We really want to know how many active volcanoes are in existence?
Nicholas Tilley
Nicholas,
The absolute number of volcanoes that exists depends on your
definition: active only, active, dormant plus extinct volcanoes? And even
if we decide on a definition, nobody has really counted all of the
volcanoes, especially the tens on thousands on the sea floor. The best
guess is 1511 volcanoes have erupted in the last 10,000 years and should
be considered active. This number is from the new Smithsonian Institution
book, "Volcanoes of the World: Second Edition" compiled by Tom Simkin and
Lee Siebert.
Chuck Wood, University of North Dakota
Other Categories
Other Questions
To VolcanoWorld