Taftan (volcano) published in 1897 indicated the absence of very fresh lava flows but the authors inferred from the fresh ash that volcanic activity had occurred during the present geological epoch. That the name "Taftan" may be derived from an ancient Iranian word "taft" for "semi solid liquid material" could indicate that effusive activity was witnessed by the people of that time period around the volcano. Eruptions are recorded in 1902, 1970 and 1993. A report of smoke emission in 1877 may have confused clouds for volcanic activity. In 1914, the volcano was described to be "belching out clouds of smoke", although
Under the Volcano 1984 it served as the basis of a film of the same name. In 1998 the Modern Library ranked "Under the Volcano" at number 11 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Lowry had already published one novel, "Ultramarine" (1933), by the time he was working on "Under the Volcano", and in 1936 wrote a short story called "Under the Volcano" containing the kernel of the future novel. That story was not published until the 1960s; passages of it are found also in the account of Sigbjorn Wilderness, found in "Dark as the Grave