List of Quaternary volcanic eruptions

This article is a list of historical volcanic eruptions of approximately magnitude 6 or more on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) or equivalent sulfur dioxide emission during the Holocene, and Pleistocene eruptions of the Decade Volcanoes (Avachinsky–Koryaksky, Kamchatka; Colima, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt; Mount Etna, Sicily; Galeras, Andes, Northern Volcanic Zone; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Mount Merapi, Central Java; Mount Nyiragongo, East African Rift; Mount Rainier, Washington; Sakurajima, Kagoshima Prefecture; Santamaria/ Santiaguito, Central America Volcanic Arc; Santorini, Cyclades; Taal Volcano, Luzon Volcanic Arc; Teide, Canary Islands; Ulawun, New Britain; Mount Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture; Mount Vesuvius, Naples); Campania, Italy; South Aegean Volcanic Arc; Laguna de Bay, Luzon Volcanic Arc; Mount Pinatubo, Luzon Volcanic Arc; Toba, Sunda Arc; Mount Meager massif, Garibaldi Volcanic Belt; Yellowstone hotspot, Wyoming; and Taupō Volcanic Zone, greater than VEI 4.

The eruptions in the Holocene on the link: Holocene Volcanoes in Kamchatka were not added yet, but they are listed on the Peter L. Ward's supplemental table. Some of the eruptions are not listed on the Global Volcanism Program timetable as well, at least not as VEI 6. The timetables of Global Volcanism Program; Bristlecone pine tree-rings (Pinus longaeva, Pinus aristata, Pinus ponderosa, Pinus edulis, Pseudotsuga menziesii); the 4 ka Yamal Peninsula Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) chronology; the 7 ka Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) chronology from Finnish Lapland; GISP2 ice core;  GRIP ice core; Dye 3 ice core; Bipolar comparison; Antarctic ice core (Bunder and Cole-Dai, 2003); Antarctic ice core (Cole-Dai et al., 1997); Crête ice core, in central Greenland,  benthic foraminifera in deep sea sediment cores (Lisiecki, Raymo 2005), do not agree with each other sometimes. The 536–547 AD dust-veil event might be an impact event.

Holocene eruptions
The Holocene epoch begins 11,700 years BP, (10&thinsp;000 14C years ago)

Pleistocene eruptions
2.588 ± 0.005 million years BP, the Quaternary period and Pleistocene epoch begin.

Nomenclature
Each state/ country seem to have a slightly different approach, but there is an order:
 * Craton, and then Province as sections or regions of a craton.
 * First: volcanic arc, volcanic belt and volcanic zone.
 * Second: volcanic area, caldera cluster and caldera complex.
 * Third: volcanic field, volcanic system and volcanic center.
 * A volcanic field is a localized area of the Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity.
 * A volcanic group (aka a volcanic complex) is a collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms.
 * Neutral: volcanic cluster and volcanic locus.

In the Basin and Range Province the volcanic fields are nested. The McDermit volcanic field, is also named Orevada rift volcanic field. The Latir-Questa volcanic locus and the Taos Plateau volcanic field seem to be in a similar area. The Southwest Nevada volcanic field, the Crater Flat-Lunar Crater volcanic zone, the Central Nevada volcanic field, the Indian Peak volcanic field and the Marysvale volcanic field seem to have no transition between each other; the Ocate volcanic field is also known as the Mora volcanic field; and the Red Hill volcanic field is also known as Quemado volcanic field.