Australia has 4 Holocene volcanoes. Note that as a scientific organization we provide these listings for informational purposes only, with no international legal or policy implications. Volcanoes will be included on this list if they are within the boundaries of a country, on a shared boundary or area, in a remote territory, or within a maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. Bolded volcanoes have erupted within the past 20 years. Suggestions and data updates are always welcome ().

Chronological listing of known Holocene eruptions (confirmed or uncertain) from volcanoes in Australia. Bolded eruptions indicate continuing activity.

Australia has 9 Pleistocene volcanoes. Note that as a scientific organization we provide these listings for informational purposes only, with no international legal or policy implications. Volcanoes will be included on this list if they are within the boundaries of a country, on a shared boundary or area, in a remote territory, or within a maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. Suggestions and data updates are always welcome ().

There are 5 photos available for volcanoes in Australia.

A plume rises in 1985 or 1986 from the summit of Big Ben volcano on Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. It is seen here from an abandoned Australian geophysical station at Atlas Cove, NNW of the summit. The historically active Mawson Peak forms the island's high point and lies within a 5-6 km wide caldera breached to the SW side of Big Ben. Small satellite scoria cones are mostly located on the N coast. Several subglacial eruptions have been reported.

Photo by A. Hitchman, 1985 (courtesy of Wally Johnson, Australian BMRGG, Canberra). A plume, seen here from a ship to the SW, drifts from the summit of Heard volcano on 14 January 1985. Incandescence and a lava flow were observed that night from the ship 25 km offshore and an eruption plume was visible for two days. Eruptive activity may have continued into 1987. An active lava lake in a new crater was observed during a December 1986-January 1987 summit expedition. A lava flow, probably dating back to January 1985, was seen descending 8-9 km from the summit.

Photo by André Giret, Expéditions Polaires Françaises, 1985. Three small, low islands on the Kerguelen Plateau form the McDonald Islands. The largest island, McDonald, is only 1 km² in area and around 200 m high. This April 1997 photo shows a plume at Samarang Hill (right). The Island is composed of a layered tuff plateau cut by dikes and lava domes. A possible nearby active submarine center was inferred from pumice that washed up on Heard Island in 1992. The snow-capped peak in the background is Heard volcano, 44 km to the E.

Copyrighted photo by Richard Williams, 1997 (Australian Antarctic Div., published in Global Volcanism Network Bulletin). Tower Hill maar, with bedded pyroclastic layers exposed in its wall, is part of the voluminous Newer Volcanics Province, which covers a broad 15,000 km² area of SE Australia. The volcanic field contains nearly 400 vents, with late-Pleistocene to Holocene eruptions producing scoria cones, maars, tuff rings, and valley-filling lava flows. The most recent eruptions took place at Mount Schank and Mount Gambier.

Photo by Monica Handler, 1995 (Carnegie Institution). Lake-filled Tower Hill maar is part of the voluminous Newer Volcanics Province, which covers a broad 15,000 km² area of SE Australia. The volcanic field contains nearly 400 vents, with late-Pleistocene to Holocene eruptions producing scoria cones, maars, tuff rings, and valley-filling lava flows. The most recent eruptions took place at Mount Schank and Mount Gambier.

Photo by Jim Luhr, 1993 (Smithsonian Institution).

This is a compilation of Australia volcano information sources, such as official monitoring or other government agencies.