Worlds Most Active Volcanoes

Stromboli

Kilauea

Yasur

Etna
Christian Science Monitor: World's Most Active Volcnaoes

Mount Merapi, located near Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is one of the country's most volatile volcanoes. It began erupting at dusk on Tuesday [March 1, 2011), and thousands evacuated the area surrounding it. It didn't come as a shock, as scientists have been expecting an eruption for a while.

Here are some of the world's most active volcanoes.

4. Stromboli (Italy)
Stromboli is the name of both a small island northwest of Sicily and the volcano that made it. The volcano has been erupting regularly, but mildly, for about 2,000 years and its nighttime explosions have made it a major tourist attraction. While minor eruptions occur about every 10 to 20 minutes, Stromboli also has had some more serious eruptions that have prompted evacuations or deaths, mainly from debris. However, because eruptions mostly happen near the summit, about 700 people are able to make a home on the island. Its last major eruption happened in July 2010.

3. Mount Yasur (Vanuatu)
Located in the southwest Pacific on Tanna Island in Vanuatu, Mount Yasur is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a string of volcanoes. It erupts almost constantly, with most measurements indicating an eruption several times an hour for several centuries. Because of the almost constant volcanic activity it is a popular tourist destination. Sometimes tourists are able to climb all the way to the summit. Mt. Yasur has been nicknamed "The Lighthouse of the Pacific" because it is constantly alight from eruptions.

2. Kilauea (Hawaii)
Kilauea, located on Hawaii's Big Island, has erupted uninterruptedly since 1983 and nearly constantly for as long as records have been kept. It is Hawaii's most active volcano and 70 percent of its surface is less than 600 years old. The eruption that began in 1983 has steadily added coastline to the island.

1. Mount Etna (Italy)
Mount Etna, located in Sicily, Italy, is Europe's largest volcano and one of its most active. Records of vulcanism date to 1500 BC. It erupts in several different ways and places, making it unpredictable for those living in the area. It is almost 11,000 feet tall, though it's precised altitude is in constant flux because of eruptions and other disturbances, and much of its surface is lava from previous eruptions.