Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. Most of the present cone was well developed 15,000 years ago. This photo shows the volcano and town of Stromboli. Photographs courtesy of and copyrighted by Mike Lyvers. Most eruptions at Stromboli consists of small gas explosions that hurl incandescent blobs of lava above the crater rim.
Several explosions occur each hour.
Larger eruptions and lava flows are less frequent. When this type of eruption is observed at other volcanoes it is often referred to as a Strombolian eruption. Violent eruptions are rare at Stromboli. In 1930, during the largest eruption of Stromboli this century, three people were killed by pyroclastic flows. A fourth was scalded to death in the sea near the point the flows entered the ocean.