When did volcanoes start existing?

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Vermont Public

Nature, Language, Kids & Family, Science

4.4 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Volcanoes have been erupting on Earth for BILLIONS of years, and they’re still creating new landscapes today! Volcanoes can seem mysterious and scary, but people all over the world have learned to live in close proximity to active volcanoes. Today we answer questions you’ve sent us about how they form, how they erupt, what magma/lava is, and how volcanologists work to predict when they might erupt. Our guest is Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a volcanologist and professor at the University of Iceland.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Did you know that But Why is public media?
0:03.9	Our podcast is based out of Vermont Public, Vermont's NPR and PBS station.
0:09.6	That means our podcast is powered in large part by listeners like you.
0:14.6	Your support helps keep this show free and accessible to kids all over the globe.
0:20.4	Head to butykids.org slash donate to make a gift in any amount to support our work
0:25.8	or become a member of the but why fan club.
0:29.2	Thanks and stay curious. This is But Why?
0:40.3	This is But Why, a podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont Public.
0:57.9	I'm Jane Lintel.
0:59.3	On this show, we take questions from curious kids just like you, and we find answers.
1:05.0	You know, it's been a big summer for volcanoes.
1:09.6	You might have heard that back in July, a volcano erupted in Iceland,
1:13.9	and then in August, a big earthquake struck off the coast of Russia, triggering multiple
1:18.8	volcanic eruptions in the region. While the eruption in Iceland was related to a couple of years
1:25.0	of ongoing volcanic activity in that region, the one in Russia
1:28.7	had been dormant, inactive, quiet for hundreds of years. And as we're putting this episode out
1:36.6	in September of 2025, an active volcano in Japan has been spewing ash into the air.
1:48.9	The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in the United States keeps a list of all the active volcanoes and volcanic activity in the world
1:54.2	and says that at any given time, there are typically 40 to 50 continuing eruptions,
2:03.5	and out of those, generally around 20,
2:10.8	will be actively erupting on any particular day. I did not realize there was that much volcanic activity all the time. You definitely don't want to be near a volcano while it's erupting,
2:16.9	but if you ever get a chance to view it from a safe distance, volcanic eruptions are fascinating.
	...

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