Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano.

Although 75% of volcanoes are found in the Ring of Fire — a tectonic belt stretching 25,000 miles from Asia up to Alaska and down South America — every continent on the planet is home to volcanoes, whether they were created through continental rifts (as in the Ring of Fire) or magma hot spots (like Hawaii’s volcanoes). However, no active volcanoes can currently be found on the mainland of the Land Down Under, although it is home to some extinct volcanic specimens. This is because the continent is missing tectonic plate boundaries. It’s at these boundaries — where two tectonic plates meet — that most volcanoes form. Instead, Australia rests squarely on the Australian Plate.

The word “volcano” was inspired by the name of a Roman god.

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In Roman mythology, Mount Etna, a volcano on the east coast of Italy, was the fiery furnace for the god of fire: Vulcan. “Vulcano,” in Italian, means “burning mountain,” and Mount Etna became the first place called by such a name.

Although Australians might feel like they’re missing out, the country technically has two active volcanoes in its outlying external territories, on Heard Island and McDonald Island, located some 2,485 miles southwest of Perth. But with both islands uninhabited — and a two-week boat ride being the only way to get there — few Australians (or anyone else for that matter) will ever lay eyes on the country’s remote volcanic exceptions. 

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