Volcanic eruptions of VEI 4 from 1900 to 1949

Map of 10 locations · Worldwide

Explosive eruptions from the first half of the twentieth century, each placed at the fourth step of the Volcanic Explosivity Index and pinned at the volcano's summit as the catalogue records it. They range from Martinique and Iceland to the Marianas, Papua New Guinea, Japan and Indonesia, and all are closed historical episodes documented in eruption records, eyewitness reports and later tephra studies.

Places in this collection

  • Hekla, 1947 — The eruption from the Hekla volcanic system followed a repose period of 102 years and was similar to, if slightly smaller than, the eruptio…
  • Suoh, 1933 — Large phreatic explosions at Suoh, in southern Sumatra, deposited tephra over an area of about 0.2 square kilometres. The activity coincide…
  • Submarine volcano NNE of Iriomotejima, 1924 — A major submarine eruption occurred about 25 km north-northeast of Iriomote-jima Island in the southern Ryukyu Islands, part of the arc for…
  • Manam, 1919 — Manam is an island volcano 13 km off the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. Much of its recorded activity has consisted of mild o…
  • Katla, 1918 — The eruption of the ice-covered Katla volcano ran 23 days, with vents just north of the southern caldera rim that defines the jökulhlaup ca…
  • Agrigan, 1917 — The only confirmed historical eruption of Agrigan, a volcanic island in the Northern Mariana Islands, began on 9 April 1917. It produced ex…
  • Sakurajima, 1914 — Also recorded as the Taisho eruption, the activity began on 11 January 1914. Earthquakes before the eruption killed 35 people and the erupt…
  • Lolobau, 1911 — Lolobau is a volcanic island of about 8 by 13 km off the eastern coast of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, with a caldera rising to 878 metre…
  • Thórðarhyrna, 1902 — In December people in northern Iceland reported seeing fire in the direction of Vatnajökull. The activity is often attributed to Thórðarhyr…
  • Pelée, 1902 — Small earthquakes, steam from the volcano and ashfall over the surrounding towns preceded the main event, and reports place the start of th…

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