List of largest volcanic eruptions
Volcano - eruption Age ( Millions of years ) Location Volume ( km ) Notes
Guarapuava - Tamarana - Sarusas 132 Paraná and Etendeka traps 8,600 Existence as a single volcano is controversial . Possibly a volcano chain
Santa Maria - Fria ~132 Paraná and Etendeka traps 7,800 Existence as a single volcano is controversial . Possibly a volcano chain
Guarapuava - Ventura ~132 Paraná and Etendeka traps 7,600 Existence as a single volcano is controversial . Possibly a volcano chain
Flat Landing Brook Eruption 466 Flat Landing Brook Formation 2,000-12,000 One of the largest and oldest supereruption . Existence as a single eruption is controversial . Possibly a multiple 2,000+ under a million years
Sam Ignimbrite and Green Tuff 29.5 Yemen 6,797-6,803 Volume includes 5550 km³ of distal tuffs . This estimate is uncertain to a factor of 2 or 3
Goboboseb-Messum volcanic centre - Springbok quartz latite unit 132 Paraná and Etendeka traps , Brazil and Namibia 6,340
Wah Wah Springs Tuff 30.06 Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex 5,500-5,900 The largest of the Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex , and includes flows over 13,000 feet thick at the most
Caxias do Sul - Grootberg ~132 Paraná and Etendeka traps 5,650
La Garita Caldera - Fish Canyon Tuff 27.8 San Juan volcanic field , Colorado 5,000 Part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions in the San Juan volcanic field and surrounding area that formed around 26 to 35 Ma
Lund Tuff 29.2 Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex 4,400 Formed the White Rock Caldera , one of the largest eruptions of the Mid-Tertiary Ignimbrite flareup
Jacui - Goboboseb II ~132 Paraná and Etendeka traps 4,350
Ourinhos - Khoraseb ~132 Paraná and Etendeka traps 3,900
Jabal Kura ' a Ignimbrite 29.6 Yemen 3,797-3,803 Volume estimate is uncertain to a factor of 2 or 3
Windows Butte tuff 31.4 William 's Ridge , central Nevada 3,500 Part of the Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up
Anita Garibaldi - Beacon ~132 Paraná and Etendeka traps 3,450
Oxaya ignimbrites 19 Chile 3,000 Really a regional correlation of many ignimbrites originally thought to be distinct
Lake Toba - Youngest Toba Tuff 0.073 Sunda Arc , Indonesia 2,800 Largest known eruption on earth in at least the last million years , possibly responsible for a population bottleneck of the human species ( see Toba catastrophe theory )
Pacana Caldera - Atana ignimbrite 4 Chile 2,800 Forms a resurgent caldera
Mangakino Caldera - Kidnappers ignimbrite 1.01 Taupo Volcanic Zone , New Zealand 2,760
Iftar Alkalb - Tephra 4 W 29.5 Afro-Arabian 2,700
Explosive eruptions
Further information : Supervolcano § Massive explosive eruptions In explosive eruptions , the eruption of magma is driven by the rapid release of pressure , often involving the explosion of gas previously dissolved within the material . The most famous and destructive historical eruptions are mainly of this type . An eruptive phase can consist of a single eruption , or a sequence of several eruptions spread over several days , weeks or months . Explosive eruptions usually involve thick , highly viscous , silicic or felsic magma , high in volatiles like water vapor and carbon dioxide . Pyroclastic materials are the primary product , typically in the form of tuff . Eruptions the size of that at Lake Toba 74,000 years ago , at least 2,800 cubic kilometres ( 670 cu mi ) , or the Yellowstone eruption 620,000 years ago , around 1,000 cubic kilometres ( 240 cu mi ) , occur worldwide every 50,000 to 100,000 years . [ 1 ] [ n 1 ]
In a volcanic eruption, lava, volcanic bombs and ash, and various gases are expelled from a volcanic vent and fissure. While many eruptions only pose dangers to the immediately surrounding area, Earth's largest eruptions can have a major regional or even global impact, with some affecting the climate and contributing to mass extinctions. Volcanic eruptions can generally be characterized as either explosive eruptions, sudden ejections of rock and ash, or effusive eruptions, relatively gentle outpourings of lava. A separate list is given below for each type. There have probably been many such eruptions during Earth's history beyond those shown in these lists. However erosion and plate tectonics have taken their toll, and many eruptions have not left enough evidence for geologists to establish their size. Even for the eruptions listed here, estimates of the volume erupted can be subject to considerable uncertainty.