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Antarctica · Stratovolcano

Mount Erebus

Erebus

Type
Stratovolcano
Elevation
3794m
Last eruption
2026
Mount Erebus
Photo: Richard Waitt, U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Antarctica
Region
Antarctic & Scotia / McMurdo Volcanic Province
Elevation
3794m
Coordinates
-77.530, 167.170
Last eruption
2026
Tectonic setting
Intraplate / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Phonolite
Geological summary

Mount Erebus overlooks the McMurdo research station on Ross Island and is the largest of three major volcanoes forming the roughly triangular Ross Island. The summit of the dominantly phonolitic volcano has been modified by one or two generations of caldera formation. A summit plateau at about 3,200 m elevation marks the rim of the youngest caldera, which formed during the late-Pleistocene and within which the modern cone was constructed. An elliptical 500 x 600 m, 110-m-deep crater truncates the summit and contains an active lava lake within a 250-m-wide, 100-m-deep inner crater; other lava lakes are sometimes present. The glacier-covered volcano was erupting when first sighted by Captain James Ross in 1841. A persistent lava-lake, with minor explosions punctuated by occasional larger Strombolian explosions that eject bombs onto the crater rim, has been documented since 1972, but nearly continuous activity has probably been occurring for much longer.

From Wikipedia

Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth, located on Ross Island in the Ross Dependency in Antarctica. With a summit elevation of 3,792 metres (12,441 ft), it is the second most prominent mountain in Antarctica and the second-highest volcano in Antarctica. It is the highest point on Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes: Mount Terror, Mount Bird, and Mount Terra Nova. It makes Ross Island the sixth-highest island on Earth by highest point.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

22 recordedGlossary
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
8050 BCE~7716 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 07382 BCE~7048 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 04709 BCE~4375 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 04375 BCE~4041 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 03039 BCE~2705 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 02371 BCE~2037 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 0636~970 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 01638~1972 · 15 eruptions · max VEI 28050 BCE5712 BCE3039 BCE701 BCE1638

Detailed timeline

  1. 1972VEI 1Observed
    1972-01-03 – end unknown
  2. 1972VEI 2Observed
    1972-12-16 – 2026-03-17
  3. 1963VEI 0Observed
    1963-11-16 – end unknown
  4. 1957VEI ?Method not stated
    1957-07-02 – 1958-07-02
  5. 1955VEI 2Observed
    1955-07-02 – end unknown
  6. 1947VEI 2Observed
    1947-02-16 – end unknown
  7. 1915VEI 2Observed
    1915-03-22 – end unknown
  8. 1915VEI 2Observed
    1915-08-16 – end unknown
  9. 1912VEI 2Observed
    1912-12-12 – end unknown
  10. 1911VEI 2Observed
    1911-04-16 – 1911-06-16
  11. 1911VEI 2Observed
    1911-10-16 – end unknown
  12. 1908VEI 2Observed
    1908-03-16 – 1908-11-16
  13. 1903VEI 0Observed
    1903-01-01 – end unknown
  14. 1900VEI 2Method not stated
    1900-02-16 – end unknown
  15. 1841VEI 1Observed
    1841-01-28 – 1841-02-16
  16. 950 (±4000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    950 – end unknown
  17. 2050 BCE (±3000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    2050 BCE – end unknown
    Western Crater (Upper Ice Tower flow)
  18. 2950 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    2950 BCE – end unknown
    North flank (Lower Hut lava flow)
  19. 4050 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    4050 BCE – end unknown
    Lower Ice Tower Ridge, S lava flows
  20. 4550 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    4550 BCE – end unknown
    NE flank
  21. 7050 BCE (±2000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    7050 BCE – end unknown
    NW flank
  22. 8050 BCE (±5000 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    8050 BCE – end unknown
    NNW flank

Nearby volcanoes

External links

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