September 3, 1630 Eruption of Furnas

Name: September 3, 1630 Eruption of Furnas
Start: 1630-09-03
Location: Furnas, Portugal

September 3, 1630 · VEI 4 · 200 deaths

Furnas in Portugal erupted on September 3, 1630 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. The eruption killed 200 people.

Where it erupted

Furnas, Portugal.

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The eruption

Date: September 3, 1630
Volcano: Furnas, stratovolcano
Country: Portugal
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Killed by: Mudflows and lahars; Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
Location: 37.770° N, 25.320° W

The toll

Deaths: 200

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Violent pumice explosion, probably of vulcanian type; ejecta fell over most of island. Newhall says at least 200 persons were killed, most probably by mudflows in Riberia Quente on the S coast.

Every eruption in 1630 The 1600s Furnas Earthquakes near Furnas This day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4362.