Volcanic eruptions have sculpted the landscape, buried cities and reshaped the course of history.
When volcanoes blow their tops, they can do so without warning — and with devastating consequences.
In 1996, a leading international volcanology group identified more than a dozen volcanoes that are particularly deserving of study because they have a history of large, destructive eruptions, are close to populated areas, and could erupt again in the near future.
Many of these volcanoes remain active today, and could wreak havoc on communities that live in their shadow.
Mauna Loa, an active volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, is widely considered the largest land volcano on Earth. It has a volume of 18,000 cubic miles! Because of its shape, Mauna Loa is known as a shield volcano. The last time it erupted was 1984, when lava poured out of vents on its northeast rift zone on Pu‘u‘ula‘ula (Red Hill), shown below. No recent eruptions have killed anyone, but they have destroyed villages.
Taal Volcano, located on the island of Luzon, is the second most active volcano in the Philippines. It has erupted violently several times in the past, including a 1911 eruption that killed more than 1,300 people and destroyed homes and livestock. It last erupted in 1977.
Tenerife is the largest island in the Canary Island archipelago, crowned by Pico de Teide volcano. At 12,198 feet above sea level, the peak, shown in this satellite image taken in August 1991, represents the highest elevation in the Atlantic Ocean. Teide has erupted several times since the island was settled in 1402, most recently in 1909.
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