Volcanoes Around the World

One of Indonesia’s most famous volcanoes is here on the island of Java in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. Its name is Bromo, and it’s an active volcano. You can get to the foot of the mountain by car and then climb the 250 stairs to get to the crater. 

The altitude of the volcano is not that high, at only 2,392 meters. Its accessibility is why hundreds of tourists visit Bromo every day.

Besides Bromo, there are 4 more volcanoes inside the Tengger caldera: Mount Batok (2,470 m), which you can see to the right of Bromo; Mount Kursi (2,581 m); Mount Watangan (2,661 m); and Mount Widodaren (2650 m).

Bromo’s crater permanently produces smoke and steam, and eruptions take place sporadically—the last one was in 2012. The area surrounding the volcano is covered with ashes that form dunes, and for this reason the area is called the “Sand Sea.”

In the far distance beyond Bromo, you can see Mount Semeru. At 3,676 meters, Semeru is the highest mountain on Java Island and an active volcano as well.

"Erta Ale is the most active volcano in Ethiopia. It is an integral part of the Afar Depression, a zone of intense volcanic activity covering parts of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia. Erta Ale translates as "Smoking Mountain." 

It’s one of the 5 volcanoes in the world with a lava lake in its crater. The volcano itself is a crater filled with yellow-green-brown-red lakes containing acid or lye, which bubble and evaporate into sulfurous vapors.

The patterns of fire strips and lava level here are continuously changing. Be careful not to fall through, and you'd better wear disposable shoes. The "superfluous" lava unceasingly flows from the crater and sometimes creates a unique second lava lake. 

To reach Erta Ale, you must cross part of the Danakil Desert. During the day, temperatures can exceed 120° F. The breeze, if there is one, blows either salt or alkaline dust in the air.

Grimsvotn is unique because of the huge 500-meter thick layer of ice covering it. The volcano’s caldera is an enormous cup full of ice measuring 35 km². Recently, the volcano began erupting and the ice began to thaw. 

The eruption melted the caldera’s ice layer, and water accumulated there. A new lake eventually appeared with a cone in its center. During the eruption, there was a huge steam explosion. The altitude of the steam and ash fountain reached 15-20 kilometers.

The land surrounding Grimsvotn is covered by glacial ice covered in fallen ash. Where there was a thin ash layer, the sun heated and melted the ice surface. The result is a very bumpy surface.

The big crater's edges are ice and ashes. From time to time, emissions occur not from the main crater but from chasms around it. As a result, parts of the crater’s wall have caved in.