January 25, 1961 Eruption of Calbuco

Name: January 25, 1961 Eruption of Calbuco
Start: 1961-01-25
Location: Calbuco, Chile

January 25, 1961 · VEI 3

Calbuco in Chile erupted on January 25, 1961 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.

Where it erupted

Calbuco, Chile, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: January 25, 1961
Volcano: Calbuco, stratovolcano
Country: Chile
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Location: 41.330° S, 72.618° W

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)

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.

The eruption produced 3 lahars with the largest coming down the north-flank that caused extensive damage in the cultivated fields.

Other significant eruptions of Calbuco

Every eruption in 1961 The 1900s Calbuco Earthquakes near Calbuco 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 6124.