Volcanoes by country

Papua New Guinea

Volcanoes in Papua New Guinea

Map, activity and eruption history

The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 39 volcanoes in Papua New Guinea. This page brings together the map, report status, eruption history and the surroundings of every single volcano. None of them currently has a running eruption report.

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Earthquakes · Papua New Guinea
With a current report
None No current eruption report
Volcanoes in the catalogue
39
Documented eruptions
122
Highest volcano
2,715 mBalbi
Last documented eruption
2026Bagana

Map

Volcano map of Papua New Guinea

Every volcano in the country with plate boundaries, air traffic within 50 km, airports and nuclear power plants. Earthquakes can be added on top.

Map layers

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Markers show the catalogue position of a volcano, not the extent of a hazard zone. Plate boundaries after Bird (2003), PB2002.

All volcanoes in Papua New Guinea

Sorted by report status and elevation. Every entry opens the full volcano profile.

Volcano catalogue
  1. Balbi No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    2,715 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    1
  2. Ulawun No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    2,334 m
    Last eruption
    2025
    Eruptions
    8
  3. Bamus No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    2,248 m
    Last eruption
    1886
    Eruptions
    4
  4. Takuan Group No current eruption report
    Type
    Compound volcano
    Elevation
    2,210 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  5. Hydrographers Range No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,915 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  6. Loloru No current eruption report
    Type
    Compound volcano
    Elevation
    1,887 m
    Last eruption
    1050 BCE
    Eruptions
    6
  7. Bagana No current eruption report
    Type
    Lava cone
    Elevation
    1,855 m
    Last eruption
    2026
    Eruptions
    8
  8. Karkar No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,839 m
    Last eruption
    1979
    Eruptions
    8
  9. Victory No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,832 m
    Last eruption
    1935
    Eruptions
    2
  10. Manam No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,807 m
    Last eruption
    2026
    Eruptions
    8
  11. Lamington No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,680 m
    Last eruption
    1956
    Eruptions
    3
  12. Billy Mitchell No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    1,544 m
    Last eruption
    1580
    Eruptions
    2
  13. Managlase Plateau No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic field
    Elevation
    1,342 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  14. Umboi No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic complex
    Elevation
    1,335 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  15. Langila No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic complex
    Elevation
    1,330 m
    Last eruption
    2026
    Eruptions
    8
  16. Long Island No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic complex
    Elevation
    1,263 m
    Last eruption
    1993
    Eruptions
    8
  17. Hargy No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,148 m
    Last eruption
    950
    Eruptions
    2
  18. Bola No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,116 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  19. Sakar No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    947 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    —
  20. Lolobau No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    878 m
    Last eruption
    1912
    Eruptions
    4

“Last eruption” is a catalogue record, not evidence of activity in progress.

Significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea

Eruptions with fatalities, damage or high explosivity from the NOAA NCEI database of significant volcanic eruptions.

  1. 1951 Lamington VEI 4 2,942 Deaths
  2. 1660 Long Island VEI 6 2,000 Deaths Damage: severe (roughly 5–24 million USD) Tsunami
  3. 1937 Rabaul VEI 4 507 Deaths Damage: limited (below 1 million USD) Tsunami
  4. 1954 Bam VEI 2 25 Deaths
  5. 1895 Karkar VEI 2 21 Deaths
  6. 1996 Manam VEI 3 13 Deaths
  7. 1990 Rabaul 6 Deaths
  8. 2004 Manam VEI 4 5 Deaths
  9. 1994 Rabaul VEI 3 5 Deaths Damage: 86 million USD Tsunami
  10. 2007 Manam VEI 4 4 Deaths
  11. 1979 Karkar VEI 2 2 Deaths
  12. 1899 Manam VEI 2 2 Deaths
  13. 2005 Manam VEI 4 1 Deaths
  14. 1878 Rabaul VEI 3 1 Deaths Tsunami
  15. 1580 Billy Mitchell VEI 6
  16. 710 Witori VEI 6
  17. 683 Rabaul VEI 6 Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  18. 653 Dakataua VEI 6
  19. 1370 BCE Witori VEI 6
  20. 2040 BCE Long Island VEI 6
  21. 4000 BCE Witori VEI 6 Deaths: few (roughly 1–50) Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  22. 2019 Manam VEI 4 Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  23. 2019 Ulawun VEI 4 Damage: 14 million USD
  24. 2019 Manam VEI 4 Damage: moderate (roughly 1–5 million USD)

Explosivity of the documented eruptions

VEI · 97

VEI 0
5
VEI 1
19
VEI 2
46
VEI 3
13
VEI 4
10
VEI 5
2
VEI 6
2

The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) runs from 0 (effusive) to 8 (super-eruptive). Each step stands for roughly ten times the erupted mass.

Eruptions per century

1500–1599
1
1600–1699
1
1700–1799
1
1800–1899
10
1900–1999
40
2000–2099
48

Documented eruptions since 1500. Earlier centuries are recorded less completely, so a rise also reflects better observation.

Earthquakes near volcanoes – Papua New Guinea

1 events in the last 30 days within 50 km of a volcano in Papua New Guinea.

Earthquakes · Papua New Guinea

Spatial proximity does not establish a volcanic origin. Many events in volcanic regions are tectonic.

Tectonic setting and volcano types

What the volcanic landscape of Papua New Guinea is made of and which tectonic setting it sits in.

Tectonic setting

  • Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)32
  • Subduction zone / Crustal thickness unknown5
  • Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)1

Most common volcano types

  • Stratovolcano19
  • Caldera6
  • Volcanic field5
  • Volcanic complex4
  • Compound volcano2

Infrastructure within 100 km

Airports with scheduled service and nuclear power plant sites near a volcano in Papua New Guinea.

Airports 13

  • Hoskins Airport11.3 km · HKN
  • Aropa Airport20.2 km · KIE
  • Girua Airport22.7 km · PNP
  • Tokua Airport23.2 km · RAB
  • Tufi Airport30.5 km · TFI
  • Momote Airport36.3 km · MAS
  • Ballalae Airport60.1 km · BAS
  • Madang Airport65.6 km · MAG
  • Buka Airport65.8 km · BUA
  • Gasmata Island Airport80.1 km · GMI
  • Choiseul Bay Airport88.3 km · CHY
  • Gurney Airport92.0 km · GUR

Nuclear power plants 0

No site from the included datasets lies within this radius.

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts.

Volcanoes in profile – Papua New Guinea

Short descriptions of the country's best-known volcanoes.

Balbi

Stratovolcano · 2,715 m · Last eruption: Not available

Mount Balbi is a Holocene stratovolcano located in the northern portion of the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. A gentle prominence at 05°54′09″S 154°59′28″E is the highest point of the island. There are five volcanic craters east of the summit, one of which contains a crater lake. The summit is composed of coalesced cones and lava domes which host a large solfatara field. There are numerous fumaroles near the craters, though Balbi has not erupted in historic time.

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Ulawun

Stratovolcano · 2,334 m · Last eruption: 2025

Ulawun is an active stratovolcano in West New Britain Province, on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea.

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Takuan Group

Compound volcano · 2,210 m · Last eruption: Not available

Takuan Group is a volcanic group located in the southern part of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. It consists of three closely spaced stratovolcanoes and lava cones, Mount Takuan being the highest of them.

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Hydrographers Range

Stratovolcano · 1,915 m · Last eruption: Not available

The Hydrographers Range is a forested mountain range in the Oro Province of southeastern Papua New Guinea. It extends from the eastern margin of Mount Lamington in the west to the Pacific Ocean coast in the east.

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Loloru

Compound volcano · 1,887 m · Last eruption: 1050 BCE

Loloru is a pyroclastic shield volcano located in the southern region of Bougainville Island, within the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of northeastern Papua New Guinea.

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Short descriptions: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions about volcanoes in Papua New Guinea

How many volcanoes are there in Papua New Guinea?
The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 39 volcanoes in Papua New Guinea. It covers volcanoes with eruptions during the last roughly 12,000 years.
Which volcano in Papua New Guinea is the highest?
The highest recorded volcano is Balbi at 2,715 m.
When was the last documented eruption in Papua New Guinea?
The most recent eruption documented in the catalogue dates from 2026 (Bagana).
Are the volcanoes in Papua New Guinea active?
None of the 39 volcanoes currently has an eruption report. That does not mean they are extinct – source coverage differs from volcano to volcano.
Why does the map show aircraft around volcanoes?
Volcanic ash endangers aircraft engines. The map therefore shows live positions within 50 km of a volcano so that the proximity of air traffic to an active volcano becomes visible.
Where does the data on this page come from?
Catalogue data and eruption history from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, significant eruptions from NOAA NCEI, alert levels and bulletins from USGS, GeoNet and INGV, earthquakes from the QuakeMap24 database, flight positions from ADSB.lol.

Volcanoes in other countries

Countries with at least 5 volcanoes in the catalogue.

All countries with volcanoes

Sources and data dates

Everything shown comes from the public sources listed below and is updated automatically.

QuakeMap24 is not a warning authority. Follow the responsible authorities when making local decisions.