How many active volcanoes are there in the world?

In the past few weeks travellers in Indonesia were grounded due to two erupting volcanoes sending ash clouds into the atmosphere. At first I thought it was one volcano, but later realized that two were active. On the main island of Java, in East Java province near Bali, Mount Raung erupted and sent debris (lava and ash) 3,800 metres (12,460 feet) into the air. Five airports in the area closed temporarily because the ash can clog aircraft engines. Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, that had been rumbling for months, also erupted.

So how many active volcanoes are there in the world? In Indonesia alone there are about 130 active volcanoes, according to the government geologist. That’s because Indonesia lies on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ – fault lines that extend from Japan and into Southeast Asia.

Across the globe there are 1,540 active volcanoes. The National Museum of Natural History’s Global Volcanism Program in the Smithsonian Institution in America keeps a database of active volcanoes. Of these active volcanoes, about 25 volcanoes are currently erupting at any given time. There are also many more on the sea floor.

Photograph from Huffington Post

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