It has been about 5,000 years since the last volcanic eruption in Australia, but for the 4.5-billion-year history of Earth, it's like a second ago.
There is evidence of a dynamic volcanic past scattered across the country, where violent blasts, ash clouds and lava flows have resulted in the spectacular crater lakes, waterfalls, hilltops and caves we enjoy today.
Far north Queensland, which is famous for the reef and rainforest, is home to more than 80 extinct volcanoes but according to Peter Whitehead, adjunct lecturer at James Cook University (JCU) extinct volcanoes have been known to come back to life.
"These volcanoes in far north Queensland were active about five million years ago until about 10,000 years ago — which is yesterday for geologists," he said.
"The eruptions were sporadic during that period, and they are decreasing with time, but because the last one was only 10,000 years ago, you would have to think there is a possibility of an eruption sometime in the future."
The most recent eruptions in Australia happened at Mount Schank and Mount Gambier in an area known as the Newer Volcanics Province in south-east Australia.
The area is considered dormant, according to Geoscience Australia, which means it has the potential for an eruption sometime in the future, but exactly if or when is anyone's guess.
Atherton volcanic field
Newcomers to Queensland's Tablelands region may not realise it is sitting on top of a chain of ancient volcanic activity known as the Atherton volcanic field, including Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine, the Seven Sisters Mountain range and the Mount Hypipamee Crater.
The town of Atherton, where almost 10,000 people live, is built into the side of Hallorans Hill, an extinct shield volcano.
"The lava has come out and then gently rolled down the slope. It's similar to the classic Hawaiian volcanoes and also similar to Bones Knob which is just north of Atherton," Mr Whitehead said.
Further to the south-west lies one of the longest lava tubes in the world at Undara, while the Kinrara Volcano to its east is considered one of the youngest volcanoes in Australia.
Living on the edge
At Mount Quincan, southeast of Atherton, Kerry Kehoe built a luxury tourist retreat beside the volcanic crater in 1997 after spending his childhood days exploring its surroundings.
"The thought of it erupting has never crossed my mind," Mr Kehoe said.
"A lot of the guests asked how long ago it erupted, but there was never any fear of it happening again.
"People just thought it was something different to camp on the banks of an extinct volcano."
Quincan is named after the scoria which is quarried on the mountain – a type of volcanic rock used in landscaping and road building.
Mr Kehoe has since sold up, but he remembers tourists and volcanologists from across the globe being drawn to the area's unique geography, the fauna and flora.
"We used to attract volcano fans who wanted to stay at the resort and walk around the crater," he said.
"The other big attraction were the tree kangaroos; you couldn't stay there without seeing one."
Volcanoes don't have an alarm clock
Despite the Tablelands volcanoes being classified as extinct, Mr Whitehead explains there have been records in the past of magma re-emerging, having travelled through deep underground routes and bursting through the earth's surface elsewhere.
"Once a volcano erupts and the magma congeals, any further eruption has to find a new way and break through elsewhere," he said.
"If there was an eruption on the Tablelands, we would expect it will be somewhere new."
When and where
Heather Handley, Associate Professor of volcanic hazards and geoscience communication at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University in Melbourne, says nobody knows for certain when and where another eruption could happen.
"Volcanoes don't have an alarm clock that say you erupt every so many thousands of years, it's time for one," Dr Handley said.
"We can see long periods of time between eruptions, but we don't know when the next one will be.
"It could be in a short time from now or it could be thousands of years."
Dr Handley, however, said there were two "potentially volcanic" active areas in Australia.
"One is in the north of Queensland and in south-east Australia, between Melbourne and Mount Gambier," she said.
'I wouldn't be terribly worried'
The possibility of further volcanic activity was highlighted in a 2019 report by the late Professor Edmund Joyce from the University of Melbourne titled ‘The risk of volcanic eruption in mainland Australia.’
"Such scenarios focus our attention on what sort of complex volcanic activity emergency response organisations and the community should be preparing for," he wrote.
"Australian volcanologists and seismologists now agree that youthful ages imply the possibility of further activity."
Geoscience Australia operates a network of more than 200 broadband seismometers across Australia and offshore that respond to ground noises and shaking caused by quakes, volcanic eruptions and explosions.
Whatever the remote risk, Mr Whitehead said residents living in volcanic zones would be given plenty of warning.
"Because it's not an active region we don't have tiltmeters, but I wouldn't be terribly worried if I lived on the Tablelands," he said.
"If there was any sort of movement of magma towards the surface there would be slight tremors that would get picked up by the seismic network," Mr Whitehead said.
