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The Daily Insight

How many supervolcanoes are there?

Author

Sarah Oconnor

Updated on February 26, 2026

There are about 12 supervolcanoes on Earth — each one at least seven times larger than Mount Tambora, which had the biggest eruption in recorded history. If all of these supervolcanoes erupted at once, they’d likely pour thousands of tons of volcanic ash and toxic gases into the atmosphere.

What is the world’s biggest supervolcano?

The largest (super) eruption at Yellowstone (2.1 million years ago) had a volume of 2,450 cubic kilometers. Like many other caldera-forming volcanoes, most of Yellowstone’s many eruptions have been smaller than VEI 8 supereruptions, so it is confusing to categorize Yellowstone as a “supervolcano.”

How many supervolcanoes are there and where are they?

When that much magma spills out, a circular-shaped collapse feature called a caldera is formed above where magma is stored. Three of the seven supervolcanoes are located in the continental US: Yellowstone, the Long Valley Caldera, and the Valles Caldera.

What is the mouth of a volcano called?

Crater – Mouth of a volcano – surrounds a volcanic vent. Conduit – An underground passage magma travels through.

What is the Centre of a volcano called?

The centre of a volcano is called the central vent. A volcano is formed when the Earth’s tectonic plates move.

What’s the top of a volcano called?

crater
At the top of the volcano, at its highest point, is a crater. Some volcanoes have something called a caldera.

What are the names of all the super volcanoes?

Super Volcano locations include. Yellowstone in Wyoming (USA) Long Valley in California (USA) Valley Grande in New Mexico (USA) Lake Taupo in New Zealand. Aira in Japan. Lake Toba in Sumatra .

What is the largest supervolcano in the world?

The United Nations world heritage site, which lies over giant chambers of molten magma, is actually the world’s largest super volcano, which erupted 2.1 million, 1.3m and 640,000 years ago, causing massive devastation across the planet.

How many super volcanoes are there in the world?

There are approximately 500 active volcanoes in the world today, not including those underneath the oceans. In fact, as you read these words, there are probably 20 volcanoes erupting right now. Between 50-70 volcanoes are erupting every year, 160 have erupted in the last decade.

What is the largest volcano in the world?

Located right in the heart of the lava-filled Big Island of Hawaii is Mauna Loa, currently one of the biggest volcanoes in the world. But, that’s not all. Standing tall at 13,677 feet above sea level, it’s also the world’s largest active volcano!