This has been a relatively average year for the world’s active volcanoes. Out of an estimated 1,500 active volcanoes, about 50 erupt every year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. In 2020, erupting volcanoes included Taal Volcano in the Philippines, La Cumbre in the Galapagos, Mount Shishaldin in Alaska, Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala, Mount Semeru and Mount Sinabung in Indonesia, Piton de la Fournaise on Réunion Island, Mount Etna in Sicily, and more. Collected below are scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year.
2020: The Year in Volcanic Activity
Hints:
View this page full screen.
Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
-
![]()
Read moreLightning flashes during the eruption of Taal Volcano, as seen from the nearby province of Quezon, in the Philippines, on January 12, 2020. Taal erupted on January 12 and remained active for about 10 days, spewing ash that often mixed with rain, bringing heavy ashfall to nearby towns and as far away as Metro Manila, about 40 miles north. #
Mariano Sayno / Getty -
-
![]()
Read moreLightning strikes as a column of ash surrounds the crater of Taal Volcano while it erupts on January 12, 2020, as seen from Tagaytay, in the Philippines. #
Ezra Acayan / Getty -
![]()
Read moreA villager washes his horse while Taal Volcano erupts in Batangas, the Philippines, on January 13, 2020. #
Dante Diosina Jr / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![]()
Read moreA fishing boat sails along a lake as Taal Volcano erupts on January 12, 2020, in Talisay, the Philippines. #
Ezra Acayan / Getty -
-
![]()
Read moreAbandoned houses and coconut trees are seen covered in ash due to the eruption of the nearby Taal Volcano, in Laurel in Batangas on January 16, 2020. #
Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty -
![]()
Read moreAn aerial view shows the landscape of Buso-buso covered in ash following the eruption of Taal Volcano on January 19, 2020. #
Ed Jones / AFP / Getty -
![]()
Read moreA man walks on a road blanketed with volcanic ash from the erupting Taal Volcano in Tagaytay on January 14, 2020. #
Eloisa Lopez / Reuters -
-
![]()
Read moreLava erupts from Piton de la Fournaise on Réunion Island on December 7, 2020. #
Vincent Dunogue / Shutterstock -
![]()
Read morePeople observe lava flowing from Piton de la Fournaise on December 7, 2020. #
Vincent Dunogue / Shutterstock -
![]()
Read moreVisitors observe lava erupting from Piton de la Fournaise on December 7, 2020. #
Vincent Dunogue / Shutterstock -
-
![]()
Read moreMount Shishaldin, on Alaska's Unimak Island, is seen erupting on January 18, 2020. Shishaldin was active in 2020, with several eruptions throughout the first half of the year. #
Woodsen Saunders / Alaska Volcano Observatory -
![]()
Read moreShishaldin Volcano in eruption, as seen from Cold Bay, Alaska, on January 6, 2020 #
Aaron Merculief / Alaska Volcano Observatory -
![]()
Read moreA view of White Island, seen on December 8, 2020, one year after the December 9, 2019, eruption that killed 22 people off the coast of Whakatane, New Zealand. The volcano erupted while 47 people were on the island, including several tour groups and their guides. #
Phil Walter / Getty -
-
![]()
Read moreMount Sinabung spews thick ash into the sky in Karo, North Sumatra, on August 10, 2020. #
Anto Sembiring / AFP / Getty -
![]()
Read moreFarmers harvest their onion crops as Mount Sinabung spews volcanic ash during an eruption seen from Sukandebi in Karo on August 14, 2020. #
Albert Ivan Damanik / AFP / Getty -
![]()
Read moreHot gas and ash flow down the slope of Mount Sinabung and rise through the air in Karo, North Sumatra, on October 30, 2020. #
Albert Ivan Damanik / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
-
![]()
Read morePacaya Volcano, seen from Rodeo in Guatemala, erupts on October 25, 2020. #
Johan Ordonez / AFP / Getty -
![]()
Read moreA general view shows steam rising from a stream caused by lava flows in Lumajang, Indonesia, on December 2, 2020, following the eruption of Mount Semeru. #
Juni Kriswanto / AFP / Getty -
![]()
Read moreVillagers try to dig out a truck that was buried in volcanic material due to the eruption of Mount Semeru at Besuk Kobokan River, in East Java, Indonesia, on December 3, 2020. #
Jefta Images / Barcroft Media / Getty -
-
![]()
Read moreMount Etna erupts in Sicily, photographed on December 14, 2020. #
Vasilis Asvestas / Shutterstock -
![]()
Read moreA military mountain-rescue unit of the Guardia di Finanza monitors the activity of Mount Etna's summit craters on December 1, 2020, in Catania, Italy. #
Fabrizio Villa / Getty -
![]()
Read moreLava flows from an erupting Mount Etna on December 14, 2020. #
Vasilis Asvestas / Shutterstock -
-
![]()
Read moreThis photo shows lava flowing as La Cumbre erupted on Fernandina Island, the Galapagos, Ecuador, on January 12, 2020. The volcano last erupted in 2018. #
Galapagos National Park via AP
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.