If volcanoes were comic or fantasy villains, they’d be more akin to Marvel’s cosmic entities or Lovecraftian horrors than the puny likes of Magneto or, uh… The Slug (I don’t know many Marvel villains). They strike only every few thousand years before slipping back into a long slumber, lurking for centuries as humanity slowly forgets the horrors they can inflict, inching closer to the looming mountains with each passing year, setting up cities at their very feet. Then, when mankind least expects it – just chillin’ ‘n shit as Dave Chappelle might say – the volcano strikes again, blasting molten rock and ash over miles and miles, smothering out whole cities in the (cosmically speaking) blink of an eye.
Yet, even as we know intellectually that volcanoes are kind of a big deal, we tend to look up at them less with abject horror and awe and more with shouts of, “Hey, check out that big-ass rock!”
Well people, we’ve got news for you: There are at least six big-ass rocks capable of blotting out not just entire cities, but entire civilizations and possibly humanity itself and you’ll never guess which disaster-prone island nation has the most.
Mount Vesuvius
Apparently, this volcano tends to explode a lot, and it’s also probably the volcano that comes to mind when you think of civilization-destroying acts of nature. It’s the one that obliterated Pompeii and, by extension, gave us those creepy ash people and also that movie starring Jon “You know nutttttttthiiiiing” Snow, or… Jake Gillenhal… or that dude from Sons of Anarchy or whatever; point being it was a forgettable film, but I digress.
Supposedly, Japanese volcanologist, Nakada Setsuya, predicts there may be another eruption of Mt. Vesuvius any day now, but take that with a grain of salt: We’re pretty sure a lot of volcanologists would be out of a job if they didn’t occasionally go around causing a panic and literally scaring up research funding.
Katla
Another one that’s typified by frequent eruptions and too hipster to conform to your whole “Mount” naming scheme, Katla is located in Southern Iceland. Wikipedia ensures us that Katla has not erupted “violently” in 95 years. Reassuring!
Supposedly the true danger of a Katla eruption comes from the ice cover surrounding the mountain… er, sorry, volcano… which, in the event of a violent eruption, could melt and send enough water pouring into the world’s oceans to accelerate the effects of global warming by a good hundred thousand years or so.
Mount Fuji
You all probably saw this one coming. Mount Fuji, in Yamanashi (or Shizuoka, depending who you ask… it’s a long story), Japan, is kind of famous for all those, “It’s gonna blow any day now!” false starts and apocalyptic predictions over the years from those wily volcanologists we mentioned above. Side note: We bet volcanologists are bummers to have at dinner parties.
A lot of smart people agree that the 2011 East Japan Earthquake has made Mount Fuji even more unstable than ever before. Fuji’s last eruption apparently also followed a major earthquake and basically destroyed Tokyo. Obviously, Tokyo is way more urbanized nowadays and houses a disproportionate percentage of the Japanese population, which means a Fuji eruption could more or less wipe out Japan as we know it in an instant.
The Yellowstone Caldera
According to a crudely-drawn diagram I saw on Wikipedia (and, whatever, experts, I guess), Yellowstone National Park is actually sitting on top of a giant lake of lava and probably at least a dozen or so demons who like to chill out and go fishing down there. The giant lava lake is constantly threatening to just burst up out of the earth in a giant super-eruption that could wipe out large swaths of North America. The good news is, in planetary terms, “threatening to” is pretty relative. The bad news is, between the years of 2004 and 2008, the caldera floor beneath the park pushed up at a rate three times higher than any years ever recorded before.
Cumbre Vieja
Located on the Canary Islands, Spain, Cumbre Vieja is a volcanic ridge – which we guess is, like, not just one volcano but a whole bunch of them all daisy-chained together for maximum damage. The La Palma volcanic island, one of the most active in the ridge, last erupted in 1971 and is apparently due for another in the next 150 years. That eruption will carry with it a chance of a large portion of the volcanic mountain separating and falling off into the ocean, creating a megatsunami and possible simultaneous sharknado.
Such a megatsunami would, unsurprisingly, doom a lot of people living on the coasts of the world. The sharknado would also cause untold damage, the SyFy channel assures us.
Aira Caldera
The Aira Caldera in Kyushu, Japan and the no-doubt perky and always optimistic volcanologist Keiko Suzuki says in a 2014 Kobe study that it could erupt within the next 100 years, potentially with enough force to devastate the entire island of Japan. Suzuki and his colleague warn such an eruption could happen at any moment and without warning. Like right… NOW! Okay… NOW!
Anyway, keep your guard up, folks.
Mount Aso: I heard you like volcanoes, so I put some volcanoes in your volcano【Photos】
Predicting Japan’s next big earthquake–should we worry? Probably
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
Godiva now makes tofu in Japan, and sakura chocolate tofu too![Taste test]
This Japanese vending machine doesn’t sell drinks, but you can buy drinks through it
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Universal Studios’ Sailor Moon theme park attraction is finally coming to America
Pizza Hut releases a ramen pizza in Japan, and it took half a year to perfect
Peko-chan Milky Time Cafe opens in Chiba and we go to check out all of the pastries and merch
Experiment: Can you make good matcha lattes by melting green tea ice cream?【SoraKitchen】
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
Komachi Shokudo: Japanese mum’s-style cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo
The top 10 graduation songs in Japan as chosen by current Japanese high school students
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says