User:Qfl247/sandbox

World's Largest Eruptions

Below are two lists of the largest eruptions ever measured, based on the amount of material erupted out of the volcano. Eruptions with incomplete or questionable data were excluded from the list. The list are separated into two groups: Explosive eruptions and Non-explosive eruptions. This list is, by definition, incomplete, as new and revised ideas about the scope of ancient eruptions change as science progresses. For a more complete list, see List of large volcanic eruptions.

=Explosive eruptions=

These are the more famous and destructive type of eruption, coming from a single felsic and explosive volcanic eruption.Certain felsic provinces, such as the Chon Aike province in Argentina and the Whitsunday igneous province of Australia are not included in this list since they are composed of many seperate eruptions. All eruptions below are rated an 8, the highest category, in the Volcanic Explosivity Index (or VEI). For reference, the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption was 1 cubic km (VEI=5), and the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption was 10 cubic km (VEI=6). The largest eruption in modern history (at least the last 3,000 years) was Mount Tambora in Indonesia, a 160 cubic km (VEI=7) eruption in 1815, which caused 1816 to be "The Year Without a Summer".

class="wikitable sortable" !Volcano/Eruption!!Date (Ma)* (Data in this column is Ward (2009) unless noted otherwise) {{cite journal \| author = Ward, Peter L. \| authorlink = Peter Langdon Ward \| date = 2 April 2009 \| title = Sulfur Dioxide Initiates Global Climate Change in Four Ways \| journal = Thin Solid Films \| volume = 517 \| issue = 11 \| pages = 3188–3203 \| doi = 10.1016/j.tsf.2009.01.005 \| url= http://www.tetontectonics.org/Climate/SO2InitiatesClimateChange.pdf \|accessdate= 2010-03-19}} Supplementary Table I: {{cite web \| url = http://www.tetontectonics.org/Climate/Table_S1.pdf \| title = Supplementary Table to P.L. Ward, Thin Solid Films (2009) Major volcanic eruptions and provinces \| publisher = Teton Tectonics \| accessdate = 2010-03-16 }} Supplementary Table II: {{cite web \| url = http://www.tetontectonics.org/Climate/Table_S1_References.pdf \| title = Supplementary References to P.L. Ward, Thin Solid Films (2009) \| publisher = Teton Tectonics \| accessdate = 2010-03-16 }}!!Location!!1000s of Cubic km ejected** !!class="unsortable"\|Notes
La Garita Caldera/Fish Canyon tuff	27.83	San Juan volcanic field, Colorado	5	Largest tuff ever measured on Earth,{{cite web\|title=La Garita Caldera\|url=http://staff.aist.go.jp/s-takarada/CEV/newsletter/lagarita.html\|accessdate=5 August 2010}} 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
Windows Butte tuff	31.4	William's Ridge, central Nevada	3.5	Part of the Mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up{{cite web\|title=4. Petrology - The Mid-Tertiary Ignimbrite Flare-Up\|url=http://www.colorado.edu/GeolSci/Resources/WUSTectonics/CzIgnimbrite/INVESTIGATION/SECTION_4/petrology_intro.html\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Indian Peak Caldera Complex/Wah Wah Springs tuff	29.5	Eastern Nevada/western Utah	3.2	Indian Peak Caldera Complex total volume over 10,000 cubic km, Wah Wah Springs tuff being the largest{{cite journal\|title=Oligocene caldera complex and calc-alkaline tuffs and lavas of the Indian Peak volcanic field, Nevada and Utah\|journal=GSA Bulletin\|date=1989 \|year=1989\|volume=101\|issue=8\|pages=1076–1090\|doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1989)101<1076:OCCACA>2.3.CO;2\|url=http://bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/101/8/1076\|accessdate=5 August 2010 \|last1=Best \|first1=Myron G. \|last2=Christiansen \|first2=Eric H. \|last3=Blank, Jr. \|first3=Richard H. }}
Oxaya ignimbrites	19	Chile	3	Really a regional correlation of many ignimbrites originally thought to be distinct{{cite journal\|last=Wörner\|first=Gerhard\|coauthors=Konrad Hammerschmidt, Friedhelm Henjes-Kunst, Judith Lezaun, Hans Wilke\|title=Geochronology (40Ar/39Ar, K-Ar and He-exposure ages) of Cenozoic magmatic rocks from Northern Chile (18-22°S): implications for magmatism and tectonic evolution of the central Andes\|journal=Revista geológica de Chile\|year=200\|volume=27\|issue=2\|url=http://sigeo.sernageomin.cl/website/sigeo/Documentos/Productos/resumenes/BSN017026/BSN017026.htm\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Lake Toba	.073	Sunda Arc, Indonesia	2.8	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{{cite web\|title=Late Pleistocene human population bottlenecks, volcanic winter, and differentiation of modern humans.\|url=http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/stanley_ambrose.php\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Lund Tuff	29	Great Basin, USA	2.6	Similar in composition to the Fish Canyon Tuff{{cite journal\|title=The Oligocene Lund Tuff, Great Basin, USA: a very large volume monotonous intermediate\|journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research\|date=2002 \|year=2002\|month=March\|volume=113\|issue=1–2\|pages=129–157\|doi=10.1016/S0377-0273(01)00256-6 \|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VCS-44X0353-3&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F15%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b095a040ef298637f6c104408b02d15b\|accessdate=5 August 2010 \|last1=Maughan \|first1=Larissa L. \|last2=Christiansen \|first2=Eric H. \|last3=Best \|first3=Myron G. \|last4=Grommé \|first4=C.Sherman \|last5=Deino \|first5=Alan L. \|last6=Tingey \|first6=David G. }}
Pacana Caldera/Atana ignimbrite	4	Chile	2.5	Forms a resurgent caldera; used multiple timesLindsay, J. M.;de Silva, S.;Trumbull, R.; Emmermann, R. and Wemmer, K. (2001). La Pacana caldera, N. Chile: a re-evaluation of the stratigraphy and volcanology of one of the world's largest resurgent calderas, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 106 (1-2), 145–173. {{doi\|10.1016/S0377-0273(00)00270-5
Yellowstone caldera/Huckleberry Ridge Tuff	2.059	Yellowstone hotspot	2.45	Largest Yellowstone eruption on record{{cite web\|title=DESCRIPTION: Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming\|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Yellowstone/description_yellowstone.html\|accessdate=6 August 2010}}
\|Whakamaru	.254{{cite journal \|date=13 February 1986\|title=An exceptionally large late Quaternary eruption from New Zealand \|journal=Nature \|volume=319 \|pages=578–582 \|doi=10.1038/319578a0 \|url= \|accessdate= \|quote=The minimum total volume of tephra is 1,200 km³ but probably nearer 2,000 km³, ... \|last1=Froggatt \|first1=P. C. \|last2=Nelson \|first2=C. S. \|last3=Carter \|first3=L. \|last4=Griggs \|first4=G. \|last5=Black \|first5=K. P. \|issue=6054 }}	Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand	2	Largest in the Southern Hemisphere in the Late Quaternary
Kilgore tuff	4.3	near Kilgore, Idaho	1.8	Last of the eruptions from the Heise volcanic field
Millbrig eruptions/Bentonites	454	England, exposed in Northern Europe and Eastern US	1.509 (also 972, 943 cubic km eruptions)	One of the oldest large eruptions preserved{{cite web\|title=Plate Tectonics from the Middle of the Plate\|url=http://www.nashvillefossils.com/exercises/volcano/volcano.html\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Blacktail tuff	6.5	near Blacktail, Idaho	1.5	First of several eruptions from the Heise volcanic field{{cite journal \|authors= Lisa A. Morgan and William C. McIntosh \|date= March 2005 \|title= Timing and development of the Heise volcanic field, Snake River Plain, Idaho, western USA \|journal= Geological Society of America Bulletin \|volume= 117 \|issue= 3–4 \|pages= 288–306 \|url= http://bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/117/3-4/288 \|accessdate= \|doi = 10.1130/B25519.1}}
Davis Mountains/Gomez Tuff	36.82	Davis Mountains, Texas	1.25	Series of several silicic arc volcanism events{{cite journal\|title=40Ar/39Ar chronology and volcanology of silicic volcanism in the Davis Mountains, Trans-Pecos Texas\|journal=GSA Bulletin\|date=1994 \|year=1994\|volume=106\|issue=11\|pages=1359–1376\|doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1994)106<1359:AACAVO>2.3.CO;2\|url=http://bulletin.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/106/11/1359\|accessdate=5 August 2010 \|last1=Henry \|first1=Christopher D. \|last2=Kunk \|first2=M. J. \|last3=McIntosh \|first3=W. C. }}
Timber Mountain tuff	11.6	Southwestern Nevada	1.2	Also includes a 900 cubic km tuff as a second member in the tuff
Paintbrush tuff (Topopah Spring Member)	12.8	Southwestern Nevada	1.2	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	1.2	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{{cite journal\|last=Lipman\|first=Peter W.\|title=Geologic Map of the Central San Juan Caldera Cluster, Southwestern Colorado\|journal=USGS Investigations Series I-2799 \|year=2006\|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2799/\|accessdate=6 August 2010}}
Bursum/Apache Springs Tuff	28.5	Southern New Mexico	1.2	Related to a 1050 cubic km tuff, the Bloodgood Canyon tuff
Huaylillas Ignimbrite	15	Bolivia	1.1	Predates half of the uplift of the central Andes{{cite web\|title=http://www.chile.ird.fr/pdf/isagPDF/thouret.pdf\|url=http://www.chile.ird.fr/pdf/isagPDF/thouret.pdf\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Bursum/Bloodgood Canyon tuff	28.5	Southern New Mexico	1.05	Related to a 1200 cubic km tuff, the Apache Springs tuff
Yellowstone Caldera/Lava Creek Tuff	.639	Yellowstone hotspot	1	Last large eruption in the Yellowstone National Park area{{cite web\|title=Yellowstone Lake Geology Talk Transcript\|url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/nature/sciencetalks/transcriptmorgan1.htm\|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040501035126/http://www.nps.gov/yell/nature/sciencetalks/transcriptmorgan1.htm \|accessdate=5 August 2010\|archive-date=2004-05-01 }}
Cerro Galán	2.2	Catamarca Province, Argentina	1	Elliptical caldera is ~35 km wide{{cite web\|title=How Volcanos Work - Cerro Galan\|url=http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Thumblinks/galan_page.html\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Paintbrush tuff (Tiva Canyon Member)	12.7	Southwestern Nevada	1	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	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	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	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	Helped cause the exceptional preservation at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument{{cite web\|title=Wall Mountain Tuff\|url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/flfo/online_museum/rocks-fossils/geology/RockUnits/WallMtn/index.html\|publisher=NPS\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}

=Non-explosive eruptions=

In general, these are mafic eruptions in the class of Large igneous provinces, oceanic plateaus, and/or flood basalts, large outpourings of generally lower viscosity magma that cover large areas over many years. For reference, the modern eruption on Kīlauea on Hawai'i (1983-present) has produced 2.7 cubic km of lava.

class="wikitable sortable" !Volcano/Eruption!!Date (Ma)* !!Location!!Millions of Cubic km ejected** !!class="unsortable"\|Notes
Ontong Java Plateau	121	Southwest Pacific Ocean	57	Largest igneous body on earth"the Manihiki and Hikurangi Plateaus [...] we interpret as remnants of a formerly contiguous Ontong Java–Manihiki–Hikurangi large igneous province". {{cite journal \| date = 30 May 2006 \| title = Osbourn Trough: Structure, geochemistry and implications of a mid-Cretaceous paleospreading ridge in the South Pacific \| journal = Earth and Planetary Science Letters \| volume = 245 \| issue = 3–4 \| pages = 685–701 \| doi = 10.1016/j.epsl.2006.03.018 \| url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V61-4JT3S72-1&_user=2387607&_handle=V-WA-A-W-WE-MsSAYVA-UUA-U-AACEUUUYVZ-AACZCYAZVZ-YWYEUDDU-WE-U&_fmt=summary&_coverDate=05%2F30%2F2006&_rdoc=17&_orig=browse&_srch=%23toc%235801%232006%23997549996%23623099!&_cdi=5801&view=c&_acct=C000056415&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=2387607&md5=a5d8ae140534096b7fe17fca31177a5e \| accessdate = 2007-03-14 \| last1 = Worthington \| first1 = Tim J. \| last2 = Hekinian \| first2 = Roger \| last3 = Stoffers \| first3 = Peter \| last4 = Kuhn \| first4 = Thomas \| last5 = Hauff \| first5 = Folkmar }}{{cite journal \| author = Brian Taylor \| date = 31 January 2006 \| title = The single largest oceanic plateau: Ontong Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi \| journal = Earth and Planetary Science Letters \| volume = 241 \| issue = 3–4 \| pages = 372–380 \| doi = 10.1016/j.epsl.2005.11.049 \| url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V61-4HYMY91-3&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e4d9bec5f67ec31555a6b42b8ba732ef \| accessdate = 2007-05-22}} [http://www.largeigneousprovinces.org/06feb.html Summary].
Kerguelen Plateau	112	South Indian Ocean, Kerguelen Islands	10	LInked to the Kerguelen hotspot{{cite journal\|last=Weis\|first=D\|coauthors=F. A. Frey\|title=KERGUELEN PLATEAU—BROKEN RIDGE: A MAJOR LIP RELATED TO THE KERGUELEN PLUME\|journal=Seventh Annual V. M. Goldschmidt Conference\|url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/gold/pdf/2062.pdf\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
North Atlantic Igneous Province	55.5	North Atlantic Ocean	6.6Actually several provinces, ranging in size from 6.6-1.5 million cubic km	LInked to the Iceland hotspotThe North Atlantic Igneous Province: Stratigraphy, Tectonic, Volcanic and Magmatic Processes; Editors: Jolley and Bell; The Geological Society of London, 2002; Contents[http://sp.lyellcollection.org/cgi/issue_pdf/frontmatter_pdf/197/1.pdf]
Caribbean large igneous province	88	Caribbean-Colombian oceanic plateau	4	LInked to the Galápagos hotspotKaj Hoernle, Folkmar Hauff and Paul van den Bogaard, 70 m.y. history (139–69 Ma) for the Caribbean large igneous province, Geology; August 2004; v. 32; no. 8; p. 697-700 [http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/8/697 Abstract]
Siberian Traps	249.4	Siberia, Russia	3	Largest outpouring of lava on land ever recorded, thought to have caused Permian-Triassic extinction, largest mass extinction event ever{{cite web\|title=The Siberian Traps\|url=http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Permian/SiberianTraps.html\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Karoo-Ferrar	183	Southern Africa, Antartica	2.5	Formed as Gondwana broke up{{cite journal\|last=Segev\|first=A\|title=Flood basalts, continental breakup and the dispersal of Gondwana: evidence for periodic migration of upwelling mantle flows (plumes)\|journal=EGU Stephan Mueller Special Publication Series\|year=2002\|volume=2\|pages=171–191\|doi=10.5194/smsps-2-171-2002\|url=http://www.stephan-mueller-spec-publ-ser.net/2/171/2002/smsps-2-171-2002.pdf\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Paraná and Etendeka traps	133	Brazil/Angola and Namibia	2.3	LInked to the Tristan hotspot{{Cite journal \|last1=O'Neill \|first1=C. \|last2=Müller \|first2=R. D. \|last3=Steinberger \|first3=B. \|title=Revised Indian plate rotations based on the motion of Indian Ocean hotspots \|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters \|volume=215 \|pages=151–168 \|year=2003 \|url=http://www.earthbyte.org/people/dietmar/Pdf/Muller-etal-hotspots-Geology1993.pdf }}{{Cite journal \|last1=O'Connor \|first1=J. M. \|last2=le Roex \|first2=A. P. \|year=1992 \|title=South Atlantic hot spot-plume systems. 1: Distribution of volcanism in time and space \|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters \|volume=113 \|issue=3 \|pages=343–364 \|doi=10.1016/0012-821X(92)90138-L }}
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province	200	Laurasia continents	2	Formed as Pangea broke up{{cite web\|title=CAMP site\|url=http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/res_area/geology/camp/CAMPintro.html\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}
Deccan Traps	65.5	Deccan Plateau, India	1.5	May have helped kill the Dinosaurs{{cite web\|title=India's Smoking Gun: Dino-Killing Eruptions\|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050810130729.htm\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}{{Cite book \|chapter=The Significance of the Contemporaneous Shiva Impact Structure and Deccan Volcanism at the KT Boundary \|title=2009 Portland GSA Annual Meeting (18-21 October 2009) \|last1=Chatterjee \|first1=Sankar \|last2=Mehrotra \|first2=Naresh M. \|pages= 50–9 \|url=http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2009AM/finalprogram/abstract_160197.htm }}
Emeishan Traps	256.5	Southwestern China	1	Along with Siberian Traps, may have contributed to the Permian–Triassic extinction event{{cite journal\|title=Age of the Emeishan Flood magmatism and relations to Permian-Triassic boundary events\|journal=EPSL\|date=2002 \|year=2002\|volume=198\|issue=3–4 \|pages=449–458\|doi=10.1016/S0012-821X(02)00535-6 \|url=http://argonlab.gl.ntu.edu.tw/papers/Lo-Emeishan.pdf\|accessdate=5 August 2010 \|last1=Lo \|first1=Ching-Hua \|last2=Chung \|first2=Sun-Lin \|last3=Lee \|first3=Tung-Yi \|last4=Wu \|first4=Genyao }}
Afro-Arabian flood volcanism	28.5	Ethiopia/Yemen/Afar, Arabian-Nubian_Shield	.35	Associated with silicic, explosive tuffs (Sam ignimbrite, etc.), with max eruption 850 cubic km, 5000 cubic km total{{cite journal \|title=Volcanic stratigraphy of large-volume silicic pyroclastic eruptions during Oligocene Afro-Arabian flood volcanism in Yemen \|journal=Bulletin of Volcanology \|date=2005 \|volume=68 \|pages=135–156 \|year=2005 \|doi=10.1007/s00445-005-0428-4 \|last1=Peate \|first1=Ingrid Ukstins \|last2=Baker \|first2=Joel A. \|last3=Al-Kadasi \|first3=Mohamed \|last4=Al-Subbary \|first4=Abdulkarim \|last5=Knight \|first5=Kim B. \|last6=Riisager \|first6=Peter \|last7=Thirlwall \|first7=Matthew F. \|last8=Peate \|first8=David W. \|last9=Renne \|first9=Paul R. \|last10=Menzies \|first10=Martin A. \|issue=2 }}.{{cite journal\|title=Correlation of Indian Ocean tephra to individual Oligocene silicic eruptions from Afro-Arabian flood volcanism\|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters\|date=30 June 2003\|year=2003\|volume=211\|issue=3–4\|pages=311–327\|doi=10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00192-4\|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V61-48NKR8X-1&_user=10&_coverDate=06%2F30%2F2003&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=19b8026f49399aac0236d1d07e5cd206\|accessdate=5 August 2010 \|last1=Ukstins Peate \|first1=Ingrid \|last2=Baker \|first2=Joel A. \|last3=Kent \|first3=Adam J.R. \|last4=Al-Kadasi \|first4=Mohamed \|last5=Al-Subbary \|first5=Abdulkarim \|last6=Ayalew \|first6=Dereje \|last7=Menzies \|first7=Martin }}
Columbia River Basalt Group	15.95	Pacific Northwest, USA	.18	Well exposed by Missoula Floods in the Channeled Scablands{{cite web\|title=Columbia Plateau\|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/ColumbiaPlateau/summary_columbia_plateau.html\|accessdate=5 August 2010}}

*Dates are an average of the range of dates of volcanics, listed in annum, where Ma=1,000,000 years ago.
**Cubic km ejected refers to an estimated total (dense rock/magma equivalent) erupted, based on all volcanic deposits, and converted with respect to rock type.

User:Qfl247/sandbox

World's Largest Eruptions

=Explosive eruptions=

=Non-explosive eruptions=

References and Notes