The Earth has about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes, according to Joan Martí, a CSIC researcher at the Barcelona Institute of Geosciences.
This term means that they have operated in the Holocene, that is, in the last 10,000 years, according to most scientists, and may do so again in the coming decades.
This includes everything from thermal anomalies to eruptions.
Spain has three areas with active volcanism: Campo de la Garrocha (Catalonia), the Calatrava region (Ciudad Real) and the Canary Islands, where the eruption of the volcano in the Cabeza de Vaca area of La Palma began on Sunday. .
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Photogallery: The eruption of the volcano
The La Palma volcano, besieged by land, sea, air and space
The delay in the arrival of the lava to the sea increases the capacity of destruction of the volcano on land
Of those 1,500 volcanoes, around 50 are currently exploding without serious consequences, according to Benjamin Andrews, director of the Smithsonian Institute's Global Volcanism Program.
The researcher explains that there are historical records of eruptions of around 500 volcanoes.
Etna, on the Sicilian island of Sicily, began to expel lava this Tuesday, after a 20-day pause, causing a column of smoke that has reached 9,000 meters in height, according to experts' estimates.
Martí highlights these active volcanoes:
Teide
.
It is located on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary archipelago.
It has a height of 3,715 meters and is the third largest volcanic structure on the planet, after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, both in Hawaii, according to the CSIC volcanologist Juan Carlos Carracedo in a study.
The national park where Teide is located was named a World Heritage Site in 2007 by UNESCO.
The Teide.IGME
Mount Vesuvius
.
It is one of the most famous volcanoes.
It is 1,281 meters above sea level, in the Campania region of Italy.
In 79 AD he buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
This episode was one of the first volcanological observations that have been made, defends Andrews.
The last time it erupted was in 1944.
View of the snow-covered Mount Vesuvius, in an image taken from the ancient archaeological ruins of Pompeii, near Naples, Italy. Cesare Abbate / AP
Python de la Fournaise
, is on the island of Reunion (France), in the Indian Ocean.
It has a height of 2,632 meters.
This volcano was created to the southeast of another called Python of the Snows.
Each year it suffers between one and three eruptions, Martí details.
Lava emanating from the Piton de le Fournaise during an eruption on the French island of Reunion.Richard BOUHET / AFP
Sakurajima
(Kyushu, Japan).
At 1,117 meters high, it is known for frequent episodes of volcanic lightning.
The 1914 eruption was the most intense and magnitude of the 20th century in the Japanese country.
This volcano has been expelling explosive elements intermittently since 1955.
Eruption of the Sakurajima volcano, in Japan.KYODO / REUTERS
Hekla
.
This volcano is located in Suðurland, southern Iceland, and its height is 1,491 meters.
It is the third most active in the country and is part of the 30 active volcanic systems that exist.
Its last eruption was in 2000, although the largest in its recent history was in 1947. It caused a column of gas and ash that rose about 30 km into the stratosphere.
An image of the Hekla volcano eruption in 1947, Vigfús Sigurgeirsson
Mayon
.
It belongs to the city of Legazpi, in the Philippines.
Its height is 2,462 meters.
Because of its shape, this mountain is known as a perfect cone.
Since 1616, more than 30 eruptions have been recorded.
The most damaging was in 1814, when the lava buried the city of Cagsawa and left 1,200 dead.
An eruption of the Mayón volcano, in the Philippines.
AP
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