Mount Etna is the highest and most active volcano in Europe. It erupts once or twice a year, threatening the 900,000 people who live nearby. Despite this, every year, in February, Catania becomes the centre of one of the most important…
In Indonesia, the local inhabitants worship the Bromo Volcano. Every year, during the full moon, a procession with torchlights makes its way towards the smoking crater. It is the Kesodo celebration. In the middle of a gigantic sea of…
Tanzania’s Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano is unique in the world : its liquid black lava turns snow white when it cools down. Our distant ancestors left some footprints which were petrified by the volcano 20,000 years ago... Mathieu Kervyn, a…
Lost in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Westman Islands located off the coast of Iceland seem to be on guard duty. In this isolated archipelago, men and women of strong character have learned to live with this intense Icelandic volcanic…
Japan’s Mount Unzen violently awakened in 1991, after two centuries of sleep... For five years, terrifying avalanches of gas and ash destroyed everything on their path. But the Japanese did not give in and stood up to the volcano. They…
In Hawaii, the Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. Its glowing streams flow into the Pacific in a magical commotion of water and fire, transforming the island into an everlasting cycle of creation and destruction.…
In Indonesia, Kawah Ijen reveals its infernal insides. Miners extracting sulfur work in extreme conditions, and take turns daily in the inferno of the crater. One of the workers, Sarno, has been working there for twenty-eight years.…
Despite its peaceful demeanour, the volcanoes in Auvergne have known a tumultuous past. Large reserves of magma have been discovered recently in the underground depths and a new eruption cannot be ruled out entirely. The Pavin Lake is…
In Ecuador, the Cotopaxi volcano rises to almost 5 900 meters in altitude. The glaciers that cover its crest are constantly being monitored : in the event of an eruption, their melting could cause devastating mudslides. Scientific…
Each of its tremors is constantly monitored : the Vesuvius is one of the world’s most famous and dangerous volcanoes. At its feet lies the city of Naples, the third largest city in Italy, and its 970,000 inhabitants. Its eruption, in 79…
Volcanoes have shaped the fate of the Aeolian Islands. The most famous one being Stromboli, which attracts thousands of visitors every year. Yet the island and its very active volcano weren’t always so popular ... If this island is…
For nearly a thousand years, islanders have learned to master volcanic forces. A strong bond ties them to their land which offers them many gifts : beautiful obsidian stones and exceptional hot springs. Local sources of geothermal energy…
Reunion island brings us on a journey through volcanic time ... The young Piton de la Fournaise figures today among the world’s most active volcanoes ... Its extreme activity is linked to its youth. Aline Peltier, a volcanologist,…
In Guatemala, the Fuego volcano is permanently active, threatening tens of thousands inhabitants. Gustavo Chigna, a volcanologist, inspects its slopes to measure the quantities of accumulated volcanic materials. In the village of La…
In Japan, the Sakurajima volcano erupts almost daily and threatens the 600,000 inhabitants that live at its feet. On the flanks of the volcano, every morning, children make their way to school with protective helmets. The ash that…
In Guatemala, the Santiaguito volcano was born less than 100 years ago. Scientists are fascinated by its youth and intense activity. Volcanologists from allover the world are attracted by the unique opportunity to observe a volcano in the…
Iceland is undoubtedly volcano kingdom. It is the most important volcanic island on the planet, its land produce nearly a third of the world's lava. Its lunar territory is the battlefield for the elements : water, ice and fire. Here, the…
In Hawaii, Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on the planet. Its colossal mass could cause unsuspected dangers : its unstable flanks could collapse into the ocean and cause a mega-tsunami. Gérard Fryer, a geophysicist, devoted his…
New Zealand is the theatre of Earth’s most violent volcanic eruptions. Lake Taupo witnessed a cataclysmic eruption which rejected enough ash to cover an entire country the size of France. White Island, located 40 kilometres off the…
Tungurahua is an explosive volcano in Ecuador. In 2006, the district of Palictahua was destroyed. Since then, its inhabitants have taken action to join forces. They actively take part in a surveillance network and have brought back to…
Off the coast of Morocco, on the Spanish archipelago of the Canaries, men have developed a wealth of ingenuity to make the most of volcanoes that provide them with fresh water, salt and vines.
Fogo Island, in Cape Verde, is dominated by the very active Pico do Fogo volcano. For more than two centuries, a community of irreducibles has settled in the crater and cohabits with the fire monster despite the dangers.
Mount Fuji is the universal symbol of Japan. Its perfect and iconic shape has inspired the greatest artists. For the Japanese, it is the ascent of a lifetime, a true initiatory passage.
Nevados de Chillán is the most active volcanic complex in Chile. Despite the risk, the Chileans have installed a ski resort only a few kilometers from a particularly active crater.
The Atacama Desert is a volcanic land rich in countless treasures. Fresh water, copper, lithium... over the millennia, it is the volcanoes that have given men the resources to live and prosper in this inhospitable territory.
In Mexico, the Popocatépetl volcano challenges humans to understand it. Today, the risk of eruption is high and the threat looms over the nearby capital, Mexico City.
In the Caribbean, in Martinique, Mount Pelée awoke in 1902, causing the deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Faced with the threat, volcanologists are watching for the slightest sign of awakening so that history never repeats…
The Japanese island of Aogashima, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is one of the most inaccessible volcanoes on the planet. Despite this, the few men and women who live there are viscerally attached to this volcanic gem and its many…
In Montserrat, a small British island in the Caribbean, the terrible eruption that began in 1995 hit the island's capital with full force. Since then, Plymouth has become a ghost town... More than 20 years later, the island is starting…
In 2018, the island of Mayotte is shaken by a long series of earthquakes. While searching for the origin of this seismic crisis, scientists discovered a huge active underwater volcano a few kilometers off the coast. Since then, a…
In Peru, the second city of the country extends to the feet of the Misti volcano. Volcanic mud flows, burning clouds... scientists are watching because this giant threatens the million inhabitants of Arequipa. But far from these worrying…
For the first time in 800 years, huge lava flows are flowing down the slopes of the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland... A rare opportunity for scientists to study a phenomenon that usually takes place at the bottom of the ocean. This…
In the Azores, on the island of Sao Miguel, volcanoes are overflowing with energy... In some villages, volcanism results in dangerous gas emanations but the heat of the volcanoes, when it is well controlled, is above all an…
The island of Santorini is forever marked by a legendary eruption, one of the greatest volcanic disasters the Earth has ever known. The remains of an ancient city buried under the ashes for more than 3000 years still testify today to the…
Isolated at sea between Europe and Africa, Pantelleria is the most secret active volcano in Italy. Its gentle windswept relief is a world away from the great Italian volcanoes, such as Stromboli or Vesuvius. However, for those who take…