--- title: Extinct Volcanoes Found Off the Coast of Australia description: The four volcanoes are 50 million years old and were found accidentally. canonical: https://time.com/3955357/sydney-volcano-extinct-australia/ author: Jacob Koffler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-13T14:24:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T09:11:18.447Z article:section: Science og:title: Extinct Volcanoes Found Off the Coast of Australia og:description: The four volcanoes are 50 million years old and were found accidentally. og:url: https://time.com/3955357/sydney-volcano-extinct-australia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7a4203704d05f24/69885a9d524fc0a29ddf387d/caldera.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: newly discovered volcanic peaks og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Extinct Volcanoes Found Off the Coast of Australia twitter:description: The four volcanoes are 50 million years old and were found accidentally. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7a4203704d05f24/69885a9d524fc0a29ddf387d/caldera.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Stumble Across Extinct Volcanoes Off Australia Coast by [Jacob Koffler](https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/) ## Jacob Koffler Jul 13, 2015 2:24 PM UTC  A map of the newly discovered volcanic peaks off Sydney, showing their depth relative to the surface. A map of the newly discovered volcanic peaks off Sydney, showing their depth relative to the surface.CSIRO by [Jacob Koffler](https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/) ## Jacob Koffler Jul 13, 2015 2:24 PM UTC Researchers in Australia went searching for miniature lobsters and [found](http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/csiro-investigator-discovers-extinct-volcanoes-off-sydney-coast-20150713-giau1g.html) 2,000-foot volcanoes instead. Marine biologists were mapping the sea floor searching for the nursery grounds of larval lobsters when they came upon four extinct volcanoes 150 miles off the coast of Sydney, the _Sydney Morning Herald_ reports. Volcano expert Richard Arculus of the Australian National University told the _Sydney Morning Herald_ that the volcanoes, the largest of which is 5,000 feet across and over 2,000 feet tall, are at least 50 million years old. “It’s ironic that we’re about to get the [first close-up pictures of Pluto](http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/spotted-face-of-distant-pluto-coming-into-focus-20150713-giatna.html) but we had no idea about these beautiful volcanoes just off the coast of Sydney,” said Iain Suthers, a marine biologist at the University of New South Wales who led the expedition. _\[_[_Sydney Morning Herald_](http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/csiro-investigator-discovers-extinct-volcanoes-off-sydney-coast-20150713-giau1g.html)_\]_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3955357/sydney-volcano-extinct-australia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3955357/sydney-volcano-extinct-australia/"},"headline":"Scientists Stumble Across Extinct Volcanoes Off Australia Coast","datePublished":"2015-07-13T14:24:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:11:18.447Z","description":"The four volcanoes are 50 million years old and were found accidentally","url":"https://time.com/3955357/sydney-volcano-extinct-australia/","keywords":["Environment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7a4203704d05f24/69885a9d524fc0a29ddf387d/caldera.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jacob Koffler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7a4203704d05f24/69885a9d524fc0a29ddf387d/caldera.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"newly discovered volcanic peaks","caption":"newly discovered volcanic peaks","creditText":"CSIRO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3955357/sydney-volcano-extinct-australia/","name":"Scientists Stumble Across Extinct Volcanoes Off Australia Coast"}}]}] ```