List of largest volcanic eruptions facts for kids

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo was a huge event. But it was still much smaller than the giant eruptions on this list.

When a volcanic eruption happens, hot liquid rock called lava, rocks, ash, and different gases shoot out from a volcano's opening or a crack in the ground. Most eruptions are only dangerous to the areas right around them. But the biggest eruptions on Earth can affect a whole region or even the entire planet! Some have even changed the climate and led to mass extinctions, which is when many types of plants and animals die out.

Volcanic eruptions are usually one of two types:

Explosive eruptions are sudden blasts of rock and ash.
Effusive eruptions are calmer flows of lava.

We have separate lists for each type below. There have probably been many more giant eruptions in Earth's past than we know about. But over time, things like erosion (wearing away of rock) and plate tectonics (the movement of Earth's crust) have erased much of the evidence. So, scientists can't always figure out how big ancient eruptions were. Even for the eruptions listed here, the estimated amounts of rock and lava can be a bit uncertain.

Explosive Eruptions: Big Blasts!
Effusive Eruptions: Gentle Flows
Large Igneous Provinces: Giant Volcanic Areas
See also

Explosive Eruptions: Big Blasts!

In explosive eruptions, the eruption happens because pressure builds up very quickly. This often involves gas that was trapped inside the magma (melted rock under the Earth's surface) suddenly exploding. The most famous and destructive eruptions in history are usually this type. An eruption can be a single blast, or a series of blasts over days, weeks, or even months.

Explosive eruptions usually involve thick, sticky magma. This magma is often rich in silica and contains a lot of trapped gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide. The main things that come out are pyroclastic materials, which are bits of rock, ash, and gas. These often form a type of rock called tuff. Giant eruptions, like the one at Lake Toba 74,000 years ago (which released at least 2,800 cubic kilometers of material), or the Yellowstone eruption 620,000 years ago (around 1,000 cubic kilometers), happen somewhere in the world every 50,000 to 100,000 years.

Volcano—eruption	Age (millions of years ago)	Location	Volume (km³)	Notes
Guarapuava —Tamarana—Sarusas	132	Paraná and Etendeka traps	8,600	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Santa Maria—Fria	~132	Paraná and Etendeka traps	7,800	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Lake Toba Caldera—Youngest Toba Tuff	0.073	Sunda Arc, Indonesia	2,000–13,200	This is the largest known eruption on Earth in at least the last million years. It might have caused a population bottleneck for humans. This means the number of humans alive became very small.
Guarapuava —Ventura	~132	Paraná and Etendeka traps	7,600	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Flat Landing Brook Eruption	466	Flat Landing Brook Formation	2,000–12,000	This is one of the largest and oldest super-eruptions. It's debated if it was one single eruption or several large ones over a short time.
Sam Ignimbrite and Green Tuff	29.5	Yemen	6,797–6,803	This volume includes 5550 cubic kilometers of ash that traveled far away. This estimate could be off by a factor of 2 or 3.
Goboboseb–Messum volcanic centre—Springbok quartz latite unit	132	Paraná and Etendeka traps, Brazil and Namibia	6,340	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Wah Wah Springs Tuff	30.06	Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex	5,500–5,900	This was the largest eruption from the Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex. It created flows over 4,000 meters thick in some places.
Caxias do Sul—Grootberg	~132	Paraná and Etendeka traps	5,650	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
La Garita Caldera—Fish Canyon Tuff	27.8	San Juan volcanic field, Colorado	5,000	This was one of at least 20 large eruptions that formed calderas (bowl-shaped hollows) in this area between 26 and 35 million years ago.
Lund Tuff	29.2	Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex	4,400	This eruption formed the White Rock Caldera. It was one of the biggest eruptions during a period of intense volcanic activity called the Mid-Tertiary Ignimbrite flare-up.
Jacui—Goboboseb II	~132	Paraná and Etendeka traps	4,350	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Ourinhos—Khoraseb	~132	Paraná and Etendeka traps	3,900	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Jabal Kura'a Ignimbrite	29.6	Yemen	3,797–3,803	The estimated volume for this eruption could be off by a factor of 2 or 3.
Windows Butte tuff	31.4	William's Ridge, central Nevada	3,500	This was part of the Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up, a time of many large eruptions.
Anita Garibaldi—Beacon	~132	Paraná and Etendeka traps	3,450	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Oxaya ignimbrites	19	Chile	3,000	This actually refers to many ignimbrites (fast-moving currents of hot gas and volcanic rock) that were once thought to be separate.
Gakkel Ridge Caldera	1.1	Gakkel Ridge	3,000	This is the only known supervolcano located right on a mid-ocean ridge (a long underwater mountain range).
Grey's Landing Supereruption	8.72	Located in southern Idaho	>2,800	This was one of two previously unknown super-eruptions from the Yellowstone hotspot. It was the largest Yellowstone eruption.
Pacana Caldera—Atana ignimbrite	4	Chile	2,800	This eruption formed a resurgent caldera, which is a caldera that has uplifted in the middle.
Mangakino Caldera—Kidnappers ignimbrite	1.01	Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand	2,760
Iftar Alkalb—Tephra 4 W	29.5	Afro-Arabian	2,700
Yellowstone Caldera—Huckleberry Ridge Tuff	2.059	Yellowstone hotspot	2,450–2,500	This was one of the biggest Yellowstone eruptions ever recorded.
Nohi Rhyolite—Gero Ash-Flow Sheet	70	Honshū, Japan	2,200	The total volume of Nohi Rhyolite eruptions was over 7,000 cubic kilometers between 70 and 72 million years ago. The Gero Ash-Flow Sheet was the largest part of this.
Whakamaru	0.254	Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand	2,000	This was the largest eruption in the Southern Hemisphere during the Late Quaternary period.
Palmas BRA-21—Wereldsend	29.5	Paraná and Etendeka traps	1,900	Scientists are still debating how this eruption happened. It might have been a lava flow from local sources. No ash deposits have been found. The actual volume could be 2-3 times larger if ash deposits are found.
Kilgore tuff	4.3	Near Kilgore, Idaho	1,800	This was the last eruption from the Heise volcanic field.
McMullen Supereruption	8.99	Located in southern Idaho	>1,700	This was one of two previously unknown Yellowstone hotspot eruptions.
Sana'a Ignimbrite—Tephra 2W63	29.5	Afro-Arabian	1,600
Deicke and Millbrig	454	England, exposed in Northern Europe and Eastern US	1,509	This is one of the oldest large eruptions that we still have evidence for.
Blacktail tuff	6.5	Blacktail, Idaho	1,500	This was the first of several eruptions from the Heise volcanic field.
Mangakino Caldera—Rocky Hill	1	Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand	1,495
Aso Caldera	0.087	Kyushu, Japan	930–1,860	This refers to the Aso-4 ignimbrite.
Emory Caldera—Kneeling Nun tuff	33	Mogollon-Datil volcanic field	1,310
Omine-Odai Caldera—Murou pyroclastic flow	13.7	Honshū, Japan	1,260	This was part of a series of large eruptions that happened in southwest Japan between 13 and 15 million years ago.
Timber Mountain tuff	11.6	Southwestern Nevada	1,200	This also includes a second part, a 900 cubic kilometer tuff.
Paintbrush tuff (Tonopah Spring Member)	12.8	Southwestern Nevada	1,200	This is related to another large tuff (the Tiva Canyon Member) of 1000 cubic kilometers, both part of the Paintbrush tuff.
Bachelor—Carpenter Ridge tuff	28	San Juan volcanic field	1,200	This was part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions in the San Juan volcanic field and nearby areas. These happened between 26 and 35 million years ago.
Bursum—Apache Springs Tuff	28.5	Mogollon-Datil volcanic field	1,200	This is related to another large tuff, the Bloodgood Canyon tuff, which was 1050 cubic kilometers.
Taupō Volcano—Oruanui eruption	0.027	Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand	1,170	This was the most recent eruption with a VEI of 8. This is the highest level on the scale.
Mangakino Caldera—Ongatiti–Mangatewaiiti	1.21	Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand	1,150
Huaylillas Ignimbrite	15	Bolivia	1,100	This eruption happened before half of the central Andes mountains were uplifted.
Bursum—Bloodgood Canyon Tuff	28.5	Mogollon-Datil volcanic field	1,050	This is related to another large tuff, the Apache Springs tuff, which was 1200 cubic kilometers.
Okueyama Caldera	13.7	Kyūshū, Japan	1,030	This was part of the large eruptions that happened in southwest Japan between 13 and 15 million years ago.
Yellowstone Caldera—Lava Creek Tuff	0.639	Yellowstone hotspot	1,000	This was the last very large eruption in the Yellowstone National Park area.
Awasa Caldera	1.09	Main Ethiopian Rift	1,000
Cerro Galán	2.2	Catamarca Province, Argentina	1,000	This caldera is shaped like an oval and is about 35 kilometers wide.
Paintbrush tuff (Tiva Canyon Member)	12.7	Southwestern Nevada	1,000	This is related to another large tuff (the Topopah Spring Member) of 1200 cubic kilometers, both part of the Paintbrush tuff.
San Juan—Sapinero Mesa Tuff	28	San Juan volcanic field	1,000	This was part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions in the San Juan volcanic field and nearby areas. These happened between 26 and 35 million years ago.
Uncompahgre—Dillon & Sapinero Mesa Tuffs	28.1	San Juan volcanic field	1,000	This was part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions in the San Juan volcanic field and nearby areas. These happened between 26 and 35 million years ago.
Platoro—Chiquito Peak tuff	28.2	San Juan volcanic field	1,000	This was part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions in the San Juan volcanic field and nearby areas. These happened between 26 and 35 million years ago.
Mount Princeton—Wall Mountain tuff	35.3	Thirtynine Mile volcanic area, Colorado	1,000	This eruption helped preserve the amazing fossils found at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

Effusive Eruptions: Gentle Flows

An effusive eruption of lava from Krafla, Iceland.

Effusive eruptions are different because they involve a relatively calm and steady flow of lava, instead of big explosions. These eruptions can go on for many years or even decades. They produce huge, runny lava flows made of mafic lava, which is rich in magnesium and iron.

For example, Kīlauea volcano on Hawaiʻi erupted almost continuously from 1983 to 2018. It produced about 2.7 cubic kilometers of lava, covering more than 100 square kilometers. Even though they look calmer, effusive eruptions can be just as dangerous as explosive ones. One of the biggest effusive eruptions in history happened in Iceland between 1783 and 1784. This was the eruption of Laki. It produced about 15 cubic kilometers of lava and sadly killed one-fifth of Iceland's population. The changes it caused to the climate might have also led to millions of deaths in other parts of the world.

Even larger were the Icelandic eruptions of Katla (the Eldgjá eruption) around 934 AD, which produced 18 cubic kilometers of lava. The Þjórsárhraun eruption of Bárðarbunga around 6700 BC was even bigger, with 25 cubic kilometers of lava. This last one is the largest effusive eruption in the last 10,000 years! The lava fields from these eruptions are huge: Laki's covered 565 square kilometers, Eldgjá's covered 700 square kilometers, and Þjórsárhraun's covered 950 square kilometers.

Eruption	Age (Millions of years ago)	Location	Volume (km³)	Notes	Refs
Mahabaleshwar–Rajahmundry Traps (Upper)	64.8	Deccan Traps, India	9,300
Wapshilla Ridge flows	~15.5	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	5,000–10,000	This part includes 8–10 lava flows. Their total volume is about 50,000 cubic kilometers.
McCoy Canyon flow	15.6	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	4,300
Umtanum flows	~15.6	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	2,750	This includes two flows with a total volume of 5,500 cubic kilometers.
Sand Hollow flow	15.3	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	2,660
Pruitt Draw flow	16.5	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	2,350
Museum flow	15.6	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	2,350
Moonaree Dacite	1591	Gawler Range Volcanics, Australia	2,050	This is one of the oldest large eruptions that we still have evidence for.
Rosalia flow	14.5	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	1,900
Gran Canaria shield basalt eruption	14.5 to 14	Gran Canaria, Spain	1,000		p. 17
Joseph Creek flow	16.5	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	1,850
Ginkgo Basalt	15.3	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	1,600
California Creek–Airway Heights flow	15.6	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	1,500
Stember Creek flow	15.6	Columbia River Basalt Group, United States	1,200

Large Igneous Provinces: Giant Volcanic Areas

This map shows the huge area covered by the Siberian Traps in Russia.

Sometimes, there are periods of super active volcanism in areas called large igneous provinces. These areas have produced massive oceanic plateaus (flat areas on the ocean floor) and flood basalts (huge outpourings of lava on land). These provinces can include hundreds of very large eruptions. Together, they can produce millions of cubic kilometers of lava!

No large flood basalt eruptions have happened in human history. The most recent ones occurred over 10 million years ago. These giant volcanic events are often linked to times when supercontinents (huge landmasses like Pangea) broke apart. They might have also contributed to several mass extinctions.

Many large igneous provinces haven't been studied enough to figure out the size of their individual eruptions. Also, many are not preserved well enough to make this possible. Because of this, many of the eruptions listed above come from just two large igneous provinces: the Paraná and Etendeka traps and the Columbia River Basalt Group. The Columbia River Basalt Group is the most recent large igneous province, and also one of the smallest. The list below gives you an idea of how many more huge eruptions might be missing from the lists above.

Igneous province	Age (Millions of years ago)	Location	Volume (millions of km³)	Notes
Ontong Java–Manihiki–Hikurangi Plateau	121	Southwest Pacific Ocean	59–77	This is the largest igneous body (formed from cooled magma) on Earth. It later split into three separate oceanic plateaus. A fourth part might now be attached to South America. It could be linked to the Louisville hotspot.
Kerguelen Plateau–Broken Ridge	112	South Indian Ocean, Kerguelen Islands	17	This is linked to the Kerguelen hotspot. The volume includes Broken Ridge and parts of the Kerguelen Plateau formed between 120 and 95 million years ago.
North Atlantic Igneous Province	55.5	North Atlantic Ocean	6.6	This is linked to the Iceland hotspot.
Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up	32.5	Southwest United States: mainly in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico	5.5	This involved mostly explosive (0.5 million km³) and effusive (5 million km³) eruptions between 25 and 40 million years ago. It includes many volcanic centers, like the San Juan volcanic field.
Caribbean large igneous province	88	Caribbean–Colombian oceanic plateau	4	This is linked to the Galápagos hotspot.
Siberian Traps	249.4	Siberia, Russia	1–4	This was a huge outpouring of lava on land. It is believed to have caused the Permian–Triassic extinction event, which was the largest mass extinction ever.
Karoo-Ferrar	183	Mainly Southern Africa and Antarctica. Also South America, India, Australia and New Zealand	2.5	This formed as the ancient continent of Gondwana broke apart.
Paraná and Etendeka traps	133	Brazil/Angola and Namibia	2.3	This is linked to the Tristan hotspot.
Central Atlantic magmatic province	200	Laurasia continents	2	This is believed to be the cause of the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. It formed as the supercontinent Pangaea broke apart.
Deccan Traps	66	Deccan Plateau, India	1.5	This is a large igneous province in west-central India. It is believed to have been one of the causes of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. It is linked to the Réunion hotspot.
Emeishan Traps	256.5	Southwestern China	1	Along with the Siberian Traps, this might have contributed to the Permian–Triassic extinction event.
Coppermine River Group	1267	Mackenzie Large Igneous Province/Canadian Shield	0.65	This area has at least 150 individual lava flows.
Ethiopia-Yemen Continental Flood Basalts	28.5	Ethiopia/Yemen/Afar, Arabian-Nubian Shield	0.35	These are connected with explosive tuffs that are rich in silica.
Columbia River Basalt Group	16	Pacific Northwest, United States	0.18	These lava flows are clearly visible because of the Missoula Floods in the Channeled Scablands.

List of largest volcanic eruptions facts for kids

Contents

Explosive Eruptions: Big Blasts!

Effusive Eruptions: Gentle Flows

Large Igneous Provinces: Giant Volcanic Areas

See also