What are the ten most dangerous volcanoes in the world?
Well, “most dangerous” is a subjective term. Determining which 10 are the most dangerous is up to the person that defines the risk criteria. In the United States, Mount Rainier in Washington is considered the most dangerous volcano because of several factors: steep slopes and weakened rocks lead to landslides, its ice cap and landslide potential combine to create deadly mudflows that can travel nearly 100 kilometers from the mountain in an hour or less, a large urban population that has moved into the risk zone with few rapid escape routes, a long history in the geologic record of these kinds of cataclysms, including several in the past 1,000 years (averaging about 1 every 200 years), but none have occurred in the last 300 years, and a history of recent volcanism in the region (within the last few years). There are similar examples throughout the world.
