GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Volcanologists use that term as shorthand for “potentially active, ” so a “dormant” volcano is one that is not erupting now, but that is considered “active” because it could erupt in the future. Mount Hood is an active volcano that is currently dormant. Kīlauea is an active volcano that is currently erupting.

Detailed explanation-2: -Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant, or extinct. Active volcanoes have a recent history of eruptions; they are likely to erupt again. Dormant volcanoes have not erupted for a very long time but may erupt at a future time.

Detailed explanation-3: -Dormant → Dormant volcanoes are volcanoes that have not erupted in a long time but are expected to erupt again in the future. Examples of dormant volcanoes are Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa and Mount Fuji in Japan.

Detailed explanation-4: -Dormant: Now things get a little dicier. The USGS defines a dormant volcano as any volcano that is not showing any signs of unrest but could become active again. California’s Shasta is a dormant volcano by that definition (although could be considered “active” by some because it has erupted in historic times.)

Detailed explanation-5: -The tectonic plate continues to shift above the hotspot, and eventually the volcano is shut off from the magma chamber beneath. And so the magma finds a new source to the surface, creating a new active volcano.