According to scientists, a mysterious and closely monitored undersea volcano known as the Axial Seamount may erupt before the end of the year.

Located nearly a mile beneath the surface and roughly 700 miles northwest of San Francisco, this active submarine volcano has become a focal point for volcanologists since its discovery in the 1980s.

Axial Seamount lies along the seafloor in the northeast Pacific Ocean and has erupted three times in recent decades—in 1998, 2011, and 2015.

Despite its activity, experts say the volcano poses no threat to coastal residents in California, Oregon, or Washington.

“There’s no tsunami risk from Axial Seamount,” said Bill Chadwick, a research associate at Oregon State University and leading expert on the volcano.

“Its eruptions are not explosive like Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Rainier. The magma is much less viscous, more fluid, similar to eruptions in Hawaii or Iceland.”

Unlike the catastrophic blasts seen in the past—such as the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens or the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai event that triggered massive tsunamis—Axial Seamount eruptions involve slow-moving lava flows.

These eruptions typically go unnoticed at the surface but are dramatic events deep underwater.

When Axial erupts, hot plumes rise from the ocean floor but fail to break through to the surface.

“You might see heat rising half a mile from the seafloor, but it doesn’t reach the ocean surface,” said William Wilcock, a professor of oceanography at the University of Washington.

As the lava spreads, its outer surface quickly cools and hardens into a crust, while the interior can remain molten for extended periods.

In these areas, microbial mats—clusters of microscopic organisms—often grow on the cooled lava, creating ghostly, snow-like landscapes on the seabed, according to Chadwick.

The eruptions can have localized impacts, including the burial of marine organisms and the potential destruction of scientific monitoring equipment placed around the volcano.

However, sea life such as whales and larger marine mammals are unlikely to be affected due to their distance from the eruption zone.

Importantly, scientists emphasize that Axial Seamount is too far from the Cascadia subduction zone to influence the long-feared magnitude 9.0 earthquake that could devastate the Pacific Northwest.

What makes Axial Seamount so active? It sits at the intersection of the Juan de Fuca and Pacific tectonic plates, where the seafloor is continually spreading.

Additionally, it lies directly above a geologic hot spot—an area where plumes of superheated magma rise through the Earth’s crust, fueling frequent volcanic activity.

This unique positioning has made Axial Seamount the most closely monitored underwater volcano on the planet.

Researchers continue to track its seismic activity and deformation to predict future eruptions with increasing accuracy.

Remarkably, Axial is just one of thousands of submarine volcanoes scattered across the world’s oceans. Scientists estimate that 80% of all volcanic activity on Earth takes place beneath the sea.

For those fascinated by Earth’s hidden geological wonders, Axial Seamount is a reminder that some of the most dynamic and powerful natural processes are unfolding far below the surface—out of sight, but not out of reach.