Active and Dormant Volcanoes in India

Of the many wonders of nature, volcanoes are both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The sheer beauty of the magma coming out of the volcanic peak is enough to invoke fear and awe. Have you ever wondered how many volcanoes are there in India? Do you know how many volcanoes in India are active? It’s time your kid knew the names of the volcanoes in India and how they erupted. Read on to learn more about volcanoes in India and their types.

What is Volcano?

An opening in the earth’s crust through which lava, ash, and gases erupt is known as a volcano. It includes the cone-shaped landform built by repeated eruptions over time. When a volcano explodes, magma is driven up through the opening with terrific force. When magma reaches the earth‘s surface, it is known as lava. Lava can be 2,200°F (1,204°C) hot. Some volcanic outbursts are explosive.

Types of Volcanoes

1) Cinder Cones

The cinder cones are the most basic volcanoes. It is made of pieces and blobs of hardened lava that came out of a certain vent. Gases inside the molten rock are too high and are blown into the air. As a result, they congeal into large chunks that shatter and drop like cinders around the vent to create a layer. Usually, cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the panel. They rarely rise more than a thousand feet above their surroundings.

2) Composite Volcanoes

The composite volcanoes are also known as stratovolcanoes. They are usually big, symmetrical cones with steep sides made of alternating layers of lava flow, volcanic ash, cinders, blocks, and bombs that can rise up to 8,000 feet above their bases.

When a composite volcano becomes dormant, erosion begins to destroy the cone. As the cone is stripped away, the hardened magma filling the tube (the volcanic plug) and fissures (the dikes) become exposed, and later it is slowly reduced by erosion.

3) Shield Volcanoes

A shield volcano forms when a volcano produces low-viscosity, runny lava that spreads far from the source and creates a volcano with gentle slopes. This process is known as a shield volcano. Most of it is formed from fluid and basaltic lava flows.

4) Lava Domes

Domes originate from the slow extrusion of highly viscous silicic lava. Most lava domes don’t have enough gas or pressure to blow up, but violent events can sometimes follow them. They are made when thick magma leaks out of a vent and flows out onto the surface, where it builds up around the vent. Most domes are minor, and many do not even have a crater. Some dome-forming outbursts start with highly explosive eruptions that shrink into dome-building ones as the gas pressure in the magma reduces. 

How Many Volcanoes are in India – Active and Extinct

There is a total of eight volcanoes in India. Among them, only one volcano is active (Barren Island). The remaining volcanoes are not in an active stage (which means they have not recently erupted), including mud volcanoes in India. The most recent eruption happened in 2017. It is the only active volcano from Sumatra to Myanmar in the chain of volcanoes. Barren Island is a tourist place surrounded by water in the Andaman Sea and dominated by Barren Volcano.

How Many Volcanoes are in India – Active and Extinct

Barren Island

In the Andaman Sea, there is an island called Barren Island, and it has the only active volcano that has been identified in the Indian subcontinent. It is a part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Union and is located 138 kilometres (86 miles) northeast of Port Blair, the territory’s capital. The volcano’s first known eruption was in 1787. The volcano has erupted more than 10 times since then, with the most recent eruption being in 2020.

Narcondam

The northern Andaman Sea is home to the tiny volcanic island of Narcondam, which is also the easternmost island of India. The island’s peak is made of andesite and rises to a height of 710 metres above mean sea level. It is part of the Andaman Islands. It’s possible that the name Narcondam came from the Tamil term naraka-kundram, which means “a pit of Hell.”

Deccan Plateau

The large Deccan Plateau of the Indian Subcontinent lies between two mountain ranges. It is roughly defined as the peninsular area south of the Narmada River between the Western and Eastern Ghats. It is bordered to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya Mountains. The fact that the Deccan Plateau is mostly made up of basalt, which is an extrusive igneous rock, is proof of its volcanic origins.

Baratang Island

Baratang Island, a part of the Andaman Islands, is home to the only known mud volcanoes in India. It lies 150 kilometres north of Port Blair and is famous for its beaches, mangrove streams, limestone caverns, and mud volcanoes. The mud volcanoes in Baratang have sometimes erupted. The recent eruptions in 2005 are thought to have been brought on by the earthquake that occurred in the Indian Ocean in 2004.

Dhinodhar Hills

Dhinodhar Hills are located in Kutch, Gujarat. Dhinodhar Hills are composed of aphanitic rocks. Dhinodhar is not a vent in and of itself. It is made up of the eroded remains of a subvolcanic intrusion that was built during the Deccan Traps. 

Dhosi Hill

The Indian states of Rajasthan and Haryana are separated by Dhosi Hill. It is located at the northwest tip of the Aravalli mountain range. It is a lone extinct volcano and a significant Vedic-era site. It has a clearly defined crater, lava that is still on the surface, and a perfect cone-shaped view from the top. 

Tosham Hills

Located in the Indian state of Haryana, the Tosham Hills have a 732 Ma BP (million years before present) age and lie in the Aravalli Craton. They are part of the ancient Precambrian Malani igneous sequence of rocks. It is a piece of the outer ring of a chamber that fell off of an extinct volcano.

Loktak Lake

Loktak Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Indian state of Manipur. The only way out of Loktak Lake is through the Ungamel Channel. The Manipur River and several smaller tributaries feed the lake. Loktak Lake is a super volcanic caldera, or a large depression in the shape of a cauldron, that forms soon after a volcano erupts and the magma chamber is emptied. The status of this Indian volcano is unknown, so we don’t know whether it is a dormant volcano in India or an active volcano in India.

List of volcanoes in India with names

Frequently Asked Questions

1) How many extinct volcanoes are there in India?

Answer: Dhosi Hill, Dhinodhar Hills, and Tosham Hills are the three extinct volcanoes in India. So, we can say that there are three extinct volcanoes in India that we know of. There are a few volcanoes in India that aren’t known to be active, dormant, or dead, so they can’t be put into one of those three categories.

2) Which is the only active volcano in India?

Answer: The only active volcano in India is the Barren Island Volcano, which is a stratovolcano. It is an island in the Andaman Sea on the Indian subcontinent. It is in a chain stretching from Sumatra to Myanmar.

3) Which is the largest volcano in India?

Answer: Barren Island is the largest volcano in India. It is 354 metres high and the only active volcano in India.

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