Volcanoes & eruptions
The Smithsonian's Volcanoes of the World database in Python: volcanoes by type and setting, eruptions by explosivity, country and duration, cities near volcanoes, and the date codes and gaps in the eruption record.
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program keeps the reference record of the world's volcanoes: Volcanoes of the World, 1,214 volcanoes with evidence of activity in the last 11,700 years and 11,089 of their eruptions, each with its dates, size on the Volcanic Explosivity Index and how it was dated. Counts of active volcanoes, maps of volcanic hazard and lists of the largest eruptions start from it, and it is free to read from the program's web services.
The guides here read both tables, explain what each record rests on and how to get the data without code, map volcanoes by type and tectonic setting, count eruptions by size and by country, measure how long eruptions last and find the cities nearest to recently active volcanoes. Three pages deal with the traps: date codes that look like dates, years before the Common Era and radiocarbon, and an eruption record that fills in towards the present.
🧭 Start with the concepts
The ideas the how-to guides below assume you already have.
⚙️ Then do the task
Step-by-step walkthroughs with code you can copy and adapt.
- How to Read the Smithsonian Volcano Database in Python
- How to Map the World's Volcanoes by Type and Tectonic Setting
- How to Count Eruptions by Volcanic Explosivity Index
- How to Find the Countries With the Most Erupting Volcanoes
- How to Measure How Long Volcanic Eruptions Last
- How to Find Cities Near Volcanoes in Python
🔧 When it breaks
The errors this topic produces, with the cause explained rather than just the command.
Related topics
Subjects that keep coming up alongside this one, most overlap first.