Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
Tsunami
A tsunami also called a tsunami wave train, and at one time incorrectly referred to as a tidal wave, is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, though it can occur in large lakes.
Tornado
A tornado (often referred to as a twister or, erroneously, a cyclone) is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud.
Floods
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water
Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster through several ways. The effects include the volcanic eruption itself that may cause harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock.
List of Floods
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Large Igneous Provinces
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Highly active periods of volcanism in what are called large igneous provinces have produced huge oceanic plateaus and flood basalts in the past. These can comprise hundreds of large eruptions, producing millions of cubic kilometers of lava in total. No large flood basalt type eruptions have occurred in human history, the most recent having occurred over 10 million years ago. They are often associated with breakup of supercontinents such as Pangea in the geologic record, and may have contributed to a number of mass extinctions. Most large igneous provinces have either not been studied thoroughly enough to establish the size of their component eruptions, or are not preserved well enough to make this possible. Many of the eruptions listed above thus come from just two large igneous provinces: the Paraná and Etendeka traps and the Columbia River Basalt Group. The latter is the most recent large igneous province, and also one of the smallest. A list of large igneous provinces follows to provide some indication of how many large eruptions may be missing from the lists given here.
| Igneous province | Age (Ma) | Location | Volume (millions of km3) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontong Java–Manihiki–Hikurangi Plateau | 121 | Southwest Pacific Ocean | 59–77[n 5] | Largest igneous body on Earth, later split into three widely separated oceanic plateaus, with a fourth component perhaps now accreted onto South America. Possibly linked to the Louisville hotspot. |
| Kerguelen Plateau–Broken Ridge | 112 | South Indian Ocean, Kerguelen Islands | 17[n 5] | Linked to the Kerguelen hotspot. Volume includes Broken Ridge and the Southern and Central Kerguelen Plateau (produced 120–95 Ma), but not the Northern Kerguelen Plateau (produced after 40 Ma). |
| North Atlantic Igneous Province | 55.5 | North Atlantic Ocean | 6.6[n 6] | Linked to the Iceland hotspot. |
| Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up | 32.5 | Southwest United States: mainly in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico | 5.5 | Mostly andesite to rhyolite explosive (.5 km3) to effusive (5 km3) eruptions, 25–40 Ma. Includes many volcanic centers, including the San Juan volcanic field. |
| Caribbean large igneous province | 88 | Caribbean-Colombian oceanic plateau | 4 | Linked to the Galápagos hotspot. |
| Siberian Traps | 249.4 | Siberia, Russia | 1–4 | Possibly the largest outpouring of lava on land ever recorded, thought to have caused Permian-Triassic extinction, largest mass extinction event ever. |
| Karoo-Ferrar | 183 | Southern Africa, Antarctica | 2.5 | Formed as Gondwana broke up |
| Paraná and Etendeka traps | 133 | Brazil/Angola and Namibia | 2.3 | Linked to the Tristan hotspot |
| Central Atlantic Magmatic Province | 200 | Laurasia continents | 2 | Formed as Pangea broke up |
| Deccan Traps | 65.5 | Deccan Plateau, India | 1.5 | May have helped kill the dinosaurs. |
| Emeishan Traps | 256.5 | Southwestern China | 1 | Along with Siberian Traps, may have contributed to the Permian–Triassic extinction event. |
| Coppermine River Group | 1267 | Mackenzie Large Igneous Province/Canadian Shield | 0.65 | Consists of at least 150 individual flows. |
| Afro-Arabian flood volcanism | 28.5 | Ethiopia/Yemen/Afar, Arabian-Nubian Shield | 0.35 | Associated with silicic, explosive tuffs |
| Columbia River Basalt Group | 16 | Pacific Northwest, United States | 0.18 | Well exposed by Missoula Floods in the Channeled Scablands. |
Largest Volcanic Effusive Eruptions
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Effusive eruptions involve a relatively gentle, steady outpouring of lava rather than large explosions. They can continue for years or decades, producing extensive fluid mafic lava flows. For example, Kīlauea on Hawaiʻi has continued erupting from 1983 to the present, producing 2.7 km3 (1 cu mi) of lava covering more than 100 km2 (40 sq mi). The largest effusive eruption in history occurred in Iceland during the 1783–1784 eruption of Laki, which produced about 15 km3 (4 cu mi) of lava and killed one fifth of Iceland's population. The ensuing disruptions to the climate may also have killed millions elsewhere.
| Eruption | Age (Ma) | Location | Volume (km3) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahabaleshwar–Rajahmundry Traps (Upper) | 64.8 | Deccan traps, India | 9,300 | |
| Wapshilla Ridge flows | ~15.5 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 5,000–10,000 | Member comprises 8–10 flows with a total volume of ~50,000 km3 |
| McCoy Canyon flow | 15.6 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 4,300 | |
| Umtanum flows | ~15.6 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 2,750 | Two flows with a total volume of 5,500 km3 |
| Sand Hollow flow | 15.3 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 2,660 | |
| Pruitt Draw flow | 16.5 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 2,350 | |
| Museum flow | 15.6 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 2,350 | |
| Moonaree Dacite | 1591 | Gawler Range Volcanics, Australia | 2,050 | One of the oldest large eruptions preserved |
| Rosalia flow | 14.5 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 1,900 | |
| Joseph Creek flow | 16.5 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 1,850 | |
| Ginkgo Basalt | 15.3 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 1,600 | |
| California Creek—Airway Heights flow | 15.6 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 1,500 | |
| Stember Creek flow | 15.6 | Columbia River Basalt Group, United States | 1,200 |
Largest Volcanic Explosive Eruptions
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In explosive eruptions, the eruption of magma is driven by the rapid release of pressure, often involving the explosion of gas previously dissolved within the material. The most famous and destructive historical eruptions are mainly of this type. An eruptive phase can consist of a single eruption, or a sequence of several eruptions spread over several days, weeks or months. Explosive eruptions usually involve thick, highly viscous felsic magma, high in volatiles like water vapor and carbon dioxide. Pyroclastic materials are the primary product, typically in the form of tuff. Eruptions the size of that at Lake Toba 74 thousand years ago (2800 km3 or more) occur worldwide every 50,000 to 100,000 years.
| Volcano—Eruption | Age (Ma) | Location | Volume (km3) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guarapuava —Tamarana—Sarusas | 132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 8,600 | |
| Santa Maria—Fria | ~132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 7,800 | |
| Guarapuava —Ventura | ~132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 7,600 | |
| Sam Ignimbrite and Green Tuff | 29.5 | Yemen | 6,800 | Volume includes 5550 km³ of distal tuffs. This estimate is uncertain to a factor of 2 or 3. |
| Goboboseb–Messum volcanic centre—Springbok quartz latite unit | 132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps, Brazil and Namibia | 6,340 | |
| Caxias do Sul—Grootberg | ~132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 5,650 | |
| La Garita Caldera—Fish Canyon tuff | 27.8 | San Juan volcanic field, Colorado | 5,000 | Commonly regarded as the largest tuff ever measured on Earth, or largest confidently-measured tuff on earth. It is part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions in the San Juan volcanic field and surrounding area that formed around 26 to 35 Ma. |
| Jacui—Goboboseb II | ~132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 4,350 | |
| Ourinhos—Khoraseb | ~132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 3,900 | |
| Jabal Kura'a Ignimbrite | 29.6 | Yemen | 3,800 | Volume estimate is uncertain to a factor of 2 or 3. |
| Windows Butte tuff | 31.4 | William's Ridge, central Nevada | 3,500 | Part of the Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up |
| Anita Garibaldi—Beacon | ~132 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 3,450 | |
| Indian Peak Caldera Complex—Wah Wah Springs tuff | 29.5 | Eastern Nevada/Western Utah | 3,200 | Indian Peak Caldera Complex total volume over 10,000 cubic km, Wah Wah Springs tuff being the largest |
| Oxaya ignimbrites | 19 | Chile | 3,000 | Really a regional correlation of many ignimbrites originally thought to be distinct |
| Lund Tuff | 29 | Great Basin, USA | 3,000 | Similar in composition to the Fish Canyon Tuff |
| Lake Toba—Youngest Toba Tuff | 0.073 | Sunda Arc, Indonesia | 2,800 | Largest eruption on earth in at least the last 25 million years, responsible for the Toba catastrophe theory, a population bottleneck of the human species |
| Pacana Caldera—Atana ignimbrite | 4 | Chile | 2,800 | Forms a resurgent caldera. |
| Iftar Alkalb—Tephra 4 W | 29.5 | Afro-Arabian | 2,700 | |
| Yellowstone caldera—Huckleberry Ridge Tuff | 2.059 | Yellowstone hotspot | 2,450 | Largest Yellowstone eruption on record |
| Whakamaru | 0.254 | Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand | 2,000 | Largest in the Southern Hemisphere in the Late Quaternary |
| Palmas BRA-21—Wereldsend | 29.5 | Paraná and Etendeka traps | 1,900 | |
| Kilgore tuff | 4.3 | Near Kilgore, Idaho | 1,800 | Last of the eruptions from the Heise volcanic field |
| Sana'a Ignimbrite—Tephra 2W63 | 29.5 | Afro-Arabian | 1,600 | |
| Millbrig eruptions—Bentonites | 454 | England, exposed in Northern Europe and Eastern US | 1,509 | One of the oldest large eruptions preserved |
| Blacktail tuff | 6.5 | Blacktail, Idaho | 1,500 | First of several eruptions from the Heise volcanic field |
| Emory Caldera—Kneeling Nun tuff | 33 | Southwestern New Mexico | 1,310 | |
| Timber Mountain tuff | 11.6 | Southwestern Nevada | 1,200 | Also includes a 900 cubic km tuff as a second member in the tuff |
| Paintbrush tuff (Topopah Spring Member) | 12.8 | Southwestern Nevada | 1,200 | Related to a 1000 cubic km tuff (Tiva Canyon Member) as another member in the Paintbrush tuff |
| Bachelor—Carpenter Ridge tuff | 28 | San Juan volcanic field | 1,200 | Part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions, including the world's largest, the Fish Canyon tuff in the San Juan volcanic field and surrounding area that formed around 26 to 35 Ma |
| Bursum—Apache Springs Tuff | 28.5 | Southern New Mexico | 1,200 | Related to a 1050 cubic km tuff, the Bloodgood Canyon tuff |
| Taupo Volcano—Oruanui eruption | 0.027 | Taupo volcanic zone, New Zealand | 1,170 | Most recent VEI 8 eruption |
| Huaylillas Ignimbrite | 15 | Bolivia | 1,100 | Predates half of the uplift of the central Andes |
| Bursum—Bloodgood Canyon tuff | 28.5 | Southern New Mexico | 1,050 | Related to a 1200 cubic km tuff, the Apache Springs tuff |
| Yellowstone Caldera—Lava Creek Tuff | 0.639 | Yellowstone hotspot | 1,000 | Last large eruption in the Yellowstone National Park area |
| Cerro Galán | 2.2 | Catamarca Province, Argentina | 1,000 | Elliptical caldera is ~35 km wide |
| Paintbrush tuff (Tiva Canyon Member) | 12.7 | Southwestern Nevada | 1,000 | Related to a 1200 cubic km tuff (Topopah Spring Member) as another member in the Paintbrush tuff |
| San Juan—Sapinero Mesa Tuff | 28 | San Juan volcanic field | 1,000 | Part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions, including the world's largest, the Fish Canyon tuff in the San Juan volcanic field and surrounding area that formed around 26 to 35 Ma |
| Uncompahgre—Dillon & Sapinero Mesa Tuffs | 28.1 | San Juan volcanic field | 1,000 | Part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions, including the world's largest, the Fish Canyon tuff in the San Juan volcanic field and surrounding area that formed around 26 to 35 Ma |
| Platoro—Chiquito Peak tuff | 28.2 | San Juan volcanic field | 1,000 | Part of at least 20 large caldera-forming eruptions, including the world's largest, the Fish Canyon tuff in the San Juan volcanic field and surrounding area that formed around 26 to 35 Ma |
| Mount Princeton—Wall Mountain tuff | 35.3 | Thirtynine Mile volcanic area, Colorado | 1,000 | Helped cause the exceptional preservation at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument |
Largest Earthquakes by Magnitude
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Listed the earthquake with moment magnitude scale or Richter magnitude scale 8.5 and above. This list may be biased towards recent years due to the development and widespread deployment of seismometers. Records detailed enough to make magnitude estimates were not generally available before 1900.