This article is a list of historical volcanic eruptions of approximately magnitude 6 or more on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) or equivalent sulfur dioxide emission during the Holocene, and Pleistocene eruptions of the Decade Volcanoes (Avachinsky–Koryaksky, Kamchatka; Colima, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt; Mount Etna, Sicily; Galeras, Andes, Northern Volcanic Zone; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Mount Merapi, Central Java; Mount Nyiragongo, East African Rift; Mount Rainier, Washington; Sakurajima, Kagoshima Prefecture; Santamaria/ Santiaguito, Central America Volcanic Arc; Santorini, Cyclades; Taal Volcano, Luzon Volcanic Arc; Teide, Canary Islands; Ulawun, New Britain; Mount Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture; Mount Vesuvius, Naples); Campania, Italy; South Aegean Volcanic Arc; Laguna de Bay, Luzon Volcanic Arc; Mount Pinatubo, Luzon Volcanic Arc; Toba, Sunda Arc; Mount Meager massif, Garibaldi Volcanic Belt; Yellowstone hotspot, Wyoming; and Taupō Volcanic Zone, greater than VEI 4.

The eruptions in the Holocene on the link: Holocene Volcanoes in Kamchatka were not added yet, but they are listed on the Peter L. Ward's supplemental table. Some of the eruptions are not listed on the Global Volcanism Program timetable as well, at least not as VEI 6. The timetables of Global Volcanism Program; Bristlecone pine tree-rings (Pinus longaeva, Pinus aristata, Pinus ponderosa, Pinus edulis, Pseudotsuga menziesii); the 4 ka Yamal Peninsula Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) chronology; the 7 ka Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) chronology from Finnish Lapland; GISP2 ice core; GRIP ice core; Dye 3 ice core; Bipolar comparison; Antarctic ice core (Bunder and Cole-Dai, 2003); Antarctic ice core (Cole-Dai et al., 1997); Crête ice core, in central Greenland, benthic foraminifera in deep sea sediment cores (Lisiecki, Raymo 2005),data: Supplement to do not agree with each other sometimes. The 536–547 AD dust-veil event might be an impact event.

Holocene eruptions

The Holocene epoch begins 11,700 years BP, (10 000 14C years ago)

Since 2000 AD Name and area Date VEI Products NotesHunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, Tonga 2022 5–6 6.5 km3 (dense-rock equivalent) of tephra2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption; the largest eruption of the 21st centuryRuang, north sulawesi indonesia 2024 5 Chaiten, Southern Chile 2008 5 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, Southern Chile 2011 5

1000–2000 AD

Name and area Date VEI Products NotesPinatubo, island of Luzon, Philippines 1991, Jun 156 of tephra1991 Pinatubo eruption;http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/largeeruptions.cfm Large Holocene Eruptions an estimated 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emittedMount St. Helens, Washington state, USA 1980, May 185 of tephra1980 Mount Saint Helens eruptionNovarupta, Alaska Peninsula 1912, Jun 66 of lavaSanta Maria, Guatemala 1902, Oct 246 of tephra Mount Tarawera, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 1886, Jun 105 of tephra 1886 eruption of Mount TaraweraKrakatoa, Indonesia 1883, August 26–276 of tephra 1883 Krakatoa eruptionMount Tambora, Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia 1815, Apr 107 of tephra1815 eruption of Mount Tambora; an estimated 10–120 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted, produced the "Year Without a Summer"1808 ice core event Unknown eruption near equator, magnitude roughly half Tambora Emission of sulfur dioxide around the amount of the 1815 Tambora eruption (ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland).1808Major eruptions in Urzelina, Azores (Urzelina eruption, fissure vent), Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Kamchatka Peninsula, and Taal Volcano, Philippines.Grímsvötn, Northeastern Iceland 1783–17846 Laki 1783–17846 14 cubic kilometres of lava an estimated 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted, produced a Volcanic winter, 1783, on the North Hemisphere.BBC Timewatch: "Killer Cloud", broadcast 19 January 2007Mount Fuji, Honshu, Japan 1707–17085 Hōei eruptionLong Island (Papua New Guinea), northeast of New Guinea 1660 ±206 of tephra Kolumbo, Santorini, Greece 1650, Sep 276 of tephra Huaynaputina, Peru 1600, Feb 19 6 of tephra Billy Mitchell, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea 1580 ±206 of tephra Bárðarbunga, Northeastern Iceland 14776 of tephra1452–53 ice core event, New Hebrides arc, Vanuatu.Location is uncertain, may be Kuwae of tephra 175–700 million tons of sulfuric acid; only small pyroclastic flows are found at KuwaeMount Tarawera, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 1310 ± 125 of tephra (Kaharoa eruption) Quilotoa, Ecuador 1280(?)6 of tephraSamalas volcano, Rinjani Volcanic Complex, Lombok Island, Indonesia 1257 740 km3 (dense-rock equivalent) of tephra 1257 Samalas eruption; Arctic and Antarctic ice cores provide compelling evidence to link the ice core sulfate spike of 1258/1259 A.D. to this volcano.

1 to 1000 AD

Paektu Mountain, border of North Korea and China 946 AD 6 of tephraTianchi eruption; also known as Millennium Eruption of ChangbaishanEldgjá eruption, Laki system, Iceland 934–940 AD 6Estimated of lavaEstimated 219 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emittedCeboruco, Northwest of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt 930 AD ±200 6 of tephraDakataua, Northern tip of the Willaumez Peninsula, New Britain, Papua New Guinea 800 AD ±50 6? ? of tephraPago, East of Kimbe, New Britain, Papua New Guinea: Witori Caldera 710 AD ±75 6 of tephraMount Churchill, eastern Alaska 700 AD ±200 6 of tephraRabaul, Rabaul Caldera, New Britain 540 AD ±100 6 of tephraVolcanic winter of 536?Ilopango, El Salvador 431 AD ±2, or 539/540 AD 7 106.5 km3 (25.5 cu mi) of tephraTierra Blanca Joven eruptionKsudach, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 240 AD ±100 6 of tephraTaupō Volcano, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 230 AD ±16 7 of tephraHatepe eruptionMount Vesuvius, Italy 79 AD Oct 24 (?) 5? of tephraEruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD; responsible for the destruction of Pompeii and HerculaneumMount Churchill, eastern Alaska 60 AD ±200 6 of tephraAmbrym, Vanuatu 50 AD ±100 6 of tephra

Before the Common Era (BC/BCE) Name and area Date VEI Products NotesOkmok, Okmok Caldera, Aleutian Islands 44 BC 6 of tephraApoyeque, Nicaragua 50 BC ±100 6 of tephraRaoul Island, Kermadec Islands, New Zealand 250 BC ±75 6 more than of tephraMount Meager massif, Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, Canada 400 BC ±50 5 Mount Tongariro, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 550 BC ±200 5 of tephra 1000 BC5 Hekla 3 eruptionPinatubo, island of Luzon, Philippines 1050 BC ±500 6 of tephraAvachinsky, Kamchatka 1350 BC (?) 5 more than of tephratephra layer IIAV3Pago, east of Kimbe, New Britain, Papua New Guinea: Witori Caldera 1370 BC ±100 6 of tephraTaupō Volcanic Zone, Taupō, New Zealand 1460 BC ±40 6 of tephraAvachinsky, Kamchatka 1500 BC (?) 5 more than of tephratephra layer AV1Santorini (Thera), Greece, Youngest Caldera 1610 BC ±14 years 7 of tephraMinoan eruption; ended the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri and the Minoan age on CreteMount Aniakchak, Alaska Peninsula 1645 BC ±10 6 more than of tephraSevere global coolingVeniaminof, Alaska Peninsula 1750 BC (?) 6 more than of tephraMount St. Helens, Washington, USA 1860 BC (?) 6 of tephraMount Hudson, Cerro, Southern Chile 1890 BC (?) 6 more than of tephraBlack Peak, Alaska Peninsula 1900 BC ±150 6 of tephraLong Island (Papua New Guinea), Northeast of New Guinea 2040 BC ± 100 6 more than of tephraMount Vesuvius, Italy 2420 BC ±40 5? of tephraAvellino eruptionAvachinsky, Kamchatka 3200 BC ±150 5 more than of tephratephra layer IAv20 AV3Pinatubo, island of Luzon, Philippines 3550 BC (?) 6 of tephraTalisay (Taal) caldera (size: 15 x 20 km), island of Luzon, Philippines 3580 BC ±200 7 of tephraHaroharo Caldera, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 3580 BC ±50 5 of tephraPago, New Britain 4000 BC ± 200 6? ? of tephraMasaya Volcano, Nicaragua 4050 BC (?) 6 more than of tephraAvachinsky, Kamchatka 4340 BC ±75 5 more than of tephratephra layer IAv12 AV4Macauley Island, Kermadec Islands, New Zealand 4360 BC ±200 6 ? of tephraLatter, J. H.|| Lloyd, E. F.|| Smith, I. E. M.|| Nathan, S. (1992). Volcanic hazards in the Kermadec Islands and at submarine volcanoes between southern Tonga and New Zealand , Volcanic hazards information series 4. Wellington, New Zealand. Ministry of Civil Defence. 44 p.Mount Hudson, Cerro, Southern Chile 4750 BC (?) 6 of tephraMount Aniakchak, Alaska Peninsula 5250 BC ±1000 6 of tephraKikai Caldera (size: 19 km), Ryukyu Islands, Japan 5350 BC (?) 7 of tephraAkahoya eruptionMashu, Hokkaido, Japan 5550 BC ±100 6 of tephraTao-Rusyr Caldera, Kuril Islands 5550 BC ±75 6 of tephraMayor Island / Tūhua, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 5060 BC ±200 5 of tephraCrater Lake (Mount Mazama), Oregon, USA 5677 BC ±150 7 of tephraKhangar, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 5700 BC ± 16 6 of tephraCrater Lake (Mount Mazama), Oregon, USA 5900 BC ± 50 6 of tephraAvachinsky, Kamchatka 5980 BC ±100 5 more than of tephratephra layer IAv1Menengai, East African Rift, Kenya 6050 BC (?) 6 ? of tephraHaroharo Caldera, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 6060 BC ±50 5 of tephraSakurajima, island of Kyūshū, Japan: Aira Caldera 6200 BC ±1000 6 of tephraKurile Caldera (size: 8 x 14 km), Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 6440 BC ± 25 years 7 of tephraIlinsky eruptionKarymsky, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 6600 BC (?) 6 of tephraMount Vesuvius, Italy 6940 BC ±100 5? of tephraMercato eruptionFisher Caldera, Unimak Island, Aleutian Islands 7420 BC ±200 6 more than of tephraPinatubo, island of Luzon, Philippines 7460 BC ±150 6–7? Lvinaya Past, Kuril Islands 7480 BC ±50 6 of tephraRotomā Caldera, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 7560 BC ±18 5 more than of tephraTaupō Volcano, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 8130 BC ±200 5 of tephraGrímsvötn, Northeastern Iceland 8230 BC ±50 6 more than of tephraUlleung, Korea 8750 BC (?) 6 more than of tephraMount Tongariro, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 9450 BC (?) 5 of tephraTaupō Volcano, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 9460 BC ±200 5 of tephraMount Tongariro, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand 9650 BC (?) 5 of tephraNevado de Toluca, State of Mexico, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt 10.5 ka 6 of tephraUpper Toluca PumiceGISP2 ice core event11.258 ka

Pleistocene eruptions 2.588 ± 0.005 million years BP, the Quaternary period and Pleistocene epoch begin.