The common model for hotspots is that they are made by mantle plumes on tectonic plates. But many of these hotspots seem to be too cool for that to be true.
A human skeleton and dog skeleton were found in Turkey that age back to the Thera eruption in modern-day Santorini.
On Sunday, the early morning eruption resulted in dense white and grey ash clouds.
Mt. Semeru, the tallest mountain on the island of Java, erupted again on Monday after erupting dramatically on Saturday.
In a barren landscape covered in ash, homes were almost completely submerged, and a truck had only the top of the driver's cab visible.
The Permian-Triassic extinction eliminated 80 to 90 percent of species on the planet.
Mount Aso, a tourist destination on the main southern island of Kyushu, sent plumes of ash 3.5 km (2.2 miles) high when it erupted at about 11:43 a.m. (0243 GMT).
The volcano on Spain's La Palma erupted on Monday.
Streams of black lava have advanced slowly westward since Sunday, incinerating everything in their path, including houses, schools and the banana plantations that produce the island's biggest export.
The population of nearby villages was told to go to one of five centers to be evacuated.