Timeline of volcanism on Earth

This timeline of volcanism on Earth includes a list of major volcanic eruptions of approximately at least magnitude 6 on the Volcanic explosivity index (VEI) or equivalent sulfur dioxide emission during the Quaternary period (from 2.58 Mya to the present). Other volcanic eruptions are also listed.

Some eruptions cooled the global climate—inducing a volcanic winter—depending on the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted and the magnitude of the eruption. Before the present Holocene 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 period (from 23 Mya to 2.58 Mya) are listed. Known large eruptions after the Paleogene period (from 66 Mya to 23 Mya) are listed, especially those relating to the Yellowstone hotspot, Santorini caldera, and the Taupō Volcanic Zone.

Active volcanoes such as Stromboli, Mount Etna and Kīlauea do not appear on this list, but some back-arc basin 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, 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 Holocene epoch begins 11,700 years BP (10,000 14C years ago).

1000–2000 AD

 * Pinatubo, island of Luzon, Philippines; 1991, June 15; VEI 6; 6 to 16 km3 of tephra; an estimated 20000000 t of were emitted
 * Novarupta, Alaska Peninsula; 1912, June 6; VEI 6; 13 to 15 km3 of lava
 * Santa Maria, Guatemala; 1902, October 24; VEI 6; 20 km3 of tephra
 * Krakatoa, Indonesia; 1883, August 26–27; VEI 6; 21 km3 of tephra
 * Mount Tambora, Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia; 1815, Apr 10; VEI 7; 160-213 km3 of tephra; an estimated 200000000 t of were emitted, produced the "Year Without a Summer"
 * 1808 mystery eruption, VEI 6–7; discovered from ice cores in the 1980s.
 * Grímsvötn, Northeastern Iceland; 1783–1785; Laki; 1783–1784; VEI 2; 14 km3 of lava, an estimated 120000000 t of were emitted, produced a Volcanic winter, 1783, on the North Hemisphere.
 * Long Island (Papua New Guinea), Northeast of New Guinea; 1660 ±20; VEI 6; 30 km3 of tephra
 * Huaynaputina, Peru; 1600, February 19; VEI 6; 30 km3 of tephra
 * Billy Mitchell, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea; 1580 ±20; VEI 6; 14 km3 of tephra
 * Bárðarbunga, Northeastern Iceland; 1477; VEI 6; 10 km3 of tephra
 * 1465 mystery eruption "the location of this eruption is uncertain, as it has only been identified from distant ice core 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 ice core records; the only pyroclastic flows are found at Kuwae; 36 to 96 km3 of tephra; 175000000 - 700000000 t of sulfuric acid
 * 1280(?) in Quilotoa, Ecuador; VEI 6; 21 km3 of tephra
 * 1257 Samalas eruption, Rinjani volcanic complex, Lombok Island, Indonesia; 40 km3 (dense-rock equivalent) of tephra, Arctic and Antarctic Ice cores 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 all had Yellowstone hotspot as magma source.

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


 * Eifel hotspot, Laacher See, Vulkan Eifel, Germany; 12.9 ka; VEI 6; 6 km3 of tephra.
 * Emmons Lake Caldera (size: 11 x 18 km), Aleutian Range, 17 ka ±5; more than 50 km3 of tephra.
 * Lake Barrine, Atherton Tableland, North Queensland, Australia; was formed over 17 ka.
 * Menengai, East African Rift, Kenya; 29 ka
 * Morne Diablotins, 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; 220 to 250 km3 of tephra.
 * Lake Toba (size: 100 x 30 km), Sumatra, Indonesia; VEI 8; 73 ka ±4; 2500 to 3000 km3 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; 300 km3 of tephra.
 * Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 90 ka; last eruption was more than 600 km3 of tephra.
 * Sierra la Primavera volcanic complex (size: 11 km wide), Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico; 95 ka; 20 km3 of Tala Tuff.
 * Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 120 ka; 80 km3 of tephra.
 * Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 140 ka; 80 km3 of tephra.
 * Puy de Sancy, 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 50 km3 of tephra.
 * Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; caldera formed as a result of four huge caldera eruptions; 270 ka; 80 km3 of tephra.
 * Uzon-Geyzernaya calderas (size: 9 x 18 km), Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia; 325–175 ka 20 km3 of ignimbrite deposits.
 * Diamante Caldera–Maipo volcano complex (size: 20 x 16 km), Argentina-Chile; 450 ka; 450 km3 of tephra.
 * Yellowstone hotspot; Yellowstone Caldera (size: 45 x 85 km); 640 ka; VEI 8; more than 1000 km3 of tephra (Lava Creek Tuff)
 * Three Sisters (Oregon), 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; 600 km3 of Bishop Tuff.
 * Valles Caldera, New Mexico, USA; 1.25 Ma; VEI 7; around 600 km3 of the Tshirege Member (Upper Bandelier Tuff) eruption.
 * 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 500 km3 of the Otowi Member (Lower Bandelier Tuff) eruption.
 * Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephras, Japan; 1.75 Ma; 380 to 490 km3 of tephra.
 * Yellowstone hotspot; Island Park Caldera (size: 100 x 50 km); 2.1 Ma; VEI 8; 2450 km3 of Huckleberry Ridge Tuff.
 * Cerro Galán (size: 32 km wide), Catamarca Province, northwestern Argentina; 2.2 Ma; VEI 8; 1050 km3 of Cerro Galán Ignimbrite.

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, Boring, Oregon, USA; the zone became active at least 2.7 Ma, and has been extinct for about 300,000 years.
 * Norfolk Island, 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 820 km3 of Pastos Grandes Ignimbrite.
 * Little Barrier Island, northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island; it erupted from 1 million to 3 Ma.
 * Mount Kenya; a stratovolcano created approximately 3 Ma after the opening of the East African rift.
 * Pacana Caldera (size: 60 x 35 km), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, northern Chile; 4 Ma; VEI 8; 2500 km3 of Atana Ignimbrite.
 * Frailes Plateau, Bolivia; 4 Ma; 620 km3 of Frailes Ignimbrite E.
 * Cerro Galán (size: 32 km wide), Catamarca Province, northwestern Argentina; 4.2 Ma; 510 km3 of Real Grande and Cueva Negra tephra.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; Kilgore Caldera (size: 80 x 60 km); VEI 8; 1800 km3 of Kilgore Tuff; 4.45 Ma ±0.05.
 * Khari Khari Caldera, Frailes Plateau, Bolivia; 5 Ma; 470 km3 of tephra.

Miocene eruptions
Approximately 23.03 million years BP, the Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin.
 * Cerro Guacha, 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 6.4 Ma.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 5.51 Ma ±0.13 (Conant Creek Tuff).
 * Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 5.6 Ma; 500 km3 of Blue Creek Tuff.
 * Cerro Panizos (size: 18 km wide), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Bolivia; 6.1 Ma; 652 km3 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; 1500 km3 of Blacktail Tuff.
 * Pastos Grandes Caldera (size: 40 x 50 km), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Bolivia; 8.3 Ma; 652 km3 of Sifon Ignimbrite.
 * Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, northern Papua New Guinea; 8–10 Ma
 * Banks Peninsula, New Zealand; Akaroa erupted 9 Ma, Lyttelton erupted 12 Ma.
 * Mascarene Islands were formed in a series of undersea volcanic eruptions 8–10 Ma, as the African plate drifted over the Réunion hotspot.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, Twin Fall volcanic field, Idaho; 8.6 to 10 Ma.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, Grey's Landing Supereruption, Idaho; 8.72 Ma, 2,800 km3 of Grey's Landing Ignimbrite.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, McMullen Supereruption, Idaho; 8.99 Ma, 1,700 km3 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; 79 km3 of Neapolitan Yellow Tuff.
 * Huaylillas Ignimbrite, Bolivia, southern Peru, northern Chile; 15 Ma ±1; 1100 km3 of tephra.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (North), Trout Creek Mountains, Whitehorse Caldera (size: 15 km wide), Oregon; 15 Ma; 40 km3 of Whitehorse Creek Tuff.
 * Yellowstone hotspot (?), Lake Owyhee 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; 350 km3 Longridge Tuff member 2–3.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Longridge Caldera, (size: 33 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.6 Ma; 400 km3 Longridge Tuff member 5.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Calavera Caldera, (size: 17 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.7 Ma; 300 km3 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; 40 km3 of Trout Creek Mountains Tuff.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Washburn Caldera, (size: 30 x 25 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 16.548 Ma; 250 km3 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, Nevada; 15.5 to 16.5 Ma.
 * Yellowstone hotspot, Steens and Columbia River flood basalts, Pueblo, Steens, and Malheur Gorge-region, Pueblo Mountains, Steens Mountain, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, USA; most vigorous eruptions were from 14 to 17 Ma; 180000 km3 of lava.
 * Mount Lindesay (New South Wales), 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; 3000 km3 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 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), 5000 km3 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 3000 km3 of Green Tuff and SAM.
 * Sam Ignimbrite in Yemen forms 29.5 million years ago, at least 5550 km3 of distal tuffs associated with the ignimbrites.
 * Jabal Kura’a Ignimbrite in Yemen forms 29.6million years ago, at least 3700 km3 of distal tuffs associated with the ignimbrites.
 * The Ethiopian Highlands flood basalt begins 30 million years ago
 * About 33.9 million ago, the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene period begins
 * The Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up begins 40 million years ago and lasts until 25 million years ago.
 * Bennett Lake Volcanic Complex erupts 50 million years ago with a VEI 7 850 km3 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
 * Réunion hotspot, Deccan Traps, 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 begins forming 110 million years ago.
 * The Rahjamal Traps form from 117 to 116 million years ago.
 * The Ontong Java Plateau forms from 125 to 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 8600 km3.
 * 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 began 260 million years ago.
 * The Late Devonian extinction occurs about 374 million years ago.
 * The Ordovician–Silurian extinction event occurs between 450 and 440 million years ago.
 * Glen Coe, Scotland; VEI 8; 420 million years ago
 * Scafells, Lake District, 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 2,000–12,000 km3.
 * The Phanerozoic 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 forms 2,704–2,707 million years ago.
 * Approximately 2,500 million years ago, the Proterozoic eon of the Precambrian period begins
 * About 3,800 million years ago, the Archean eon of the Precambrian period begins

Volcanic dimming
The global dimming through volcanism (ash aerosol and sulfur dioxide) is quite independent of the eruption VEI. When sulfur dioxide (boiling point at standard state: -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 and its higher albedo might prolong this cooling period. Bipolar comparison showed six sulfate events: Tambora (1815), Cosigüina (1835), Krakatoa (1883), Agung (1963), and El Chichón (1982), and the 1808 mystery eruption. 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 (?), Kuril Islands, 400 tons of tephra, VEI 4
 * 48.09167°N, 153.2°W
 * June 12–15, 1991 (eruptive climax), Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, 11,000 ±0.5 tons of tephra, VEI 6
 * Global cooling: 0.5 °C, 15.13333°N, 120.35°W
 * March 28, 1982, El Chichón, Mexico, 2,300 tons of tephra, VEI 5
 * 17.36°N, -93.22778°W
 * October 10, 1974, Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala, 400 tons of tephra, VEI 4
 * 14.47278°N, -90.88028°W
 * February 18, 1963, Mount Agung, Lesser Sunda Islands, 100 tons of lava, more than 1,000 tons of tephra, VEI 5
 * Northern Hemisphere cooling: 0.3 °C, -8.34167°N, 115.50833°W

But very large sulfur dioxide emissions overdrive the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. 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.