Top 5 List of Active Volcanoes in the Philippines

The Philippines, being part of the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, has numerous volcanoes and there are scores of active volcanoes in the country. Here are the most active volcanoes in the Philippines.

Mayon Vocano - Albay

The most active volcano in the Philippines.

Mayon, the most famous of the active volcanoes of the Philippines, is a perfect stratovolcano rising to 2462 m on Luzon Island. It erupts very frequently.

Mayon is the archetype of a symmetrical stratovolcano and one of the world most active ones. It has frequent eruptions producing pyroclastic flows, mud flows and ash falls that repeatedly triggered large-scale evacuations. Mayon's most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1200 people and devastated several towns. 

the volcano rises 2462 m above the Albay Gulf and has very steep upper slopes averaging 35-40 degrees capped by a small summit crater. 

Taal Volcano - Bantangas

Taal volcano with its lake-filled 15x20 km wide Talisay (Taal) caldera is a beautiful caldera volcano, but also one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes of the Philippines. Taal has had some of the country's largest and deadliest eruptions: At least 6 eruptions during the recorded history of Taal since 1572 claimed fatalities, mostly from powerful pyroclastic flows, as well as tsunamis produced in the crater lake.

The Taal caldera is largely filled by Lake Taal, whose 267 sq km surface lies only 3 m above sea level. The maximum depth of the lake is 160 m, and contains several eruptive centers submerged beneath the lake. All historic eruptions took place from the 5-km-wide volcanic island in the northern-central part of the lake. 

The island is formed by overlapping stratovolcanoes, cinder cones and tuff rings (maars). Historic eruptions have seen the constant change and growth of the island.

Mount Canlaon - Negros Island

Canlaon volcano (also spelled Kanlaon) on Negros Island is one of the most active volcanoes of the Philippines and the most active one of the Central Philippines. It forms the highest peak of Negros Island and is located west of Canlaon about 36 km southeast of Bacolod City and belongs to Canlaon National Park.

Canlaon, part of the Negros Volcanic Belt, is a large stratovolcano dotted with numerous flank cones and craters, many of which contain lakes. 
The summit of Kanlaon contains a 2-km-wide, elongated caldera with two craters. One is inactive and contains a crater lake. The second crater to the south is smaller, higher and contains the historically active vent, Lugud crater. Lugud crater is 250 m wide and 150-200 m deep. The base of Kanlaon measures an area of 30 km x 14 km. 
Historical eruptions from Kanlaon have been recorded since 1866. Most historic eruptions were small to medium sized phreatic explosions, causing minor ash fall near the volcano. Canlaon's geologic record of past deposits include a remarkable large debris avalanche, that resulted from flank failure of the volcano and traveled 33 km to the SW. 

Mount Bulusan - Sorsogon

Bulusan, one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, is Luzon's southernmost volcano. It lies at the SE end of the Bicol volcanic arc occupying the peninsula of the same name that forms the elongated SE tip of Luzon island.

Bulusan is a young andesitic volcano built upon the NE rim of an older dacitic-to-rhyolitic caldera, the 11-km wide Irosin caldera, which was formed about 35,000-40,000 years ago.

Bulusan is flanked by several other large intracaldera lava domes and cones, including the prominent Mount Jormajan lava dome on the SW flank and Sharp Peak to the NE. The summit of 1565-m-high Bulusan volcano is unvegetated and contains a 300-m-wide, 50-m-deep crater. Three small craters are located on the SE flank.
Many moderate explosive eruptions have been recorded at Bulusan since the mid-19th century.

Mount Hibuk-Hibuk -Camiguin

Hibok-Hibok volcano (also known as Catarman volcano) is the youngest and the only historically active volcano on Camiguin Island, which is located 9 km off the north coast of Mindanao Island, Philippines.

 
Camiguin island itself is a 292 sq km oblate, 20 km long island composed of 4 overlapping stratovolcanoes and some flank cones.

Eruptions of Hibok-Hibok volcano are often Pelean-type, i.e. dome building and the generation of nuées ardentes hot pyroclastic flows generated by partial dome collapse.

Prior to the 1948 eruption, sulfur was mined at the crater of Hibok-Hibok.