Volcanoes Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Earth’s Fiery Wonders

Question 1

Which volcano is on Mars?

1. Mount Tambora
2. Olympus Mons
3. Mount Pinatubo
4. Mauna Loa

Question 2

In which year did Mount St. Helens erupt?

1. 1967
2. 1974
3. 1980
4. 1991

Question 3

Which volcano is shown?

1. Olympus Mons
2. Mount Tambora
3. Mauna Loa
4. Mount Pinatubo

Image: Kevin M. Gill, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=146925997

Question 4

Which came last?

1. Mount St. Helens eruption
2. Tambora eruption
3. Mauna Loa eruption
4. Vesuvius eruption

Question 5

Which island is a volcanic island above a ridge?

1. Iceland
2. Java
3. Luzon
4. Sicily

Question 6

In which year did Vesuvius erupt?

1. 62
2. 71
3. 79
4. 96

Question 7

Which science studies volcanoes?

1. Meteorology
2. Seismology
3. Hydrology
4. Volcanology

Question 8

Which came first?

1. Vesuvius eruption
2. Bay of Naples earthquake
3. Mount St. Helens eruption
4. Tambora eruption

Question 9

Where are most volcanoes found?

1. Within caves
2. In forests
3. On land
4. Underwater

Question 10

Where did Vesuvius erupt in 79 AD?

1. Campania, Italy
2. Luzon, Philippines
3. Hawaii Island
4. West Nusa Tenggara

Question 11

Which volcano has lava flows made by fluid basaltic lava?

1. Mount Pelée
2. Mount Pinatubo
3. Mount Tambora
4. Olympus Mons

Question 12

Which gas is usually most abundant in eruptions?

1. Carbon dioxide
2. Water vapour
3. Volcanic ash
4. Sulfur dioxide

Question 13

Who witnessed Vesuvius from Misenum?

1. Misenum consul
2. Dixy Lee Ray
3. Thomas T. Prentis
4. Pliny the Younger

Question 14

Where is Kīlauea located?

1. Martinique
2. Luzon Island
3. Java Island
4. Hawaii Island

Question 15

Who declared an emergency in 1980?

1. Kīlauea observer
2. Pliny the Younger
3. Thomas T. Prentis
4. Dixy Lee Ray

Question 16

How high is Olympus Mons?

1. 15 kilometres
2. 18 kilometres
3. 21 kilometres
4. 24 kilometres

Question 17

Which volcanic product is common underwater?

1. Volcanic ash
2. Pillow lava
3. Felsic lava
4. White pumice

Image: Hannes Grobe/AWI, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kissenlava_gakkel-ruecken-arktis.jpg

Question 18

In which year did Tambora's largest eruption occur?

1. 1792
2. 1815
3. 1843
4. 1902

Question 19

How many days did Kīlauea's 1952 eruption last?

1. 26 days
2. 60 days
3. 136 days
4. 195 days

Question 20

When was the major Bay of Naples earthquake before Vesuvius?

1. 42 AD
2. 62 AD
3. 72 AD
4. 92 AD

Question 21

Which statement about volcanic ash is true?

1. Volcanic ash particles are under 2 mm wide.
2. Volcanic ash particles are exactly 2 cm wide.
3. Volcanic ash particles are over 2 cm wide.
4. Volcanic ash particles are over 2 mm wide.

Question 22

Which statement about Mount St. Helens is true?

1. Its eruption column rose 60,000 feet.
2. Its eruption column rose 80,000 feet.
3. Its eruption column rose 70,000 feet.
4. Its eruption column rose 90,000 feet.

Question 23

Which volcano has an estimated volume of 18,000 cubic miles?

1. Mauna Loa
2. Mount Etna
3. Mount Tambora
4. Kīlauea

Question 24

In which year did the Kīlauea eruption begin that ran to 2018?

1. 1969
2. 1974
3. 1983
4. 1991

Question 25

Which of these events happened last?

1. Mauna Loa eruption ended
2. St. Helens eruption
3. Mauna Loa eruption began
4. Mount Pelée eruption

Question 26

Which statement about Tambora's 1815 eruption is true?

1. Tambora's 1815 eruption had a VEI of 5.
2. Tambora's 1815 eruption had a VEI of 6.
3. Tambora's 1815 eruption had a VEI of 7.
4. Tambora's 1815 eruption had a VEI of 4.

Question 27

Where did Kīlauea's latest eruption begin?

1. Tayawan Caldera
2. Mokuʻāweoweo
3. Étang Sec
4. Halemaʻumaʻu

Question 28

How many pascals is the typical pressure atop Olympus Mons?

1. 48 pascals
2. 60 pascals
3. 72 pascals
4. 84 pascals

Question 29

Where is Mount Pinatubo?

1. Java, Indonesia
2. Martinique, France
3. Campania, Italy
4. Luzon, Philippines

Question 30

In which year did Mauna Loa's latest eruption begin?

1. 2018
2. 2020
3. 2022
4. 2024

Question 31

How many square kilometres is Kīlauea's surface area?

1. 1,200 km²
2. 1,500 km²
3. 1,800 km²
4. 2,100 km²

Question 32

How many larger plates is Earth's lithosphere broken into?

1. 12
2. 14
3. 16
4. 18

Question 33

Which people lost their language with an eruption?

1. Pinatubo people
2. Mauna Loa people
3. Vesuvius people
4. Tambora people

Question 34

Which volcano is a shield volcano on Hawaii Island?

1. Kīlauea
2. Vesuvius
3. Mount Etna
4. Krakatoa

Question 35

How many eruptions has Mauna Loa had since 1843?

1. 23
2. 26
3. 34
4. 61

Question 36

Who was the American consul at Martinique?

1. Thomas T. Prentis
2. Pliny the Younger
3. Saint-Pierre mayor
4. Dixy Lee Ray

Question 37

In which year was Mount Tambora's last eruption recorded?

1. 1902
2. 1967
3. 1980
4. 1991

Question 38

Which lava contains more than 63% silica?

1. Basaltic lava
2. Fluid lava
3. Pillow lava
4. Felsic lava

Question 39

Which volcano is 210,000–280,000 years old?

1. Vesuvius
2. Krakatoa
3. Etna
4. Kīlauea

Question 40

Where did Vesuvius project debris and hot gases in its first pyroclastic phase?

1. The stratosphere
2. The asthenosphere
3. The troposphere
4. The lithosphere

Question 41

Where is Mauna Loa's northeast rift zone headed?

1. Puna
2. Kona
3. Waimea
4. Hilo

Question 42

Which volcano has at least 20 parasitic cones and domes?

1. Mount St. Helens
2. Mount Vesuvius
3. Mount Etna
4. Mount Tambora

Question 43

When did Mount Pelée's 1902 eruption begin?

1. 1892
2. 1902
3. 1912
4. 1922

Question 44

How many separate eruptions did Kīlauea have from 1823–2024?

1. 34 eruptions
2. 51 eruptions
3. 61 eruptions
4. 71 eruptions

Question 45

How many parasitic cones and lava domes does Tambora have?

1. 15
2. 18
3. 20
4. 25

Question 46

Where is Mount Pinatubo relative to Manila?

1. Southwest of Manila
2. Northwest of Manila
3. Southeast of Manila
4. Northeast of Manila

Question 47

In which year did the 1902 Mount Pelée eruption end?

1. 1903
2. 1904
3. 1905
4. 1906

Question 48

In which year did intensive monitoring of Mauna Loa begin?

1. 1902
2. 1912
3. 1922
4. 1932

Question 49

How many years did the ʻAilāʻau eruption last?

1. 26
2. 34
3. 60
4. 61

Question 50

Who were buried by the Tambora eruption?

1. A human settlement
2. A Roman settlement
3. A Hawaiian settlement
4. A Martian settlement

Question 51

Which statement about Mauna Loa is true?

1. Mauna Loa's lava is silica-poor and sticky.
2. Mauna Loa's lava is silica-rich and fluid.
3. Mauna Loa's lava is silica-rich and sticky.
4. Mauna Loa's lava is silica-poor and fluid.

Question 52

Which term describes a volcano with over 1,000 km³ of deposits from one eruption?

1. Supervolcano
2. Volcanic arc
3. Mantle plume
4. Pillow lava

Question 53

Which city does not belong with those buried by Vesuvius?

1. Saint-Pierre
2. Herculaneum
3. Pompeii
4. Oplontis

Question 54

Which volcano is in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia?

1. Mount St. Helens
2. Mount Tambora
3. Mount Vesuvius
4. Mount Pinatubo

Question 55

In which year did Mount Pinatubo last erupt?

1. 1980
2. 1991
3. 1993
4. 2002

Question 56

Which Kīlauea eruption occurred earliest?

1. ʻAilāʻau eruption
2. 1790 eruption
3. 1952 eruption
4. 1840 eruption

Question 57

How many days did Mauna Loa's 1950 eruption last?

1. 15 days
2. 23 days
3. 26 days
4. 34 days

Question 58

Where did the 1902 Pelée eruption occur?

1. Martinique
2. Campania
3. Hawaii Island
4. Luzon Island

Question 59

Which does not belong with substances escaping a volcano?

1. Volcanic gases
2. Magma chamber
3. Hot lava
4. Volcanic ash

Question 60

Which statement about Mauna Loa's magma chamber is true?

1. Its magma chamber is about 8.7 km deep.
2. Its magma chamber is about 6.7 km deep.
3. Its magma chamber is about 2.7 km deep.
4. Its magma chamber is about 4.7 km deep.

Question 61

Which volcano's summit collapsed to form a 2.5 km-wide caldera?

1. Mount Vesuvius
2. Mount St. Helens
3. Mount Krakatoa
4. Mount Pinatubo

Question 62

In which year did the Mauna Ulu eruption end?

1. 1969
2. 1971
3. 1974
4. 1978

Question 63

How many pit craters overlap at Mauna Loa's summit?

1. 2
2. 3
3. 4
4. 6

Question 64

Which statement about Mount Pinatubo before 1991 is true?

1. Pinatubo stood 1,545 m above sea level.
2. Pinatubo stood 1,745 m above sea level.
3. Pinatubo stood 1,945 m above sea level.
4. Pinatubo stood 2,145 m above sea level.

Question 65

Where was the submarine volcano linked to 2018 humming discovered?

1. Off the coast of Martinique
2. Off the coast of Luzon
3. Off the coast of Iceland
4. Off the coast of Mayotte

Question 66

Who died on 8 May at Martinique?

1. Thomas T. Prentis
2. Mokuʻāweoweo
3. Dixy Lee Ray
4. Pliny the Younger

Question 67

In which year was Mount Tambora made a national park?

1. 2004
2. 2010
3. 2015
4. 2020

Question 68

Which statement about Étang Sec in 1902 is true?

1. Étang Sec formed a 180 m lake on 3 May.
2. Étang Sec formed a 180 m lake on 27 April.
3. Étang Sec formed a 280 m lake on 27 April.
4. Étang Sec formed a 280 m lake on 3 May.

Question 69

Which animal is endemic to Mount Pinatubo?

1. Long-nosed forest mouse
2. Zambales field mouse
3. Philippine forest mouse
4. Luzon mountain mouse

Question 70

Who offered $500,000 in emergency assistance after the 1902 Pelée eruption?

1. United States
2. Philippines
3. United Kingdom
4. Indonesia