Great Fountain Geyser in Yellowstone. (National Geographic)
5. Mauna Loa, Hawaii
Mauna Loa is the world’s largest shield volcano. A shield volcano are the largest types of volcanos because of fluid lava flows, which reach out great distances and form a shield like structure. This specific one is one of the earth’s most active volcanoes. It has erupted 33 times since 1843 with the most recent occurrence in 1984. It is one of the 5 volcanoes that make up Hawaii.
However, due to the fact that this volcano has been erupting pretty frequently in the past 700,000 years, we can assume that the locals are well versed in evacuation procedures.
Taal Volcano. (bestphilippinetouristspots.com)
4. Taal Volcano, Phillipines
The Taal Volcano is the infamous Island in a lake in an island in a lake – orIslandception for short. Similar to the Mauna Loa, it has had around 30 eruptions since the 1500′s. An estimated 6000 people have lost their lives due to this volcano. That along with the fact that it is only 31 miles from Manila, a city of 1.6 million, make it slightly more dangerous at #9.
Ulawun. (Listio.org)
3. Ulawun, Papua New Guinea
Ulawun is one of the most active volcanoes in the New Guinea region. Since the 1700′s there have been 22 recorded eruptions. As you can see from the picture, the volcano stands quite tall. What makes the area extremely dangerous is not the explosions which consistently deposit ash and lava, but a potential structural collapse which could potentially devastate 100′s of sq km of surrounding land.
Popocatepetl. (Earthquake-Report.com)
2. Popocatepetl, Mexico
This beast lies 35 miles from Mexico City, a city with a population of almost 9 million. It last erupted in 2000, but with effective evacuation procedures, 41,000 people were ushered to safety.
Great Fountain Geyser in Yellowstone. (National Geographic)
1. Yellowstone
Infowars.com along with many other sites suggest that Yellowstone is the most dangerous active volcano for a slew of reasons. I’ve included a few of them below:
- A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone could be up to 1,000 time more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
- A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone would spew volcanic ash 25 miles up into the air.
- The next eruption of Yellowstone seems to be getting closer with each passing year. Since 2004, some areas of Yellowstone National Park have risen by as much as 10 inches.
- There are approximately 3,000 earthquakes in the Yellowstone area every single year.
- In the event of a full-scale eruption of Yellowstone, virtually the entire northwest United States will be completely destroyed.
- A massive eruption of Yellowstone would mean that just about everything within a 100 mile radius of Yellowstone would be immediately killed.
- A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone could also potentially dump a layer of volcanic ash that is at least 10 feet deep up to 1,000 miles away.
- A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone would cover virtually the entire midwest United States with volcanic ash. Food production in America would be almost totally wiped out.
- The “volcanic winter” that a massive Yellowstone eruption would cause would radically cool the planet. Some scientists believe that global temperatures would decline by up to 20 degrees.
- America would never be the same again after a massive Yellowstone eruption. Some scientists believe that a full eruption by Yellowstone would render two-thirds of the United States completely uninhabitable.
- Scientists tell us that it is not a matter of “if” Yellowstone will erupt but rather “when” the next inevitable eruption will take place.
