be less than 7,500 years old.
• “Pan de Azúcar”, “Canaste”, “Volcan Costa Rica”, “Volcan Rio Frio” or “Guatusos Peak” are the other names for Arenal Volcano.
• It is located at the centre of Arenal Volcano National Park in the northern zone of the country.
• The volcano was dormant for hundreds of years and showed 2 craters at its summit, with minor fumaroles activity, covered by dense vegetation.
• In 1968 it erupted unexpectedly and due to the eruption three more craters were created on the western flanks but only one of them exists today.
• Its eruption from 1968 to 2010 makes the tenth longest duration volcanic eruption on Earth since 1750.
• Since 2010, Arenal has been dormant.

Conclusion – Top 10 Active Volcanoes in the World

Volcanoes are a natural phenomenon. There are nearly 1500 active volcanoes on Earth. The eruption of lava during a volcanic eruption can be life-threatening and damage houses in the regions where there are active volcanoes. The exact number of volcanoes keeps changing due to the formation of new volcanoes and the changing of older ones into dormant or extinct volcanoes.

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FAQs on Top 10 Active Volcanoes in the World

What is a Volcano?

Volcanoes are openings, or vents where lava, small rocks and steam erupt onto the Earth’s surface.

Which country has the highest number of Volcanoes?

The United States of America has the highest number of volcanoes.

How many Volcanoes are there in India?

There are eight volcanoes in India- Barren Island, Narcondam, Deccan Plateau, Baratang Island, Dhinodhar Hills, Dhosi Hill, Tosham Hills. There is only one active i.e. Barren Island.

Where are the majority of Volcanoes found on the earth?

The majority of volcanoes are situated around the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” a belt. Certain volcanoes, such as those that make up the Hawaiian Islands, are found near “hot spots” in the interior of plates.

Is Thiruvannamalai a Volcano?

Thiruvannamalai is said to be an extinct volcano. It was active 50000 years ago.