Out of an estimated 1,350 active volcanoes worldwide, about 45 have continuing eruptions, and about 80 erupt each year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. In 2023, erupting volcanoes included the Villarrica volcano in Chile, Mount Ulawun in Papua New Guinea, Merapi volcano in Indonesia, the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland, Kilauea in Hawaii, Mount Etna in Sicily, Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia, and more. Collected below are scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year.
2023: The Year in Volcanic Activity
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![The glowing light from the top of a volcano illuminates low passing clouds at night.]()
Read moreThe Villarrica volcano lights up the sky at night, seen from Pucon town, Chile, on December 14, 2023. #
Cristobal Saavedra Escobar / Reuters -
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![Two people watch lava erupt and flow during a volcanic eruption.]()
Read morePeople watch flowing lava during a volcanic eruption near Litli Hrutur, southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, on July 10, 2023. A volcanic eruption started on July 10, 2023, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Reykjavik, the country's meteorological office said, marking the third time in two years that lava has gushed out in the area. #
Kristinn Magnusson / AFP / Getty -
![An aerial view of lava flowing across a plain]()
Read moreThis aerial photograph taken on July 10, 2023, shows smoke billowing from the leading edge of flowing lava during a volcanic eruption near Litli Hrutur, southwest of Reykjavik in Iceland. #
Kristinn Magnusson / AFP / Getty -
![A police officer stands beside a huge crack in a road.]()
Read moreA police officer stands by a crack in a road in the fishing town of Grindavik, which was evacuated due to volcanic activity, in Iceland, on November 15, 2023. #
Marko Djurica / Reuters -
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![Gray clouds of ash billow and flow down the flank of a volcano.]()
Read moreMerapi volcano spews hot ash, as seen from Turi, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on March 14, 2023. #
Andreas Fitri Atmoko / Antara Foto / Reuters -
![An aerial view of a greenish-colored crater lake atop a snow-covered volcano.]()
Read moreAn aerial view of the greenish-colored crater lake of Alaska's Mount Martin, seen on March 7, 2023. #
Taryn Lopez / Alaska Volcano Observatory / University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute -
![A close view of lava, ash, and gas erupting from the top of a volcano.]()
Read moreThe Klyuchevskoy volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, erupts in Russia's northern Kamchatka Peninsula on November 1, 2023. Huge ash columns erupted from the volcano, forcing authorities to close schools in two towns in the region. #
Yuri Demyanchuk / AP -
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![A gray blanket of ash covers snowbanks, the roof of a wooden building, and trees.]()
Read moreVolcanic ash covers the ground, snow, and houses after an eruption of the nearby Shiveluch volcano, seen in Klyuchi village on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, on April 11, 2023. #
Yury Demyanchuk / Russian Academy of Sciences' Volcanology Institute / AP -
![A satellite view of an erupting volcano with a broad plume of ash]()
Read moreThe ash plume from Russia's Klyuchevskoy volcano rose as high as 12 kilometers (40,000 feet) above sea level. This false-color image offers a detailed look at the lava flows and ash plume emanating from the volcano. It was acquired by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on the Landsat 8 satellite on November 1, 2023. The hot lava gives off a shortwave infrared signal that makes it appear red, and clouds appear blue, contrasting with the gray, roiling plume. #
NASA Earth Observatory -
![A large bubble of mud filled with steam bursts in a muddy expanse.]()
Read moreA large bubble of steam bursts at the Bledug Kuwu mud volcano, in Grobogan, Central Java, Indonesia, on September 7, 2023. #
Dasril Roszandi / Anadolu / Getty -
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![A plume of ash rises from the top of a volcano.]()
Read moreThe Popocatepetl Volcano spews ash, as seen from Puebal, state of Puebla, Mexico, on May 18, 2023. #
Jose Castanares / AFP / Getty -
![Lava erupts from the top of a snow-covered volcano, seen at night.]()
Read moreLava erupts from the snow-covered Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, as seen from Monte San Leo, Italy, on November 24, 2023. #
Marco Restivo / Etna Walk / Reuters -
![Lava flows along a broad crack on a hillside.]()
Read moreThe first eruption of 2023 of the Piton de la Fournaise Volcano on Reunion island. #
Aymeric Bein / Getty -
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![An aerial view of the top of a volcano, where rocky lava flows are pushing aside and flowing over a surrounding glacier]()
Read moreAn aerial view of Alaska's Great Sitkin Volcano and its active lava flow overtaking and pushing aside a surrounding glacier, seen on September 1, 2023, during a helicopter overflight by AVO geologists. The volcanic island sits among the Andreanof Islands, part of the larger Aleutian Island group. #
Matt Loewen / Alaska Volcano Observatory / U.S. Geological Survey -
![An erupting volcano is seen behind the rooftop of a church.]()
Read moreLava erupts from the southeast crater of Mount Etna, seen behind Santa Maria della Guardia church in Belpasso, near Catania, on December 1, 2023. #
Salvatore Allegra / AP -
![An ash column rises from a volcano, seen from an aircraft window.]()
Read moreAn ash column rises from Mount Ulawun, as seen from an airplane window above Papua New Guinea on November 21, 2023. #
Enoch Lapa / Reuters -
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![Lava flows within a broad volcanic crater, as steam and gas rise above it.]()
Read moreLava flows in the Halema'uma'u crater among several active vent sources as the Kilauea volcano erupts in Hawaii on June 7, 2023. #
USGS / Reuters -
![A person stands near a glowing lava flow, taking photographs.]()
Read moreA person walks near lava emerging from a fissure of the Fagradalsfjall volcano near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, on July 10, 2023. #
Marco Di Marco / AP
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