Erebus is a stratovolcano located in Antarctica, standing at an elevation of 3,794 meters within an intraplate tectonic setting on continental crust greater than 25 kilometers thick. According to official records from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, the volcano has a total of 20 confirmed eruptions spanning thousands of years, with the earliest recorded eruption starting around 8050 BCE and subsequent activity documented across multiple centuries.
Overview of Recorded Eruptions
The confirmed eruption record for Erebus includes 20 distinct events evaluated through various evidence methods, ranging from isotopic dating for ancient periods to direct human observations for more recent centuries. Across the entire documented record, the largest recorded Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) is 2.0. The 20 confirmed eruptions are distributed across several centuries:
- 81st century BCE (e.g., around 8050 BCE, with an isotopic Ar/Ar evidence method and a start year uncertainty of 5,000 years)
- 71st century BCE
- 46th century BCE
- 41st century BCE
- 30th century BCE
- 21st century BCE (e.g., around 2050 BCE at the Western Crater Upper Ice Tower flow, using isotopic Ar/Ar evidence with a start year uncertainty of 3,000 years)
- 10th century CE
- 19th century CE
- 20th century CE (featuring multiple reported observations, such as events starting in April 1911, August 1915, and December 1972)
Historical Observation Periods
While ancient activity relies on isotopic dating methods such as argon-argon (Ar/Ar) analysis—which carries multi-thousand-year uncertainties—recent centuries contain events documented through reported observations. For instance, a confirmed eruption began on April 16, 1911, and ended on June 16, 1911, with a VEI of 2.0. Another reported eruption began on August 16, 1915, also with a VEI of 2.0. A later confirmed eruption began on December 16, 1972, and is recorded in the structured database with an end date of March 17, 2026, and a VEI of 2.0. The profile's last-known eruption year is listed as 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many eruptions has Erebus had?
Erebus has 20 confirmed eruptions recorded in the official Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program database.
When was the earliest recorded eruption of Erebus?
The earliest recorded eruption in the database began around 8050 BCE, determined via isotopic Ar/Ar evidence with a 5,000-year uncertainty.
What is the largest recorded VEI for Erebus?
The largest recorded Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) for Erebus is 2.0.
Image credits
- James St. John — Wikimedia Commons source — CC BY 2.0
Sources and further context
Official datasets support the event-specific facts.