Why aren't there any active volcanoes in Australia?

Daniel

Well, volcanoes don't just pop up anywhere. There needs to be a source of magma in the Earth's mantle for there to be a volcano. Magma is generated at spreading centers, subduction zones, and hotspots. It just so happens that all of these tectonic settings don't occur at Australia. The Australian continent is pretty much surrounded by "passive margins" where there is no magma generated. It is a pretty boring place as far as active volcanism is concerned. This was not always the case. There are plenty of old and very old volcanic rocks in Australia to study. These range from a few tens of thousands of years old to more than a billion years old.

Sincerely,
Scott Rowland

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