List of large volcanic eruptions of the 21st Century

This is a list of volcanic eruptions of the 21st Century measuring a Volcanic Explosivity Index

Volcanic Explosivity Index

The Volcanic Explosivity Index was devised by Chris Newhall of the U.S. Geological Survey and Stephen Self at the University of Hawaii in 1982 to provide a relative measure of the explosiveness of volcanic eruptions....

(VEI) of at least 4, as well as notable smaller eruptions. Note that the size of eruptions can be subject to considerable uncertainties.

VEI	Volcano (eruption)	Year	Casualties	Notes
4	Ulawun Ulawun Ulawun is a basaltic and andesitic stratovolcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, about 130 km southwest of Rabaul. It is the highest mountain in the Bismarck Archipelago at , and one of the most active volcanoes in Papua New Guinea. The first recorded eruption of...	2000
4?	Shiveluch Shiveluch Shiveluch is the northernmost active volcano in Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It is sometimes called Sheveluch or Sopka Shiveluch. It is one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanoes.- History :...	2001
1	Nyiragongo	2002	47
4?	Ruang Ruang Ruang is the southernmost stratovolcano in the Sangihe Islands arc. It comprises an island 4 × 5 km wide. The summit contains a partial lava dome. The first recorded eruption was in 1808....	2002
4	Reventador Reventador Reventador is an active stratovolcano which lies in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. It lies in a remote area of the national park of the same name. Since 1541 it has erupted over 25 times, although its isolated location means that many of its eruptions have gone unreported. Its most recent eruption...	2002
4?	Manam Manam Manam, known locally as Manam Motu, is an island located in the Bismarck Sea across the Stephan Strait from the northeast coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. The island is 10 kilometers wide, and was created by the activity of the Manam Volcano, one of the country’s most active...	2004
4?	Rabaul Rabaul Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...	2006
4?	Mount Okmok Mount Okmok Mount Okmok is the highest point on the rim of Okmok Caldera on the northeastern part of Umnak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands of Alaska, USA. This 5.8 mile wide circular caldera truncates the top of a large shield volcano...	2008
4	Chaiten	2008	1	Largest rhyolite eruption since 1912 eruption of Novarupta Novarupta Novarupta, meaning "new eruption", is a volcano located on the Alaska Peninsula in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about southwest of Anchorage. Formed in 1912 during the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, Novarupta released 30 times the volume of magma as the 1980 eruption of... . Lahars destroyed much of the town of Chaitén Chaitén Chaitén is a Chilean town, commune and former capital of the Palena Province in Los Lagos Region. The town is located north of the mouth of Yelcho River, on the east coast of the Gulf of Corcovado... .
4	Kasatochi	2008
Tonga undersea eruption 2009 Tonga undersea volcanic eruption The 2009 Tonga undersea volcanic eruption refers to ongoing volcanic activity that began on March 16, 2009, near the island of Hunga Tonga, approximately from the Tongan capital of Tongatapu. The volcano is in a highly active volcanic region that represents a portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire...	2009		Breached the sea surface.
4	Sarychev Peak Sarychev Peak Sarychev Peak Fuyō-san, Fuyō-yama, Fuyo-zan, Huyō San), is a stratovolcano covering almost the entirety of Matua Island in the Kuril Islands, Russia. It is a young, highly symmetrical stratovolcanic cone.- History :...	2009
4	Eyjafjallajökull Eyjafjallajökull Eyjafjallajökull is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, situated to the north of Skógar and to the west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of . The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last glacial period, most recently in...	2010 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were volcanic events at Eyjafjöll in Iceland which, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional localised disruption...		Major flight disruptions across northern Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... .
4	Mount Merapi Mount Merapi Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi , is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548...	2010 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi The 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi began in late October 2010 when Mount Merapi in Central Java, Indonesia began an increasingly violent series of eruptions that continued into November. Seismic activity around the volcano increased from mid-September onwards, culminating in repeated outbursts lava...	353	Over 350,000 people were evacuated from the affected area. Ash plumes caused major disruption to aviation across Java.
4	Grímsvötn Grímsvötn The Grímsvötn sub-glacial lakes and the volcano of the same name are in South-East Iceland. They are in the highlands of Iceland at the northwestern side of the Vatnajökull ice-cap. The lakes are at , at an elevation of...	2011 2011 eruption of Grímsvötn The 2011 eruption of Grímsvötn is an eruption in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano, which caused disruption to air travel in North-Western Europe from 22–25 May 2011. The last eruption of Grímsvötn was in 2004, with the previous most powerful eruptions in 1783, 1873 and 1902...
4	Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Puyehue and Cordón Caulle are two coalesced volcanic edifices that form a major mountain massif in Puyehue National Park in the Andes of Ranco Province, Chile. In volcanology this group is known as the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex...	2011 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption The 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption is a volcanic eruption that began in the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex in Chile on June 4, 2011. Misleadingly called by media the Puyehue eruption - the eruption is actually from the Cordon Caulle fissure...		Major flight disruptions across the southern hemisphere, including South America South America South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east... , South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... and New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... .
4	Nabro Nabro Volcano The Nabro Volcano is a stratovolcano located in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. It is located in the Danakil Depression. Prior to its 2011 eruption it was widely believed to be extinct.-Geology:...	2011 2011 Nabro eruption The 2011 Nabro eruption was an eruption of the Nabro stratovolcano in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea, which began on 12 June 2011 after a series of earthquakes. The eruption has killed seven and possibly a further 31 people and emitted the highest levels of sulfur dioxide ever observed...	31

External links

VEI glossary entry from a USGS
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

website
How to measure the size of a volcanic eruption, from The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
The size and frequency of the largest explosive eruptions on Earth, a 2004 article from the Bulletin of Volcanology
Bulletin of Volcanology
The Bulletin of Volcanology is the official journal of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior published by Springer Science+Business Media...
List of Large Holocene Eruptions (VEI > 4) from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program
VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) from the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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See also

External links