Active Volcanoes in United States

Volcanoes have the potential to cause some of the Earth’s most intimidating natural disasters. Active volcanism occurs when the tectonic plates deep under the ground are in the long and slow process of colliding. Before erupting, these volcanoes exhibit warning signals, which are monitored by scientists to predict the timing and severity of the eruptions. Due to these volcanic eruptions, various mountain ranges and many incredible landscapes have been formed. In the Unites States, majority of the active volcanoes are found in the Hawaiian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, and the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest. Some of the most popular active volcanoes in United States are:

Mauna Loa
Being one of the world's largest active volcanoes, Mauna Loa rises more than 9,000 meters from the seafloor, and is considered to be taller than Mount Everest. Since 1900, it has erupted 15 times, with eruptions lasting from less than a day to nearly 145 days. The most recent eruption of Maura Loa was on March 25, 1984, that continued for 3 weeks. As a result, the lava flows were only 6.5 kms away from buildings in the city of Hilo. It erupts less frequently than Kilauea, but produces a larger quantity of lava in a shorter period of time.

Kilauea Volcano
Kilauea is the youngest volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It's longest rift-zone eruption began on January 3, 1983 when a row of lava fountains broke out from its east rift zone, about 17 kms from the summit caldera. The volcano was named Kilauea which means 'spewing' or 'much spreading'; in reference to the lava flows when it erupts. The lava eruption from the Kilauea volcano has covered approximately 75 square kilometers of forest and grassland, destructed 179 homes, and added 120 hectares of new land to the island. Of all the eruptions at Kilauea, a few historical eruptions were dangerously explosive, as fast-moving mixtures of ash and gas, called pyroclastic surges, killed many people.

Augustine Volcano
Augustine volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Cook Inlet, having a symmetrical cone rising 1,254 meters above the sea level. This volcano has erupted in 1812, 1883, 1935, 1963-64, 1976 and 1986, and surprisingly, the intervals between these eruptions have reduced from 70 to 10 years. It's summit comprises of several overlapping lava dome complexes formed during historic and prehistoric eruptions. Nearly 12 landslides took place at Augustine and the most recent slide that occurred was at the onset of the 1883 eruption, when a part of the volcano's summit collapsed into the sea. Within an hour, a tsunami nearly 9 meters high crashed ashore on the coast of the Kenai Peninsula, which was 80 kilometers away. As it was low tide, there was no loss of life, only minor property damage was reported.

Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is the largest volcano in the Cascade Range and is located in Washington state. Reaching a height of 4,392 m (14,410 ft), this dangerous volcano is situated near the large urban areas of Tacoma and Seattle. The main danger from an eruption of Mount Rainier would be the creation of landslides or mudflows of volcanic debris that resemble wet concrete. This would result in melting of the glaciers capping the mountain, causing floods that would mix with loose volcanic ash and rock debris, destroying everything in its path.

The United States is well known for its active volcanoes that have the potential to wreak havoc on their immediate surroundings by releasing ash and toxic gases and causing mudslides. Nearly 80% of the US active volcanoes are in the Aleutian Islands and about 75% of the world’s volcanic eruptions occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire.