How much lava does an average volcano contain, before the eruption?

Hannah

Good guestion. I'll have to give a very genral answer. Of the 6,295 eruptions listed in Volcanoes of the World, the greatest number (3477) were moderate in size (VEI=2). Such an eruption produces 1 to 10 million cubic meters of lava or tephra. This might be our minimum estimate. The volume of the magma chamber is going to be greater because, in most eruptions, not all of the magma is erupted. Maybe, roughly, 10% is erupted. So a rough estimate of pre-eruption volume of magma chambers would be 10-100 million cubic meters. This seems on the small side.

Sincerely,
Steve Mattox

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