2020 has been quite the year. Any number of world-shattering events will be remembered for decades to come but at least we can say one thing: it wasn't the volcanoes' fault. Even as the pandemic, elections and a myriad of other things captured our attention, volcanoes kept on doing their thing this year. Most didn't make the headlines, but we can look back at some of the most active volcanoes on our planet during this past year.
In 2020, we had a lot of volcanic activity! Now, that isn't to say it was abnormal. The planet is always volcanically active. There were dozens of volcanoes active almost the entire year at some level. I won't even mention all the eruptions this year or even some of the volcanoes that had the most prolonged activity. My countdown is more about some of the most notable events at volcanoes this year.
Ever wonder where to find out which volcanoes are restless around the globe? The best place to start is the Smithsonian Institution & USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report. This year was the 20th anniversary of the Report and the staff at the Global Volcanism Program looked back at some of the biggest volcanic events they covered over the past two decades.
Some of the smaller events from this year included lots of lava flows from Karangatang and Fernandina, explosions topped 25,000 feet to start the year at Shishaldin, frequent steam driven blasts at Rincón de la Vieja, eruptions under the sea at Kavachi, pyroclastic flows from a new dome at El Reventador, as well as an explosion that killed a miner and produced 9 foot waves at Ijen. This is just to name a few! Thankfully, we've gotten a lot better at volcano monitoring over the past few decades, so there was almost no loss of life in the many eruptions of 2020.
