India has exactly one active volcano. It sits in the Andaman Sea, far from where it’s often mistakenly placed.
✊ Must Know
India’s Only Active Volcano
- Barren Island, in the Andaman Sea, is India’s only confirmed active volcano.
- It sits about 135 km northeast of Port Blair, not near Great Nicobar as sometimes claimed.
- The island had a major eruption in 1991, after lying dormant for over 150 years.
- It has erupted repeatedly since, including in 1995 and again in February 2017.
- The uninhabited island sits along the same volcanic arc that runs between Sumatra and Myanmar.
đź“ť Previous Year Questions
Barren Island: Fact-Checking Three Claims
- Statement 1 It genuinely is an active volcano in Indian territory. True.
- Statement 2 It sits near Port Blair, not near Great Nicobar. False.
- Statement 3 It has erupted multiple times since 1991, not lain dormant. False.
- Answer: (a) 1 only.
- View this question on the full 2018 paper →
Test Yourself
For the island’s Wildlife Sanctuary status and its role in the wider Andaman & Nicobar seismic zone, see IndGeo0058 — Barren Island.
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UPSC CSP 2018 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2026 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2020 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)IndGeo0058 — Barren IslandUPSC CSP 2022 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)❓ Practice this topic
D0311 — Consider the following statements: 1. Filling a lake removes natural flood storage. 2. Wetlands recharge groundwater aquifers. 3. Reclaimed water bodies increase local heat island effects. How many of the statements are correct?D0310 — Which of the following directly governs wetland conservation in India?D0309 — Why is the East Kolkata Wetlands ecologically valuable?D0308 — Which of the following is a direct environmental effect of filling an urban lake?🎲 Take a Indian Geography Quiz
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