#3: Nabro, Eritrea
3. Nabro, Eritrea (134) The eruption of Nabro in Eritrea was the opposite of many of the eruptions that could be watched live via webcams from the comfort of your home. The little-known caldera erupted...
View Article#9: Sakurajima, Japan
9. Sakurajima, Japan (16) If anything, Sakurajima is consistent. The Japanese volcano produces thousands of small explosions per year (see above) - meaning that you rarely get a large explosion but on...
View Article#8: Kilauea, Hawai'i
8. Kilauea, Hawai'i (39) Another consistent performer, Kilauea not only kept up its act at the Halema`uma`u summit crater and the east rift's Pu`u O`o crater, but added a new move. In March, the summit...
View Article#4: Etna, Italy
4. Etna, Italy (133) If Grímsvötn was the "one hit wonder" for 2011, then Etna was the Beatles. The Italian volcano had 18 paroxysms over the course of the year, some of which produced lava flows,...
View Article#10: Katla, Iceland
10. Katla, Iceland (12) We start the top ten with a volcano that was likely more famous for stubbornly not erupting* rather than any dramatic event. Sure, Katla has seen an increase in seismic activity...
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#1: Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Chile
1. Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Chile (308) The winner of the 2011 Pliny for Volcanic Event of the Year - and by a longshot - was the stunning and long-lived eruption of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle near the...
View Article#6: Kirishima, Japan
6. Kirishima, Japan (51) Sometimes being early in the year will hurt when it comes to the year-end voting and I think that the January/February eruption from the Shimnoedake cone at Kirishima might...
View Article#2: El Hierro, Canary Islands
2. El Hierro, Canary Islands (194) We might not have had much warning when it came to Nabro, but the eruption to the south of El Hierro in the Canary Islands had months of precursory seismicity that...
View Article#5: Grímsvötn, Iceland
5. Grímsvötn, Iceland (60) Since last year's Eyjafjallajökull eruption (the 2010 Pliny winner) that brought air traffic over Europe to its knees, nothing gets the media's attention like an eruption in...
View Article#7: Nyamuragira, DR Congo
7. Nyamuragira, DR Congo (50) One of the top most active volcanoes in Africa (along with its nearby neighbor Nyiragongo) saw its biggest explosive eruption in decades when a new flank fissure vent...
View ArticleJune - Puyehue-Cordon Caulle, Chile
June I started June by looking at how carbon dioxide could be a volcanic hazard in its own right after all the news of degassing at the Dieng Plateau in Indonesia – later in the month I looked at an...
View ArticleJuly - Nabro, Eritrea
July When July opened, the alert at Taal as lowered as both seismicity and gas emissions were down – and no eruption ever occurred. However, the media did get a hold of “unrest” at Hekla in Iceland...
View ArticleMarch - Kilauea, Hawai'i
March March started out with a bang, as the crater floor at Pu`u O`o collapsed. This was followed closely by the opening of a new fissure on Kilauea, what came to be called the “Kamoamoa” eruption....
View ArticleJebel Zubair, Red Sea
December The year ended on the relatively quiet side in terms of volcanic activity. In Indonesia, Gamalama erupted and the rains that followed produced lahars (volcanic mudflows) that killed at least a...
View ArticleFebruary - Huila, Colombia
February February brought fresh seismicity to two areas that got people’s attention – the Taal caldera in the Philippines and Vatnajökull in Iceland. Only one lead to an eruption this year, which shows...
View ArticleJanuary - Kirishima, Japan
Now that 2011 has come to a close, it is time for me to look back on the year. This, by no means, is an inclusive list of all the activity in 2011. For something close to that, check out the archives...
View ArticleOctober - Cerro Hudson, Chile
October October kept me busy in more ways than one – and showed my dedication to the blog as the activity at El Hierro finally lead to an eruption on October 10 (coincidentally the same day Esa was...
View ArticleNovember - El Hierro, Canary Islands
November We were all waiting for November to spawn a monster at El Hierro (see above), but the volcanic activity remained submarine for much of the month. The eruption was coughing up some impressive...
View ArticleMay - Grimsvotn, Iceland
May As May started, another Chilean volcano was put on alert – a certain Puyehue-Cordón Caulle (we all know what comes next). Japan was another eruption as a small explosive event occurred at the Aso...
View ArticleSeptember - Etna, Italy
September At the end of August and into September, we heard that there were signs of unrest at one of the world’s most famous volcanoes – Tambora. However, unlike many of the news stories, a new...
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