Not since 1st year geography have we been so interested in plate tectonics and hotspots, so after a not inconsiderable amount of digging (do you see what we did there?) - here's our top ten list of recently active volcanoes.
1. Chaitén
Located in Southern Chile, the caldera rim reaches 1,122 metres above sea level and is 3 km in diameter. The Chaitén volcano began to erupt on 2nd May 2008 and on 6th May 2008 the force of the eruption increased significantly producing pyroclastic flows (currents of hot gas and rock which travel at speeds of up to 450 mph) and lava explosions. Chaitén continued to erupt until July 2008. In February 2009 a partial dome collapse caused further pyroclastic flows to descend through the river valley. 2. Mayon
The Mayon Volcano is located in the province of Albay, on Luzon, in the Philippines. Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines having erupted over 49 times in the past 400 years. The volcano erupted in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. 3. Mount Etna
The largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy stands at 3,329 metres above sea level on the east coast of Sicily. One of the most active volcanoes in the world, Mount Etna is in an almost constant state of activity. The most recent was an ash eruption on 8th April 2010. 4. Mount Nyiragongo
Mount Nyiragongo is located in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The main crater is about 2km wide. Since 1882 it has erupted at least 34 times. The lava emitted in eruptions here are often unusually fluid, so whilst most lava flows move fairly slowly and rarely pose a danger to human life, Nyiragongo's lava flows race downhill at speeds of up to 60 mph. 5. Whakaari / White Island
White Island is situated 28km from the east cost of the North Island of New Zealand. The Mãori name for the island is Te Puia o Whakaari which means the dramatic volcano. It was named the White Island by Captain Cook as it always appeared to be in a cloud of white steam. Eruptions here have produced both lava flows and ash explosions. Major eruptions in 1981-83 altered much of the landscape, and there were further eruptions in 2000 and 2001. 6. Mount St Helens
Mount St Helens is located in Skamania County, Washington, USA. It is perhaps most famous for the catastrophic eruption on May 18th 1980 which resulted 57 deaths and the destruction of vegetation, homes, buildings, bridges, railways and roads over 230 square miles. Post this event, numerous smaller explosions continued between 1980-1991. Between 2004-2006 a new lava dome grew which over the course of time resulted in rockfalls, and plumes of steam and ash. In 2008 steam again began seeping from a fracture on top of the lava dome; however the risk of major eruption was deemed low, and after six months it was determined that the eruption had ended after more than six months of inactivity. 7. Kīlauea
Kīlauea is an active volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and is one of five shield volcanoes that together form the Big Island. The word Kīlauea means ‘spewing' or ‘much spreading' which refers to the volcano's continuous emission of lava. The current eruption began in January 1983 and continues to produce lava flows that travel from these vents through tube networks that discharge into the sea. This eruption has covered over 117 square kilometres and built out into the sea 2 square kilometres of new land. 8. Soufrière Hills
The Soufrière Hills volcano features many lava domes which form its summit on the Carribean island for Montserrat. After a long period of lying dormant it became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since. Most recently, on 5th February 2010 an explosion propelled pyroclastic flows down several sides of the mountain at once, and on 11th February a partial collapse of the lava dome sent ash clouds over the neighbouring islands of Guadeloupe and Antigua. 9. Popocatépetl
Popocatépetl is the second highest peak in Mexico at 5,426 metres and is located around 70km south east of Mexico City. The name comes from the Nahuatl words popōca ‘it smokes' and tepētl ‘mountain'. It is perhaps one of the most violent volcanoes in Mexico - with more than 20 major eruptions since 1519. The latest episode began in December 1994 and there's been almost continuous volcanic activity ever since. 10. Sakurajima
Originally an island, following the lava flow of the 1914 eruption Sakurajima is now connected to the Osumi Peninsula in Japan. Sakurajima's activity became more prominent again in 1955, and the volcano has been erupting almost constantly ever since, with 7,300 eruptions recorded in the last 45 years. more serious eruption occurred on March 10th 2009 sending debris up to 2km away, however fortunately there was no major damage caused. 
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