Mount Erebus, Antarctica: the volcano in eruption. Chromolithograph from 1868. Mount Erebus was discovered on January 27, 1841 (and observed to be in eruption) by polar explorer Sir James Clark Ross who named it and its companion, Mount Terror, after his ships, Erebus and Terror. Present with Ross on the Erebus was the young Joseph Hooker, future president of the Royal Society. Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on earth and the most active volcano in Antarctica, with a summit elevation of 3,794 metres (12,448 ft). It is located on Ross Island.