active volcano

active volcano (plural active volcanos or active volcanoes)

1. (geology) A volcano that has erupted in the last 10,000 years, not necessarily venting lava or gases now.
   • 1841, “Report on the Soils brought from Chedooba”, in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal‎, volume 10, page 447:

     Such a series if it can be still obtained, would be of the greatest interest, for we have there an active volcano in the centre of an Island, upheavements going on on the Coast within the memory of man, and coal found; all within the space of a few miles!

   • 1851, The British Quarterly Review‎, volume 13, page 372:

     Mr. Johnston gives the total number of active volcanos as 270, which is probably the best approximation.

   • 2005, Rosaly M. C. Lopes, The Volcano Adventure Guide‎, page 11:

     It may come as a surprise that the most active volcano of the Caribbean is a submarine one which bears the unusual name Kick-'em-Jenny.

   • 2008, Joan Marti, Volcanoes and the Environment‎, page 175:

     The temperatures in active volcanoes are much too high to support life (e.g., about 1000 ◦C or more in molten lava), but fumaroles and hot springs associated with volcanic activity provide much lower, more suitable temperatures.

• dormant volcano
• extinct volcano