Ross Island is home to Mount Erebus, the world’s southernmost active volcano.
Ross Island lies in the Ross Sea of Antarctica and is dominated by several volcanic peaks. Mount Erebus rises to about 3,794 metres and has been continuously active since observations began. It is known for its persistent lava lake, one of the rare long-lived lava lakes on Earth.
The island also contains Mount Terror and Mount Bird, names associated with ships used by nineteenth-century Antarctic expeditions. The Ross Island area became an important base for exploration, including stations at McMurdo and Scott Base.
Mount Erebus is not Antarctica’s highest mountain; that is Mount Vinson, located in the Ellsworth Mountains on the continent’s mainland. “Active” means it has erupted in the geologically recent past and shows ongoing volcanic activity, not that it erupts continuously.