Which mountain is the world’s southernmost active volcano?

Mount Erebus is the world’s southernmost active volcano.

The stratovolcano rises to 3,794 metres on Ross Island, Antarctica. It has been continuously active since at least 1972 and is known for its persistent lava lake, one of the rare long-lived lava lakes on Earth. The lake occupies the inner crater of the summit cone.

The mountain was discovered in 1841 by the expedition led by James Clark Ross. Ross named it after HMS Erebus, one of the expedition’s two ships. Its companion ship, HMS Terror, gave its name to nearby Mount Terror, which is higher but not an active volcano.

Mount Erebus is also a major scientific site. Researchers study its unusual volcanic gases, lava behavior and extreme polar environment. It is sometimes mistaken for Antarctica’s highest mountain, but that title belongs to Mount Vinson, located far away in the Ellsworth Mountains.