The 10 most Desctuctive Volcanoes

Posted on April 8, 2008. Filed under: Science and Technology |

This post is about the 10 most destructive Volcanoes ever occurred on this planet Earth.You might have come across some of them such as St.Helens but these below have been “The Catastrophic” and dormant in the recent past. So get on n discover them …….

Krakatoa or Krakatau or Krakatao is a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The best known eruption culminated in a series of massive explosions on August 26-27 1883, which was among the most violent volcanic events in modern times. With a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6, it was equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT — about 13,000 times the yield of the Little Boy bomb (13 to 16 KT), which devastated Hiroshima, Japan.


The eruption destroyed two thirds of the island of Krakatoa. Eruptions at the volcano since 1927 have built a new island in the same location, called Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatoa).This island is 200 meters above sea level and 2 kilometers. The original island of Krakatoa was 2000 meters above sea level and had a radius of 9 kilometers.[more…]


Tambora erupted in 1815 with a rating of seven on the Volcanic Explosivity Index; the largest eruption since the Lake Taupo eruption in AD 181.The explosion was heard on Sumatra island (more than 2,000 km or 1,200 mi away). Heavy volcanic ash falls were observed as far away as Borneo, Sulawesi, Java and Maluku islands. The death toll was at least 71,000 people, of which 11,000–12,000 were killed directly by the eruption;[4] most authors estimated 92,000 people were killed but this figure is based on an overestimated calculation.The eruption created global climate anomalies; 1816 became known as the Year Without a Summer because of the effect on North American and European weather. Agricultural crops failed and livestock died in much of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in the worst famine of the 19th century.[more…]

Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio, Latin: Mons Vesuvius) is a stratovolcano east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting. The two other volcanoes in Italy (Etna and Stromboli) are located on islands.


The Minoan eruption of Thera, also referred to as the Thera eruption or Santorini eruption, was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption is estimated to have occurred in the late 17th century BCE.The eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded history. The eruption destroyed most of the island of Thera (also called Santorini), including the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri as well as communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and on the coast of Crete, contributing to the collapse of the Minoan culture.

The eruption caused significant climatic changes in the eastern Mediterranean region, Aegean Sea and much of the Northern Hemisphere.There is also evidence that the eruption caused failure of crops in China, inspired certain Greek myths, contributed to turmoil in Egypt, and influenced many of the biblical Exodus stories.It has been theorized that the Minoan eruption and the destuction of the city at Akrotiri provided the basis for or otherwise inspired Plato’s story of Atlantis.[more…]

Mount Pelée (French: Montagne Pelée, “Bald Mountain”) is an active volcano on the northern tip of the French overseas department of Martinique in the Caribbean. It is among the deadliest stratovolcano on Earth, its volcanic cone composed of layers of volcanic ash and hardened lava.

Mount Pelée is famous for its eruption in 1902 and the destruction that resulted, the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th Century. The eruption killed approximatley 26,000 to 36,000 people, including the island’s governor, and destroyed Saint-Pierre, at that time the largest city in Martinique. Mount Pelee is made up mostly of pyroclastic material. This was a massive devastation to France, as not having a major volcanic eruption before in its time.[more…]

The San Salvador Volcano (also known as Quetzaltepec) is a volcanic complex situated northwest to the city of San Salvador. The crater has been nearly filled with a relatively newer edifice, the Boquerón volcano. The city of San Salvador is adjacent to the volcano and the western section of the city actually lies among its slopes. Because of this close proximity, any geological activity of the volcano, whether eruptive or not, has the potential to result in catastrophic destruction and death to the city. Despite this, the volcano is iconic of the city, and several TV and radio antennas are situated on the El Picacho peaks and the crater of Boqueron.

The Boquerón edfice formed between 40,000 and 1580 years ago, filling up the G-1 eruption crater. the lavas of the Boquerón edifice contain more alkali element and iron oxide than the lavas of the san salvador edifice, allowing for a clear chemical distincion. Around 800 years ago, the present day crater was formed in a violent explosion.The most recent eruption in 1917 caused a flank eruption on the volcano along the N40W fissure. During this eruption, the crater lake inside the Boqueron evaporated and a cinder cone appeared, christened ‘Boqueroncito’.[more…]

Ilopango is a caldera that formed in 260 A.D. Ash from this explosive eruption covered much of central El Salvador. Lake Ilopango fills part of the caldera. Islas Quemadas, a volcanic dome, formed within the caldera in 1879-1880. Periods of dome extrusion coincided with tidal forces. Earthquake swarms preceded each extrusion.
The violent eruption at Ilopango destroyed the land for a 60 mile (100 km) radius around the volcano. Thousands of people died. Excavations, like the one in this photo, are providing new insights into Mayan culture. The eruption ended the presence of Mayan society in the highlands. Large numbers of refugees fled to lowland areas in Guatemala and Belize.

The Grímsvötn lakes are lakes in Iceland. They lie in the highlands of Iceland at the northwestern side of the Vatnajökull glacier and are covered by its ice cap. Beneath them is a large magma chamber of a powerful volcano.

Grímsvötn has a southwest-northeast-trending fissure system, and the massive, climatic impacting, Laki fissure eruption of 1783-1784 was a part of the same fissure system. In fact, Grímsvötn was erupting at the same time as Laki during 1783, but continued to erupt until 1785. Because most of the volcano lies underneath Vatnajökull, most eruptions have been subglacial in nature.[more…]


It is a stratovolcano with the summit split into three peaks, Kitadake (northern peak), Nakadake (central peak) and Minamidake (southern peak) which is active now. The surface of the island is about 77 km².

Its North Peak Sakurajima’s highest peak, rising to 1,117 metres above sea level. The mountain is located in a part of Kagoshima Bay known as Kinkō Bay .The former island is part of the city of Kagoshima.

In 1914, a great eruption occurred, burying the straits with lava, thus connecting the former island to the Osumi Peninsula, so that Sakurajima is no longer an island. The volcanic activity still continues, dropping large amounts of volcanic ash on the surroundings. Earlier eruptions built the white sands highlands in the region.[more…]


Although smoke can be seen emerging from the mountain top at least 300 days a year, several eruptions have caused fatalities. Hot gas from a large explosion killed 43 people in 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large eruption occured in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.[more…]

The list obtained from John Dvorak and elaborated by Youngistan

Further Info:

Earth’s Volcanoes

Wikipedia link –> Educational site with most recent Volcanic activity

Types of Volcanoes

How Volcanoes Work

Types of Eruptions

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