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.
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The Villarrica volcano lights up the sky at night, seen from Pucon town, Chile, on December 14, 2023. #
Cristobal Saavedra Escobar / Reuters Read more -
People 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 Read more -
This 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 Read more -
A 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 Read more -
Merapi volcano spews hot ash, as seen from Turi, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on March 14, 2023. #
Andreas Fitri Atmoko / Antara Foto / Reuters Read more -
An 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 Read more -
The 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 Read more -
Volcanic 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 Read more -
The 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 Read more -
A large bubble of steam bursts at the Bledug Kuwu mud volcano, in Grobogan, Central Java, Indonesia, on September 7, 2023. #
Dasril Roszandi / Anadolu / Getty Read more -
The Popocatepetl Volcano spews ash, as seen from Puebal, state of Puebla, Mexico, on May 18, 2023. #
Jose Castanares / AFP / Getty Read more -
Lava 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 Read more -
The first eruption of 2023 of the Piton de la Fournaise Volcano on Reunion island. #
Aymeric Bein / Getty Read more -
An 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 Read more -
Lava 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 Read more -
An ash column rises from Mount Ulawun, as seen from an airplane window above Papua New Guinea on November 21, 2023. #
Enoch Lapa / Reuters Read more -
Lava 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 Read more -
A 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. #
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