Skip to main content
University of California Press

About the Book

This impressive scientific resource presents up-to-date information on ten thousand years of volcanic activity on Earth. In the decade and a half since the previous edition was published new studies have refined assessments of the ages of many volcanoes, and several thousand new eruptions have been documented. This edition updates the book’s key components: a directory of volcanoes active during the Holocene; a chronology of eruptions over the past ten thousand years; a gazetteer of volcano names, synonyms, and subsidiary features; an extensive list of references; and an introduction placing these data in context. This edition also includes new photographs, data on the most common rock types forming each volcano, information on population densities near volcanoes, and other features, making it the most comprehensive source available on Earth’s dynamic volcanism.

About the Author

Lee Siebert and Paul Kimberly are volcanologists affiliated with the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program; Siebert is the GVP’s Director. Tom Simkin (1933–2009), served as GVP founder and director from 1968–1995 in a distinguished career in volcanology that spanned more than four decades.

Table of Contents

Preface 

DATA CRITERIA AND CONTEXT 
INTRODUCTION 
Previous Summaries 
Sources 
Years Covered 
Maps and Regional Numbering Scheme 

DATA TABLE SUMMARIES 
Directory 
Chronology 
Large-Volume Holocene Eruptions 
Fatalities and Evacuations 
Preliminary List of Pleistocene Volcanoes 
Preliminary List of Large-Volume Pleistocene Eruptions 
Gazetteer 
References 

VOLCANO DATA 
Volcano Name 
Subregion 
Latitude and Longitude 
Elevation
Population 
Rock Type 
Type (Morphology) 
Volcano Number 
Status 

ERUPTION DATA 
Area of Activity 
Dates: Start and Stop 
Uncertainties 
Dating Techniques 
Duration 
Eruptive Characteristics 
Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 
Volume of Products (Vol L/T) 

HISTORICAL RECORD: TRENDS AND CAUTIONS 
Volcanoes and Humans 
Volcanoes and Aircraft 
Volcanic Processes 
Volcanism: Magnitude, Frequency, and Global Impacts 
Durations and Paroyxyms 
Episodicity and Periodicity 
Intervals between Eruptions and Associated Hazard Implications 
Conclusions 
References 

DIRECTORY OF VOLCANOES
Europe to Caucasus (01) 
Africa & Red Sea (02) 
Middle East & Indian Ocean (03) 
New Zealand to Fiji (04) 
Melanesia & Australia (05) 
Indonesia & Andaman Is (06) 
Philippines & SE Asia (07) 
Japan, Taiwan & Marianas (08) 
Kuriles, Kamchatka & Mainland Asia (09 &10) 
Alaska (11) 
Canada & Western USA (12) 
Pacific Ocean (13) 
México & Central America (14) 
South America (15) 
West Indies (16) 
Iceland & Arctic Ocean (17) 
Atlantic Ocean (18) 
Antarctica & S Sandwich Islands (19) 

CHRONOLOGY OF ERUPTIONS

LARGE-VOLUME HOLOCENE ERUPTIONS
Explosive Eruptions 
Effusive Eruptions 

FATALITIES AND EVACUATIONS
Fatalities 
Evacuations 

PRELIMINARY LIST Of PLEISTOCENE VOLCANOES 

PRELIMINARY LIST Of LARGE-VOLUME PLEISTOCENE ERUPTIONS 

COLOR PHOTO SECTION 

GAZETTER 
REFERENCES

Reviews

“Highly recommended.”
Choice
“This book is the book to have if volcanoes are your thing. . . . It would be a useful addition in any scientific library.”
Emerald Journal
"Volcanoes of the World compiles and lists all of earth's eruptions into one primary scientific source. It is a fundamental research tool and the last word on many issues. There is nothing else like it."—William I. Rose, Michigan Technological University

"Volcanoes of the World stands alone. To my knowledge (as a practicing volcanologist for more than 4 decades), there are no competing works in the scientific literature comparable in purpose, scope, and scholarship."—Robert Tilling, Volcano Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey