This timeline of volcanism on Earth includes a list of major

volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

s of approximately at least magnitude 6 on the Volcanic explosivity index (VEI) or equivalent

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...

emission during the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

period (from 2.58

Mya Mya may refer to: Brands and product names * Mya (program), an intelligent personal assistant created by Motorola * Mya (TV channel), an Italian Television channel * Midwest Young Artists, a comprehensive youth music program Codes * Burmese ...

to the present). Other volcanic eruptions are also listed. Some eruptions cooled the global climate—inducing a

volcanic winter A volcanic winter is a reduction in global temperatures caused by volcanic ash and droplets of sulfuric acid and water obscuring the Sun and raising Earth's albedo (increasing the reflection of solar radiation) after a large, particularly explosiv ...

—depending on the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted and the magnitude of the eruption. Before the present

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

epoch, the criteria are less strict because of scarce data availability, partly since later eruptions have destroyed the evidence. Only some eruptions before the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

period (from 23 Mya to 2.58 Mya) are listed. Known large eruptions after the

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

period (from 66 Mya to 23 Mya) are listed, especially those relating to the

Yellowstone hotspot The Yellowstone hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the United States responsible for large scale volcanism in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming, formed as the North American tectonic plate moved over it. It formed the eastern Snake Ri ...

, the Santorini caldera, and the

Taupō Volcanic Zone The Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand that has been active for the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs north-eastward thro ...

. Active volcanoes such as

Stromboli Stromboli ( , ; scn, Struògnuli ) is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sici ...

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...

and

Kīlauea Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Hi ...

do not appear on this list, but some

back-arc basin A back-arc basin is a type of geologic basin, found at some convergent plate boundaries. Presently all back-arc basins are submarine features associated with island arcs and subduction zones, with many found in the western Pacific Ocean. Most of ...

volcanoes that generated calderas do appear. Some dangerous volcanoes in "populated areas" appear many times: Santorini six times, and Yellowstone hotspot 21 times. The Bismarck volcanic arc,

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

, and the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, appear often too. In addition to the events listed below, there are many examples of eruptions in the Holocene on the Kamchatka Peninsula, which are described in a supplemental table by Peter Ward.

Large Quaternary eruptions

The

epoch begins 11,700 years BP (10,000 ¹⁴C years ago).

1000–2000 AD

* Pinatubo, island of Luzon, Philippines; 1991, June 15; VEI 6; of tephra;http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/largeeruptions.cfm Large Holocene Eruptions an estimated of were emitted * Novarupta, Alaska Peninsula; 1912, June 6; VEI 6; of lava * Santa Maria, Guatemala; 1902, October 24; VEI 6; of tephra * Krakatoa, Indonesia; 1883, August 26–27; VEI 6; of tephra * Mount Tambora, Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia; 1815, Apr 10; VEI 7; of tephra; an estimated of were emitted, produced the " Year Without a Summer" *

1808 mystery eruption The 1808 mystery eruption is either a single large volcanic eruption ( VEI-6), or a series of volcanic eruptions, conjectured to have taken place in 1808–1809. This eruption is suspected of having contributed to a period of global cooling that ...

, VEI 6–7; discovered from ice cores in the 1980s. * Grímsvötn, Northeastern Iceland; 1783–1785;

Laki Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly r ...

; 1783–1784; VEI 2; of lava, an estimated of were emitted, produced a Volcanic winter, 1783, on the North Hemisphere. *

Long Island (Papua New Guinea) Long Island is a volcanic island in Papua New Guinea. It is located north of the island of New Guinea, separated from it by the Vitiaz Strait. Geography Two stratovolcanoes are located on the island: Mount Reaumur and Cerisy Peak. The summit ...

, Northeast of New Guinea; 1660 ±20; VEI 6; of tephra * Huaynaputina, Peru; 1600, February 19; VEI 6; of tephra * Billy Mitchell, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea; 1580 ±20; VEI 6; of tephra * Bárðarbunga, Northeastern Iceland; 1477; VEI 6; of tephra * 1465 mystery eruption "the location of this eruption is uncertain, as it has only been identified from distant

ice core An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet or a high mountain glacier. Since the ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper ones, and an ice core contains ic ...

records and atmospheric events around the time of King Alfonso II of Naples's wedding; it is believed to have been VEI 7 and possibly even larger than Mount Tambora's in 1815. * 1452/1453 mystery eruption in the New Hebrides arc, Vanuatu; the location of this eruption in the South Pacific is uncertain, as it has been identified from distant

records; the only pyroclastic flows are found at Kuwae; of tephra; of sulfuric acid *1280(?) in

Quilotoa Quilotoa () is a water-filled crater lake and the most western volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. The -wide caldera was formed by the collapse of this dacite volcano following a catastrophic VEI-6 eruption about 800 years ago, which produced pyroc ...

, Ecuador; VEI 6; of tephra *

1257 Samalas eruption In 1257, a catastrophic eruption occurred at the Samalas volcano on the Indonesian island of Lombok. The event had a probable Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7, making it one of the largest volcanic eruptions during the current Holocene epoch. It ...

, Rinjani volcanic complex, Lombok Island, Indonesia; 40 km³ (dense-rock equivalent) of tephra, Arctic and Antarctic

Ice core An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet or a high mountain glacier. Since the ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper ones, and an ice core contains ic ...

s provide compelling evidence to link the ice core sulfate spike of 1258/1259 A.D. to this volcano.

Overview of Common Era

This is a sortable summary of 27 major eruptions in the last 2000 years with VEI ≥6, implying an average of about 1.3 per century. The count does not include the notable VEI 5 eruptions of Mount St. Helens and Mount Vesuvius. Date uncertainties, tephra volumes, and references are also not included. Note: Caldera names tend to change over time. For example, Ōkataina Caldera, Haroharo Caldera, Haroharo volcanic complex, and Tarawera volcanic complex all had the same magma source in the Taupō Volcanic Zone. Yellowstone Caldera, Henry's Fork Caldera, Island Park Caldera, Heise Volcanic Field had all Yellowstone hotspot as magma source.

Earlier Quaternary eruptions

2.588 ± 0.005 million years BP, the

period and Pleistocene epoch begin. *

Eifel hotspot The Eifel hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in Western Germany. It is one of many recent volcanic formations in and around the Eifel mountain range and includes the volcanic field known as Volcanic Eifel. Although the last eruption occurred around 1 ...

Laacher See Laacher See (), also known as Lake Laach or Laach Lake, is a volcanic caldera lake with a diameter of in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, about northwest of Koblenz, south of Bonn, and west of Andernach. It is in the Eifel mountain range, and ...

Vulkan Eifel The Volcanic Eifel or Vulkan Eifel (german: Vulkaneifel) is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of this volcanic field are its typical explosion crater la ...

, Germany; 12.9 ka; VEI 6; of tephra. *Emmons Lake Caldera (size: 11 x 18 km), Aleutian Range, 17 ka ±5; more than of tephra. *

Lake Barrine Lake Barrine is a freshwater lake on the eastern parts of Atherton Tableland in the locality of Lake Barrine, in the Tablelands Region of Far North Queensland, Australia, close to Lake Eacham. The lake and surrounds are protected within th ...

, Atherton Tableland, North Queensland, Australia; was formed over 17 ka. *

Menengai Menengai Crater is a massive shield volcano with one of the biggest calderas in the world, in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. It is the largest volcano caldera in Kenya and the second largest volcano caldera in Africa. Volcanic formed rich loam so ...

, East African Rift, Kenya; 29 ka *

Morne Diablotins Morne Diablotins is the highest mountain in Dominica, an island-nation in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles. It is the second highest mountain in the Lesser Antilles, after La Grande Soufrière in Guadeloupe. Morne Diablotins is located in the no ...

, Commonwealth of Dominica; VEI 6; 30 ka (Grand Savanne Ignimbrite). * Phlegraean Fields, Italy; VEI 7; 40 ka ( Campanian Ignimbrite eruption). * Kurile Lake, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia; Golygin eruption; about 41.5 ka; VEI 7 * Maninjau Caldera (size: 20 x 8 km), West Sumatra; VEI 7; around 52 ka; of tephra. * Lake Toba (size: 100 x 30 km), Sumatra, Indonesia; VEI 8; 73 ka ±4; of tephra; probably six gigatons of sulfur dioxide were emitted (Youngest Toba Tuff). * Atitlán Caldera (size: 17 x 20 km), Guatemalan Highlands; Los Chocoyos eruption; formed in an eruption 84 ka; VEI 7; of tephra. *

Mount Aso Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

(size: 24 km wide), island of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

, Japan; 90 ka; last eruption was more than of tephra. *

Sierra la Primavera Sierra la Primavera is a Late Pleistocene volcanic centre in Jalisco of central-western Mexico, located immediately west of Guadalajara in La Primavera Biosphere Reserve. It consists of a caldera, lava domes and lava flows that have formed in the l ...

volcanic complex (size: 11 km wide),

Guadalajara, Jalisco Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

, Mexico; 95 ka; of Tala Tuff. *

(size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 120 ka; of tephra. *

(size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 140 ka; of tephra. *

Puy de Sancy Puy de Sancy (, ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Puèi de la Crotz , ) is the highest mountain in the Massif Central. It is part of an ancient stratovolcano which has been inactive for about 220,000 years. The northern and southern slopes are used fo ...

, Massif Central, central France; it is part of an ancient stratovolcano which has been inactive for about 220,000 years. *Emmons Lake Caldera (size: 11 x 18 km), Aleutian Range, 233 ka; more than of tephra. *

(size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; caldera formed as a result of four huge caldera eruptions; 270 ka; of tephra. * Uzon-Geyzernaya calderas (size: 9 x 18 km), Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia; 325–175 ka of ignimbrite deposits. * Diamante Caldera–Maipo volcano complex (size: 20 x 16 km), Argentina-Chile; 450 ka; of tephra. *

;

Yellowstone Caldera The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corn ...

(size: 45 x 85 km); 640 ka; VEI 8; more than of tephra ( Lava Creek Tuff) *

Three Sisters (Oregon) --> , topo = USGS South Sister and North Sister , type = Two stratovolcanoes (South, Middle) and one shield volcano (North) , age = Quaternary , volcanic_arc = Cascade Volcanic Arc , last_eruption = 440 CE , first_ascent = , easiest_rou ...

, USA; Tumalo volcanic center; with eruptions from 600–700 to 170 ka years ago * Uinkaret volcanic field, Arizona, USA; the Colorado River was dammed by lava flows multiple times from 725 to 100 ka. *Mono County, California, USA; Long Valley Caldera; 758.9 ka ±1.8; VEI 7; of Bishop Tuff. * Valles Caldera, New Mexico, USA; 1.25 Ma; VEI 7; around of the Tshirege Member (Upper Bandelier Tuff) eruption.Izett, Glen A. (1981). * Sutter Buttes, Central Valley of California, USA; were formed over 1.5 Ma by a now-extinct volcano. * Valles Caldera, New Mexico, USA; 1.61 Ma; VEI 7; over of the Otowi Member (Lower Bandelier Tuff) eruption. *Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephras, Japan; 1.75 Ma; of tephra. *Yellowstone hotspot; Island Park Caldera (size: 100 x 50 km); 2.1 Ma; VEI 8; of

Huckleberry Ridge Tuff The Huckleberry Ridge Tuff is a tuff formation created by the Huckleberry Ridge eruption that formed the Island Park Caldera that lies partially in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming and stretches westward into Idaho into a region known as Island ...

. *

Cerro Galán Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municipa ...

(size: 32 km wide),

Catamarca Province Catamarca () is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province had a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km2. Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise, fr ...

, northwestern Argentina; 2.2 Ma; VEI 8; of Cerro Galán Ignimbrite.

Large Neogene eruptions

Pliocene eruptions

Approximately 5.332 million years BP, the Pliocene epoch begins. Most eruptions before the Quaternary period have an unknown VEI. *

Boring Lava Field The Boring Lava Field (also known as the Boring Volcanic Field) is a Plio-Pleistocene volcanic field with cinder cones, small shield volcanoes, and lava flows in the northern Willamette Valley of the U.S. state of Oregon and adjacent southwest ...

, Boring, Oregon, USA; the zone became active at least 2.7 Ma, and has been extinct for about 300,000 years. *

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

, Australia; remnant of a basaltic volcano active around 2.3 to 3 Ma. * Pastos Grandes Caldera (size: 40 x 50 km), Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex, Bolivia; 2.9 Ma; VEI 7; more than of Pastos Grandes Ignimbrite. * Little Barrier Island, northeastern coast of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

; it erupted from 1 million to 3 Ma. *

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...

; a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

created approximately 3 Ma after the opening of the

East African rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...

. * Pacana Caldera (size: 60 x 35 km), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, northern Chile; 4 Ma; VEI 8; of Atana Ignimbrite. * Frailes Plateau, Bolivia; 4 Ma; of Frailes Ignimbrite E. *

(size: 32 km wide),

, northwestern Argentina; 4.2 Ma; of Real Grande and Cueva Negra tephra. *

, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; Kilgore Caldera (size: 80 x 60 km); VEI 8; of Kilgore Tuff; 4.45 Ma ±0.05. *

Khari Khari Khari Khari ( Quechua, a thorny medical plant, a species of rubus, hispanicized spellings ''Cari Cari, Kari Kari, Kari-Kari'') is a mountain in the Andes in the Potosí Department of Bolivia. It is the second highest elevation in the Potosí mou ...

Caldera, Frailes Plateau, Bolivia; 5 Ma; of tephra.

Miocene eruptions

Approximately 23.03 million years BP, the

period and Miocene epoch begin. *

Cerro Guacha Cerro Guacha is a Miocene caldera in southwestern Bolivia's Sur Lípez Province. Part of the volcanic system of the Andes, it is considered to be part of the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ), one of the three volcanic arcs of the Andes, and its associa ...

, Bolivia; 5.6–5.8 Ma (Guacha ignimbrite). * Lord Howe Island, Australia; Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower are both made of basalt rock, remnants of lava flows that once filled a large volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

6.4 Ma.Geography and Geology
Lord Howe Island Tourism Association. Retrieved on 2009-04-20. *Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 5.51 Ma ±0.13 (Conant Creek Tuff). *Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 5.6 Ma; of Blue Creek Tuff. *Cerro Panizos (size: 18 km wide), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Bolivia; 6.1 Ma; of Panizos Ignimbrite. *Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 6.27 Ma ±0.04 (Walcott Tuff). *Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; Blacktail Caldera (size: 100 x 60 km), Idaho; 6.62 Ma ±0.03; of Blacktail Tuff. * Pastos Grandes Caldera (size: 40 x 50 km), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Bolivia; 8.3 Ma; of Sifon Ignimbrite. * Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, northern Papua New Guinea; 8–10 Ma *

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...

, New Zealand; Akaroa erupted 9 Ma, Lyttelton erupted 12 Ma. *

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

were formed in a series of undersea volcanic eruptions 8–10 Ma, as the African plate drifted over the

Réunion hotspot The Réunion hotspot is a volcanic hotspot which currently lies under the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The Chagos-Laccadive Ridge and the southern part of the Mascarene Plateau are volcanic traces of the Réunion hotspot. The hotspo ...

. *Yellowstone hotspot, Twin Fall volcanic field, Idaho; 8.6 to 10 Ma. *Yellowstone hotspot, Grey's Landing Supereruption, Idaho; 8.72 Ma , of Grey's Landing Ignimbrite. *Yellowstone hotspot, McMullen Supereruption, Idaho; 8.99 Ma, of volcanic material *Yellowstone hotspot, Picabo volcanic field, Idaho; 10.21 Ma ± 0.03 (Arbon Valley Tuff). * Mount Cargill, New Zealand; the last eruptive phase ended some 10 Ma. The center of the caldera is about Port Chalmers, the main port of the city of Dunedin. Much of the caldera is filled by Otago Harbour. *Yellowstone hotspot, Idaho; Bruneau-Jarbidge volcanic field; 10.0 to 12.5 Ma ( Ashfall Fossil Beds eruption). * Anahim hotspot, British Columbia, Canada; has generated the Anahim Volcanic Belt over the last 13 million years. *Yellowstone hotspot, Owyhee-Humboldt volcanic field, Nevada/ Oregon; around 12.8 to 13.9 Ma. *Tejeda Caldera, Gran Canaria, Spain; 13.9 Ma; the 80 km3 eruption produced a composite ignimbrite (P1) of rhyolite, trachyte and basaltic materials, with a thickness of 30 metres at 10 km from the caldera center * Gran Canaria shield basalt eruption, Spain; 14.5 to 14 Ma; 1,000 km3 of tholeiitic to alkali basalts * Campi Flegrei, Naples, Italy; 14.9 Ma; of Neapolitan Yellow Tuff. *Huaylillas Ignimbrite, Bolivia, southern Peru, northern Chile; 15 Ma ±1; of tephra. *Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (North), Trout Creek Mountains, Whitehorse Caldera (size: 15 km wide), Oregon; 15 Ma; of Whitehorse Creek Tuff. *Yellowstone hotspot (?),

Lake Owyhee Owyhee Reservoir or Owyhee Lake is a reservoir on the Owyhee River in Malheur County, Oregon, United States. Located in far Eastern Oregon near the Idaho border, the reservoir is Oregon's longest at . The lake is home to several species of fish, ...

volcanic field; 15.0 to 15.5 Ma. *Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Jordan Meadow Caldera, (size: 10–15 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.6 Ma; Longridge Tuff member 2-3. *Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Longridge Caldera, (size: 33 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.6 Ma; Longridge Tuff member 5. *Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Calavera Caldera, (size: 17 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.7 Ma; of Double H Tuff. *Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Hoppin Peaks Caldera, 16 Ma; Hoppin Peaks Tuff. *Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (North), Trout Creek Mountains, Pueblo Caldera (size: 20 x 10 km), Oregon; 15.8 Ma; of Trout Creek Mountains Tuff. *Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Washburn Caldera, (size: 30 x 25 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 16.548 Ma; of Oregon Canyon Tuff. *Yellowstone hotspot (?), Northwest Nevada volcanic field (NWNV), Virgin Valley, High Rock, Hog Ranch, and unnamed calderas; West of

Pine Forest Range The Pine Forest Range (also known as the Pine Forest Mountains) is a mountain range in Humboldt County, in the U.S. state of Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It ...

, Nevada; 15.5 to 16.5 Ma. *Yellowstone hotspot, Steens and Columbia River flood basalts, Pueblo, Steens, and Malheur Gorge-region,

Pueblo Mountains The Pueblo Mountains are a remote mountain range in the United States located mostly in southeastern Oregon and partially in northwestern Nevada. The highest point in the range is Pueblo Mountain. The dominant vegetation throughout is grasses ...

, Steens Mountain, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, USA; most vigorous eruptions were from 14–17 Ma; of lava.GeoScienceWorld, ''Genesis of flood basalts and Basin and Range volcanic rocks from Steens Mountain to the Malheur River Gorge, Oregon''
/ref> *

Mount Lindesay (New South Wales) Mount Lindesay, sometimes incorrectly recorded as Mount Lindsay, a mountain located within the Nandewar Range, is situated within the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The mountain was formed by the Nandewar extinct volcano ...

, Australia; is part of the remnants of the Nandewar extinct volcano that ceased activity about 17 Ma after 4 million years of activity. *Oxaya Ignimbrites, northern Chile (around 18°S); 19 Ma; of tephra. * Pemberton Volcanic Belt was erupting about 21 to 22 Ma.

Volcanism before the Neogene

*Paleogene ends 23 million years ago. **The formation of the

Chilcotin Group The Chilcotin Group, also called the Chilcotin Plateau Basalts, is a large area of basaltic lava that forms a volcanic plateau running parallel with the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt in south-central British Columbia, Canada. Predominantly, during Mioc ...

basalts occurs between 10–6 million years ago. **The formation of the Columbia River Basalt Group occurs between 17 and 6 million years ago. ** La Garita Caldera erupts in the Wheeler Geologic Area, Central Colorado volcanic field, Colorado, USA, eruption several VEI 8 events (Possibly as high as a VEI 9), of Fish Canyon Tuff was blasted out in a single, major eruption about 27.8 million years ago. **Unknown source in Ethiopia erupts 29 million years ago with at least of Green Tuff and SAM. **Sam Ignimbrite in Yemen forms 29.5 million years ago, at least of distal tuffs associated with the ignimbrites.. **Jabal Kura’a Ignimbrite in Yemen forms 29.6million years ago, at least of distal tuffs associated with the ignimbrites. **The Ethiopian Highlands flood basalt begins 30 million years ago *About 33.9 million ago, the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

epoch of the

period begins **The Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up begins 40 million years ago and lasts until 25 million years ago. **

Bennett Lake Volcanic Complex The Bennett Lake Volcanic Complex (BLVC) is a huge 50-million-year-old extinct caldera complex that spans across the British Columbia-Yukon border in Canada. It is located near the western end of the West Arm of Bennett Lake. The caldera complex ...

erupts 50 million years ago with a VEI 7 of tephra. ** Canary hotspot is believed to have first appeared about 60 million years ago. **Formation of the Brito-Arctic province begins 61 million years ago **

Deccan Traps The Deccan Traps is a large igneous province of west-central India (17–24°N, 73–74°E). It is one of the largest volcanic features on Earth, taking the form of a large shield volcano. It consists of numerous layers of solidified flood ...

, India, formed between 60 and 68 million years ago which are thought to have played a role in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. **The Louisville hotspot has produced the Louisville Ridge, it is active for at least 80 million years. It may have originated the Ontong Java Plateau around 120 million years ago. ** Hawaii hotspot, Meiji Seamount is the oldest extant seamount in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, with an estimated age of 82 million years. **The

Kerguelen Plateau The Kerguelen Plateau (, ), also known as the Kerguelen–Heard Plateau, is an oceanic plateau and a large igneous province (LIP) located on the Antarctic Plate, in the southern Indian Ocean. It is about to the southwest of Australia and is ...

begins forming 110 million years ago. **The Rahjamal Traps form from 117–116 million years ago. **The Ontong Java Plateau forms from 125–120 million years ago ** Paraná and Etendeka traps, Brazil, Namibia and Angola form 128 to 138 million years ago. 132 million years ago, a possible supervolcanic eruption occurred, ejecting . **Formation of the Karoo-Ferrar flood basalts begins 183 million years ago. *The flood basalts of the Central Atlantic magmatic province are thought to have contributed to the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event about 199 million years ago. *The Siberian Traps are thought to have played a significant role in the Permian–Triassic extinction event 252 million years ago. **Formation of the

Emeishan Traps The Emeishan Traps constitute a flood basalt volcanic province, or large igneous province, in south-western China, centred in Sichuan province. It is sometimes referred to as the Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province or Emeishan Flood Basalts. Li ...

began 260 million years ago. *The Late Devonian extinction occurs about 374 million years ago. *The

Ordovician–Silurian extinction event The Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME), sometimes known as the end-Ordovician mass extinction or the Ordovician-Silurian extinction, is the first of the "big five" major mass extinction events in Earth's history, occurring roughly 443 Mya. It ...

occurs between 450 and 440 million years ago. ** Glen Coe, Scotland; VEI 8; 420 million years ago **

Scafells Image:Annotated Scafell range.jpg, 300px, The Scafell range as seen looking west from Crinkle Crags. (Interactive labels.) rect 23 372 252 419 Slight Side (762m) rect 173 794 560 834 Scafell East Buttress rect 707 787 893 861 Esk Crag or But ...

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

, England; VEI 8; Ordovician (488.3–443.7 million years ago). ** Flat Landing Brook; VEI 8, A Supervolcanic eruption occurred 466 million years ago, as it erupted in one of the largest explosive volcanic eruptions known in Earth's history with a volume of ejecta at around . *The

Phanerozoic The Phanerozoic Eon is the current geologic eon in the geologic time scale, and the one during which abundant animal and plant life has existed. It covers 538.8 million years to the present, and it began with the Cambrian Period, when anima ...

eon begins 539 million years ago. ** Midcontinent Rift System of North America begins forming 1,000 million years ago. ** Mackenzie Large Igneous Province forms 1,270 million years ago. ** Mistassini dike swarm and Matachewan dike swarm form 2,500 million years ago. **

Blake River Megacaldera Complex The Blake River Megacaldera Complex is a giant subaqueous caldera cluster or a nested caldera system that spans across the Ontario–Quebec border in Canada. The caldera complex is around 2.7 billion years old, consisting of a series of overlappi ...

forms 2,704–2,707 million years ago.ASH FALL: Newsletter of the Volcanology and Igneous Petrology Division Geological Association of Canada
Retrieved on 2007-09-21 *Approximately 2,500 million years ago, the

Proterozoic The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided ...

eon of the Precambrian period begins *About 3,800 million years ago, the Archean eon of the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

period begins

Notes

*The Mackenzie Large Igneous Province contains the largest and best-preserved continental flood basalt terrain on Earth. The

Mackenzie dike swarm The Mackenzie dike swarm, also called the Mackenzie dikes, forms a large igneous province in the western Canadian Shield of Canada. It is part of the larger Mackenzie Large Igneous Province and is one of more than three dozen dike swarms in variou ...

throughout the Mackenzie Large Igneous Province is also the largest dike swarm on Earth, covering an area of . *The Bachelor (27.4 Ma), San Luis (27–26.8 Ma), and Creede (26 Ma) calderas partially overlap each other and are nested within the large La Garita (27.6 Ma) caldera, forming the central caldera cluster of the San Juan volcanic field, Wheeler Geologic Area,

La Garita Wilderness The La Garita Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the La Garita Mountains of southern Colorado. The wilderness established in 1964 in Gunnison and Rio Grande National Forests includes segments of the Colorado Trail and the Contine ...

Creede, Colorado The historic City of Creede is (despite its official name) a Statutory Town and the county seat of Mineral County, Colorado, United States. It is the most populous community and the only incorporated municipality within the county. The town pop ...

and

San Luis Peak San Luis Peak is the highest summit of the La Garita Mountains range in the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent fourteener is located in the Gunnison National Forest portion of the La Garita Wilderness in Saguache County approxi ...

( Continental Divide of the Americas) are nearby. North Pass Caldera is northeastern the San Juan Mountains,

North Pass North Pass (elevation: ) is a mountain pass over the Continental Divide in Saguache County, Colorado. The pass is traversed by Colorado State Highway 114 State Highway 114 (SH 114) is a long state highway in southern central Colorado. ...

. The Platoro volcanic complex lies southeastern of the central caldera cluster. The center of the western San Juan caldera cluster lies just west of Lake City, Colorado. *The Rio Grande rift includes the San Juan volcanic field, the Valles Caldera, the Potrillo volcanic field, and the Socorro-Magdalena magmatic system. The Socorro Magma Body is uplifting the surface at approximately 2 mm/year. *The southwestern Nevada volcanic field, or Yucca Mountain volcanic field, includes: Stonewall Mountain caldera complex, Black Mountain Caldera, Silent Canyon Caldera, Timber Mountain – Oasis Valley caldera complex, Crater Flat Group, and Yucca Mountain. Towns nearby: Beatty,

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, Goldfield. It is aligned as a Crater Flat volcanic field, Réveille Range, Lunar Crater volcanic field, Zone (CFLC). The Marysvale Volcanic Field, southwestern Utah is nearby too. *McDermitt volcanic field, or Orevada rift volcanic field, Nevada/ Oregon, nearby are: McDermitt, Trout Creek Mountains, Bilk Creek Mountains, Steens Mountain, Jordan Meadow Mountain (6,816 ft), Long Ridge, Trout Creek, and Whitehorse Creek. *Emmons Lake stratovolcano (caldera size: 11 x 18 km), Aleutian Range, was formed through six eruptions. Mount Emmons, Mount Hague, and Double Crater are post-caldera cones. *The topography of the Basin and Range Province is a result of crustal

extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

within this part of the North American Plate ( rifting of the North American craton or Laurentia from Western North America; e.g. Gulf of California, Rio Grande rift, Oregon-Idaho

graben In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic contex ...

). The crust here has been stretched up to 100% of its original width. In fact, the crust underneath the Basin and Range, especially under the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

(includes Nevada), is some of the thinnest in the world. *Topographically visible calderas: South part of the McDermitt volcanic field (four overlapping and nested calderas), West of McDermitt; Cochetopa Park Caldera, West of the

; Henry's Fork Caldera;

, New Zealand ( Photo) and Valles Caldera. Newer drawings show McDermitt volcanic field (South), as five overlapping and nested calderas. Hoppin Peaks Caldera is included too. *Repose periods: Toba (0.38 Ma), Valles Caldera (0.35 Ma),

(0.7 Ma). * Kiloannum (ka), is a unit of time equal to one thousand years. Megaannum (Ma), is a unit of time equal to one million years, one can assume that "ago" is implied.

Volcanic explosivity index (VEI)

Volcanic dimming

The global dimming through volcanism (ash aerosol and

) is quite independent of the eruption VEI. When sulfur dioxide (boiling point at

standard state In chemistry, the standard state of a material (pure substance, mixture or solution) is a reference point used to calculate its properties under different conditions. A superscript circle ° (degree symbol) or a Plimsoll (⦵) character is use ...

: -10 °C) reacts with water vapor, it creates sulfate ions (the precursors to sulfuric acid), which are very reflective; ash aerosol on the other hand absorbs ultraviolet. Global cooling through volcanism is the sum of the influence of the global dimming and the influence of the high albedo of the deposited ash layer. The lower

snow line The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow wil ...

and its higher albedo might prolong this cooling period. Bipolar comparison showed six sulfate events: Tambora (1815),

Cosigüina Cosigüina (also spelt Cosegüina) is a stratovolcano located in the western part of Nicaragua. It forms a large peninsula extending into the Gulf of Fonseca. The summit is truncated by a large caldera, 2 x 2.4 km in diameter and 500 m ...

(1835), Krakatoa (1883), Agung (1963), and

El Chichón El Chichón, also known as Chichonal, is an active volcano in Francisco León, Chiapas, Francisco León, north-western Chiapas, Mexico. El Chichón is part of a geologic zone known as the Chiapanecan Volcanic Arc. El Chichón is a complex of dome ...

(1982), and the

. And the atmospheric transmission of direct solar radiation data from the Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), Hawaii (19°32'N) detected only five eruptions: *June 11, 2009,

Sarychev Peak Sarychev Peak (russian: вулкан Пик Сарычева, ''Vulkan Sarycheva'', variants: ja, 芙蓉山 ''Fuyō Mountain'', ''Fuyō-san'', ''Fuyō-yama'', ''Fuyo-zan'', ''Huyō San'', ja, 松輪富士 ''Matsuwa-fuji'') is an active stra ...

(?), Kuril Islands, 400 tons of tephra, VEI 4 ** *June 12–15, 1991 (eruptive climax), Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, 11,000 ±0.5 tons of tephra, VEI 6 **Global cooling: 0.5 °C, *March 28, 1982,

, Mexico, 2,300 tons of tephra, VEI 5 ** *October 10, 1974,

Volcán de Fuego Volcán de Fuego (; Spanish for "Volcano of Fire", often shortened to Fuego) or Chi Q'aq' ( Kaqchikel for "where the fire is") is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, 400 tons of tephra, VEI 4 ** *February 18, 1963, Mount Agung,

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

, 100 tons of lava, more than 1,000 tons of tephra, VEI 5 **Northern Hemisphere cooling: 0.3 °C,Jones, P.D., Wigley, T.M.I, and Kelly, P.M. (1982), Variations in surface air temperatures: Part I. Northern Hemisphere, 1881–1980: Monthly Weather Review, v.110, p. 59-70. But very large

emissions overdrive the oxidizing capacity of the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

. Carbon monoxide's and methane's concentration goes up ( greenhouse gases), global temperature goes up, ocean's temperature goes up, and ocean's carbon dioxide solubility goes down. Image:Tephra fall from 1991 eruption of Mt Pinatubo.gif, Location of Mount Pinatubo, showing area over which ash from the 1991 eruption fell. Image:TOMS AI Jun16 91.gif, Satellite measurements of ash and

aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or Human impact on the environment, anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog o ...

emissions from Mount Pinatubo. Image:Mauna Loa atmospheric transmission.png, MLO transmission ratio - Solar radiation reduction due to volcanic eruptions Image:Aerosol dimming.jpg, NASA, Global Dimming - El Chichon, VEI 5; Pinatubo, VEI 6. Image:TOMS SO2 time nov03.png, Sulfur dioxide emissions by volcanoes. Mount Pinatubo: 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide. Image:TOMS SO2 Jun17 91.gif, TOMS sulfur dioxide from the June 15, 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Image:Sarychev Eruption Generates Large Cloud of Sulfur Dioxide.png, Sarychev Peak: the sulphur dioxide cloud generated by the eruption on June 12, 2009 (in Dobson units).

Map gallery

Image:Yellowstone Caldera map2.JPG, Yellowstone sits on top of four overlapping calderas. (US NPS) Image:IPCaldera.jpg, Diagram of Island Park and Henry's Fork Caldera. Image:Wpdms shdrlfi020l harney basin.jpg, Harney Basin, Steens Mountain, Owyhee and Malheur River. Image:Steens Mountain relief map.png, Steens Mountain, McDermitt volcanic field and Oregon/ Nevada stateline. Image:HotspotsSRP_update2013.JPG, Location of Yellowstone Hotspot in Millions of Years Ago. Image:SnakeRiver.jpg, Snake River Plain, image from NASA's

Aqua satellite Aqua (EOS PM-1) is a NASA scientific research satellite in orbit around the Earth, studying the precipitation, evaporation, and cycling of water. It is the second major component of the Earth Observing System (EOS) preceded by Terra (launched 199 ...

, 2008 Image:Wfm area51 map en.png, Location of Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada, to the west of the Nevada Test Site. Image:Santa Fe National Forest Jemez District.jpg, Jemez Ranger District and Jemez Mountains,

Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected United States National Forest, national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 ...

References

External links

Volcano World Information

Reference Database of the International Association of Volcanology (XLS file)

Reference Database of Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (XLS file)
* tp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/icecore/greenland/summit/gisp2/chem/volcano.txt Volcanic sulfate record in the GISP2 core (ftp protocol) {{List of volcanoes Events in the geological history of Earth Volcanism Complex volcanoes * Large igneous provinces Holocene volcanism Pleistocene volcanism Pliocene volcanism Miocene volcanism Lists of places Archean volcanism Proterozoic volcanism Geology-related lists