How many volcanoes are there in the world and where are they?
Alanna
Ellis - Canberra,Australia
Hi Alanna,
The most recent count that I have says that there are 1511 volcanoes that have
erupted in the past 10,000 years. On 805 of those we know the actual date of at
least one eruption.
Most of the volcanoes on Earth are found around the rim of the Pacific Ocean.
They run from southern Chile up through Mexico, the USA, out along Alaska to
Kamchatka, Japan, the Philippines, through Indonesia around Papua New Guinea,
Tonga, and end on North Island, New Zealand. There are other volcanoes, of
course such as Hawai'i, Iceland, Etna, Deception island. The best way for you
to see where they are is to find a book on volcanoes and look at the
distribution. There is a good new book called Volcanoes of the World, by Tom
Simkin and Lee Siebert which has lots of nice maps. It is published by
Geoscience Press, PO Box 42948, Tuscon, Arizona, 85733-2948, USA. Their phone
number is: (602) 326-9595.
Good luck on your volcano hunt!
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii
Other Categories
Other Questions
To VolcanoWorld