There is no definitive evidence that an eruption at one volcano can trigger an eruption at a volcano that’s hundreds of kilometers/miles away or on a different continent.
There are a few historic examples of simultaneous eruptions from volcanoes (or volcanic vents) located within about 10 kilometers (6 miles) of each other, but it's difficult to determine whether one eruption caused the other.
- Volcanoes that share common magma reservoirs can sometimes trigger unrest at each other. The 1912 eruption of Alaska’s Novarupta volcano (the largest eruption of the 20th century) was fueled by magma that came from a magma reservoir beneath Mount Katmai, 10 kilometers (6 miles) away. Mount Katmai did not erupt, but after the eruption of Novarupta, Mount Katmai collapsed into the emptied magma chamber below it.
- Some individual volcanoes or vents are considered to be part of a larger volcano complex. In some such cases, one eruption doesn’t really "trigger" a nearby vent to erupt, but moving magma finds its way to the surface at multiple sites. For example, Tavurvur and Vulcan cones are vents within Rabaul Caldera in Papua New Guinea that erupted at nearly the same time in 1994.
However, not all nearby volcanoes show this behavior. Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is located on the flank of Mauna Loa volcano, so the two are only 33 kilometers (20 miles) apart, yet those two volcanoes have distinctly different magma reservoirs. Despite their proximity, an eruption at one does not appear to trigger an eruption at the other.
Learn more: USGS Volcano Hazards Program
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- FAQ
Do volcanoes affect weather?
Yes, volcanoes can affect weather and the Earth's climate. Following the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, cooler than normal temperatures were recorded worldwide and brilliant sunsets and sunrises were attributed to this eruption that sent fine ash and gases high into the stratosphere, forming a large volcanic cloud that drifted around the world. The sulfur dioxide (SO2) in this...
How Do Volcanoes Erupt?
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How many active volcanoes are there on Earth?
There are about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, aside from the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor at spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. About 500 of those 1,350 volcanoes have erupted in historical time. Many of those are located along the Pacific Rim in what is known as the "Ring of Fire." In the United States, volcanoes in the Cascade Range and Alaska...
Can a large earthquake trigger earthquakes in distant locations or on other faults?
Sometimes. Earthquakes, particularly large ones, can trigger other earthquakes in more distant locations though a process known as dynamic stress transfer/triggering. This means that the energy from the seismic wave passing through can cause a new earthquake, usually in already vulnerable locations prone to frequent earthquakes (e.g., volcanic regions). Examples of large events that triggered...
Can earthquakes trigger volcanic eruptions?
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Can the position of the moon or the planets affect seismicity? Are there more earthquakes in the morning/in the evening/at a certain time of the month?
Earthquakes are equally as likely to occur in the morning or the evening. Many studies in the past have shown no significant correlations between the rate of earthquake occurrence and the semi-diurnal tides when using large earthquake catalogs. Several recent studies, however, have found a correlation between earth tides (caused by the position of the moon relative to the earth) and some types of...
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