This is not just a list of the ten most active volcanoes in the world, it is a list of the highest active volcanoes in the world. Some of them are much higher than you might think, but which one is the highest? Let’s find out…
The Top 10 Highest Active Volcanoes in the Entire World
10 – Acatenango Volcano, Guatemala (Approximate Height: 12,989 ft)
Wiki Info: Acatenango is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, close to the city of Antigua. The volcano has two peaks, Pico Mayor and Yepocapa which is also known as Tres Hermanas (Three Sisters). Acatenango is joined with Volcán de Fuego and collectively the volcano complex is known as La Horqueta.
9 – Cameroon Volcano, Cameroon (Approximate Height: 13,353 ft)
Wiki Info: Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in Cameroon near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako or by its native name Mongo ma Ndemi. It is the highest point in sub-Saharan western and central Africa, the fourth most prominent peak in Africa.
8 – Galeras Volcano, Ecuador (Approximate Height: 13,392 ft)
Wiki Info: Galeras Volcano, Galeras is an Andean stratovolcano in the Colombian department of Nariño, near the departmental capital Pasto. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest, with its first historical eruption being recorded on December 7, 1580.
7 – Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii (Approximate Height: 13,684 ft)
Wiki Info: Mauna Loa has probably been erupting for at least 700,000 years, and may have emerged above sea level about 400,000 years ago. The oldest-known dated rocks are not older than 200,000 years. The volcano’s magma comes from the Hawaii hotspot, which has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian island chain over tens of millions of years.
6 – Wrangell Volcano, Alaska (Approximate Height: 14,006 ft)
Wiki Info: Mount Wrangell, in Ahtna K’ełt’aeni or K’ełedi when erupting is a massive shield volcano located in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The largest stratovolcano by volume in the Cascades. It is part of the Wrangell volcanic field, which extends for more than 250 km across Southcentral Alaska into the Yukon Territory, and has an eruptive history spanning the time from Pleistocene to Holocene.
5 – Klyuchevskaya Volcano, USSR (Approximate Height: 15,912 ft)
Wiki Info: Klyuchevskaya Sopka is considered sacred by some indigenous peoples, being viewed by them as the location at which the world was created. Other volcanoes in the region are seen with similar spiritual significance, but Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the most sacred of these.
4 – Sangay Volcano, Ecuador (Approximate Height: 17,454 ft)
Wiki Info: Due to its remoteness, Sangay hosts a significant biological community with fauna such as the mountain tapir, giant otter, Andean cock-of-the-rock and king vulture. Since 1983, its ecological community has been protected as part of the Sangay National Park.
3 – Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador (Approximate Height: 19,347 ft)
Wiki Info: Since 1738, Cotopaxi has erupted more than 50 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys formed by lahars (mudflows) around the volcano. The last eruption lasted from August 2015 to January 2016.
2 – Guallatiri Volcano, Argentina (Approximate Height: 19,882 ft)
Wiki Info: Kimsa Chata or Kimsachata is a 5 mile long volcanic complex on a north-south alignment along the border between Bolivia and Chile, overseeing Chungara Lake. It contains three peaks, all stratovolcanoes.
1 – Antofalla Volcano, Argentina (Approximate Height: 21,161 ft)
Wiki Info: Antofalla is a large and very remote stratovolcano in Catamarca Province in northwestern Argentina. It is located on the northeastern edge of the Puna de Atacama, a high desert plateau east of the Atacama Desert. Inca ruins can be found at the volcano’s summit, offering definitive proof of numerous Pre-Columbian ascents.