Like Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi, These Five Volcanoes Also Awoke After Centuries

Ethiopia’s Hayli Gubbi volcano has erupted for the first time in roughly 10,000–12,000 years, sending thick smoke and ash high into the atmosphere and even affecting flights as far away as India. The volcano lies in Ethiopia’s Erta Ale Range.

Unlike Hayli Gubbi, Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki—despite erupting several times in 2025—was not a long-dormant volcano. The rare awakening of Hayli Gubbi has revived interest in how long volcanoes can remain silent and what qualifies as a dormant volcano.

What is a volcano?
A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust that allows magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface. Repeated eruptions can build cone-shaped mountains known as volcanic cones.

What is a dormant volcano?
A dormant volcano is one that has not erupted for a long period—sometimes hundreds or thousands of years—but still has the potential to erupt again. Magma may continue to exist underground, and changes in tectonic activity can trigger a fresh eruption after centuries of quiet.

Volcanoes that erupted after centuries of dormancy

Nabro Volcano (Eritrea–Ethiopia border)
Eruption: June 2011
Dormant for: ~10,000 years
Its eruption sent a 13 km-high ash plume across East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Dozens were killed, thousands displaced and regional air traffic affected.

Chaitén Volcano (Chile)
Eruption: May 2008
Dormant for: ~9,000 years
A powerful eruption produced a 17 km-high ash column. More than 4,000 residents were evacuated as ash choked rivers and caused extensive damage.

Fourpeaked Volcano (Alaska, USA)
Eruption: September 2006
Dormant for: 10,000+ years
Large ash clouds were spotted by satellites, prompting aviation warnings across the North Pacific.

Cerro Hudson (Chile)
Major eruption: August 1991
Dormant for: ~3,000 years
A 30 km-high ash plume caused widespread agricultural losses, livestock deaths and water contamination. Thousands of people were evacuated.

Mount Pinatubo (Philippines)
Eruption: June 1991
Dormant for: ~600 years
One of the biggest eruptions of the 20th century, it led to more than 800 deaths and caused global temperatures to fall by around 0.5°C for a year. The ash plume reached about 35 km into the atmosphere.