The world’s most active volcanoes - in photos
From the lava lakes of Kilauea, Hawaii, to volcanoes in the heart of African desert
There are around 1,500 potentially active volcanoes in the world, according to the US Geological Survey, and 500 of them have erupted in recorded history.
Here are some of the most active - and deadly:
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CreditsRichard Bouhet/AFP/Getty ImagesPiton de la Fournaise, La Reunion
With three eruptions in the past decade, the volcano merits the French name ‘peak of the furnace’
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CreditsMario Tama/Getty ImagesKilauea, Hawaii
A series of eruptions of the volcanic Kilaeau peak has caused chaos on Hawaii’s Big Island, with locals evacuated from the path of streaming lava
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CreditsMario Laporta/AFP/GettyStromboli, Italy
One of Europe's most active volanoes, Stromboli, in the north of Sicily, draws thousands of tourists every year MARIO LAPORTA/AFP/Getty Images
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CreditsJoseph Eid/AFP/Getty ImagesOl Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania
Ol Doinyo Lengai, a Masai name meaning Mountain of God, is part of the volcanic system of the Great Rift Valley in Eastern Africa
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CreditsTorsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty ImagesMount Yasur, Vanuatu
Mount Yasur is the most active of the nine volcanoes which rise up from the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, erupting almost continuously since it was first recorded by Captain Cook in 1774
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CreditsChris McGrath/Getty ImagesSakurajima, Japan
Sakurajima’s frequent eruptions are usually small-scale, but the volcano holds a fearsome force - as shown by its geography. Formerly an island, a particularly large lava flow in 1914 connected it to the nearby coastline
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CreditsAFP/Getty ImagesPacaya, Guatemala
Lightning bolts compete with spurts of lava at the top of Pacaya, one of the volcanoes which makes up the Central American Volcanic Arc running along the Pacific Coast of Central America
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CreditsRoslan Rahman/AFP/Getty ImagesMount Merapi, Indonesia
Clouds of ash spews out of Mount Merapi during major eruption in 2010 which killed more than 350 people and displaced hundreds of thousands
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CreditsAFP/Getty ImagesEtna, Italy
Europe's biggest active volcano, Etna looms over the city of Catania, in eastern Sicily. Its continuous activity has not prevented the volcano from becoming a major tourist attraction, boasting a narrow-gauge railway and two ski resorts
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CreditsFrancois Martel/AFP/Getty ImagesErta Ale, Ethiopia
One of the few volcanoes on the world that have an almost persistent lava lake, Erta Ale sits in the middle of an arid desert in the Afar region
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