Volcano World Cup – Group J

Remember to cast your vote for Group J at the bottom of this post!

Argentina – 52/32/6/3

The Tromen Volcanic Plateau, the location of the most recent volcanic eruption wholly in Argentina. Credit: Mariano Mantel / Flickr.

Argentina looks like it has a lot of volcanoes. Don’t get me wrong, it does, but many of them are shared with Chile as they define the border between the South American nations. Chile may have won the last Volcano World Cup but alas, they did not qualify in 2026. This leaves Argentina as the best option for many of these volcanoes. That being said, the last eruption wholly in Argentina was back in 1822 at the Tromen Volcanic Plateau. If we want to count all those volcanoes that straddle the border, the Copahue eruption in 2024 bring active volcanism in Argentina into the 21^st century.

Algeria – 6/3/0/0

A formidable peak (Tahat Matin) in the Atakor Volcanic Field. Credit: Olivier Morice / Wikimedia Commons.

If you’re like me and you spend time just drifting around the planet on Google Earth you may have spent time looking at the bleak landscapes of northern Africa. The Sahara is a place I am unlikely to end up in my lifetime but looking down onto Algeria you pick up on a few places that stand out. Those are likely some of the potentially active volcanoes that stand out in the southern part of the country. We aren’t entirely sure when these volcanic centers were last active but you can find pottery in lava flows at Atakor, suggesting that it had to be in the last few thousand years.

Austria – 0/0/0/0

Impressive mountains that are definitely not volcanoes in Austria. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

These central European countries are challenging. How much volcanism has there been in Austria over the last million years. None. Admittedly, you don’t need to go too far outside Austria to find Pleistocene volcanoes. Kemenesalja Hills is a volcanic center in Hungary that is only 50 kilometers from the border with Austria. But that ain’t Austria. Austria likely had active volcanoes 10-20 million years ago, so that isn’t too bad.

Jordan – 2/1/0/0

The volcanic plains of Harrat Ash Shaam (or Harrat Al-Shām) in Jordan. Credit: Joe Roe / Wikimedia Commons.

I will admit that before writing up this blurb for the Volcano World Cup I had no idea that Jordan had volcanoes that erupted in Holocene. It is only one (Harrat Ash Shaam), but that beats out a lot of countries in this tournament. This volcanic field stretches across multiple countries including Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia and last erupted (that we know of) in ~2,670 BCE. Like many of the volcanoes in the Arabian Peninsula, Harrat Ash Shaam is mostly basalt scoria cones and lava flows.

ERUPTIONS