9 (tie): Popocatépetl, Mexico; Bezymianny, Russia; White Island, New Zealand (7)
We start off with a three-way tie of very different volcanoes -- one that looked like it might do something spectacular but never did, one that does spectacular things but in a remote location and one that produced both an explosive eruption and a weird, spiny dome. I know many of us spent the spring intently watching Popocatepetl in Mexico, waiting for a significant eruption, but luckily for all the rumblings, the people living near the volcano didn't face a large eruption. Over in Kamchatka, Bezymianny had a number of explosive eruptions, including a large eruption in late August/early September (see above). Finally, New Zealand's White Island had a small explosive eruption during the same week as Tongariro's eruption. The island volcano then produced a small but very strange-looking dome within the crater (that is still being visited by tourists on a regular basis).
Image: Top - Webcam capture of Popocatepetl; Middle - Bezymianny erupting on September 1, 2012, KVERT; White Island on December 12, 2012, New Zealand, GNS Science.
