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Mount Erebus

Erebus

Stratovolcano · Antarctica · 3794m

Mount Erebus is seen here from the SW near the McMurdo research station on Ross Island and the world's southernmost active volcano. The summit has a 500 x 600 m wide, 110-m-deep crater that contains an active lava lake. The glaciated volcano was erupting when first sighted by Captain James Ross in 1841. Continuous lava lake activity has been documented since 1972, punctuated by occasional Strombolian explosions that eject bombs onto the crater rim.
Mount Erebus is seen here from the SW near the McMurdo research station on Ross Island and the world's southernmost active volcano. The summit has a 500 x 600 m wide, 110-m-deep crater that contains an active lava lake. The glaciated volcano was erupting when first sighted by Captain James Ross in 1841. Continuous lava lake activity has been documented since 1972, punctuated by occasional Strombolian explosions that eject bombs onto the crater rim. · Photo: Photo by Richard Waitt, 1972 (U.S. Geological Survey). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Antarctica
Region
Antarctic-Scotia Volcanic Regions / McMurdo Volcanic Province
Elevation
3794m
Coordinates
-77.530, 167.170
Last eruption
2026
Tectonic setting
Intraplate / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Phonolite
Geological summary

Mount Erebus overlooks the McMurdo research station on Ross Island and is the largest of three major volcanoes forming the roughly triangular Ross Island. The summit of the dominantly phonolitic volcano has been modified by one or two generations of caldera formation. A summit plateau at about 3,200 m elevation marks the rim of the youngest caldera, which formed during the late-Pleistocene and within which the modern cone was constructed. An elliptical 500 x 600 m, 110-m-deep crater truncates the summit and contains an active lava lake within a 250-m-wide, 100-m-deep inner crater; other lava lakes are sometimes present. The glacier-covered volcano was erupting when first sighted by Captain James Ross in 1841. A persistent lava-lake, with minor explosions punctuated by occasional larger Strombolian explosions that eject bombs onto the crater rim, has been documented since 1972, but nearly continuous activity has probably been occurring for much longer.

From Wikipedia

Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth, located on Ross Island in the Ross Dependency in Antarctica. With a summit elevation of 3,792 metres (12,441 ft), it is the second most prominent mountain in Antarctica and the second-highest volcano in Antarctica. It is the highest point on Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes: Mount Terror, Mount Bird, and Mount Terra Nova. It makes Ross Island the sixth-highest island on Earth by highest point.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
8050 BCE~7716 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 07382 BCE~7048 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 04709 BCE~4375 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 04375 BCE~4041 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 03039 BCE~2705 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 02371 BCE~2037 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 0636~970 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 01638~1972 · 15 eruptions · max VEI 28050 BCE5712 BCE3039 BCE701 BCE1638

Detailed timeline

  1. 1972VEI 1Observed
    1972-01-03 – Ongoing
  2. 1972VEI 2Observed
    1972-12-16 – 2026-03-17
  3. 1963VEI 0Observed
    1963-11-16 – Ongoing
  4. 1957VEI ?Geological estimate
    1957-07-02 – 1958-07-02
  5. 1955VEI 2Observed
    1955-07-02 – Ongoing
  6. 1947VEI 2Observed
    1947-02 – Ongoing
  7. 1915VEI 2Observed
    1915-03-22 – Ongoing
  8. 1915VEI 2Observed
    1915-08 – Ongoing
  9. 1912VEI 2Observed
    1912-12-12 – Ongoing
  10. 1911VEI 2Observed
    1911-04 – 1911-06
  11. 1911VEI 2Observed
    1911-10 – Ongoing
  12. 1908VEI 2Observed
    1908-03 – 1908-11
  13. 1903VEI 0Observed
    1903-01-01 – Ongoing
  14. 1900VEI 2Geological estimate
    1900-02 – Ongoing
  15. 1841VEI 1Observed
    1841-01-28 – 1841-02
  16. 950 (±4000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    950 – Ongoing
  17. 2050 BCE (±3000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 2050 – Ongoing
    Western Crater (Upper Ice Tower flow)
  18. 2950 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 2950 – Ongoing
    North flank (Lower Hut lava flow)
  19. 4050 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 4050 – Ongoing
    Lower Ice Tower Ridge, S lava flows
  20. 4550 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 4550 – Ongoing
    NE flank
  21. 7050 BCE (±2000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 7050 – Ongoing
    NW flank
  22. 8050 BCE (±5000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 8050 – Ongoing
    NNW flank

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.