Lateral eruptions of Erciyes may have generated ash layers in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean during the early Holocene.

The last eruptions occurred during the early Holocene and may have deposited ash as far away as Palestine; the occurrence of historical volcanism is uncertain.

[5] The Greek name has the meaning of "bright" or "white";[6] as applied to the mountain, it may have been eponymous of Argaeus I (678 – 640 BC), king of Macedon and founder of the Argead dynasty.

[20] This convergence commenced in the Miocene and formed the Anatolian block,[21] with two oceans that existed between these three plates in the Eocene disappearing through subduction.

[27][28] The Central Anatolian Volcanic Province, of which Erciyes is a part,[12][23] covers a surface area of 32,500 square kilometres (12,500 sq mi).

[33] These margin faults have been the source of earthquakes during historical times, resulting in damage to cities in the region,[34] and ongoing extension of this crustal domain is the probable reason for volcanism at Erciyes.

The lake was fed by glacial meltwater from Erciyes and later overflowed the lava flow at several sites, the most important of which is Çalbama Gediģi.

[48] Today, the basin contains wetlands that are protected under the Ramsar Convention and are a major nesting site for migratory birds.

[23] It formed within Quaternary andesite lava flows; its formation was probably favoured by a shallow aquifer and was accompanied by strong phreatomagmatic explosions.

[40] From the more recent volcanic phases, Dikkartin Dağ and Perikartın lava domes lie on the southern and northern slope of Erciyes, respectively.

[41] Dikkartin Dağ covers a surface area of 11.7 square kilometres (4.5 sq mi) and reaches a height of 2,760 metres (9,060 ft).

[37][40] Aeromagnetic investigation of the region has evidenced the existence of a magnetic anomaly associated with Erciyes, which is probably caused by the volcanism.

[63] The mineral yazganite [de] was first described from samples obtained on Mount Erciyes, and its chemical formula is NaFe2(Mg,Mn)(AsO4)3·H2O.

[67] The andesites and dacites may have formed from basaltic magma by fractional crystallization involving amphibole, based on elemental composition data.

[25] The climate of the region is influenced by topography, with the Taurus and Kaçkar Mountains blocking the entry of moisture into Anatolia.

Aretes, cirques, horns, and moraines from these glaciations can be found on the volcano,[51] with each of the five valleys that extend from the summit hosting glaciers.

[77] A late Holocene glacial advance extended down to 3,850 metres (12,630 ft);[4] dating of these moraines has yielded ages of 1,200 ± 300 years ago.

[18] Glacial ice is still found on the northwestern slope of Erciyes,[41] in the Aksu Valley[44] at altitudes of 2,900–3,200 metres (9,500–10,500 ft).

[39] Since about 88,000 - 85,000 years ago, the average magma production rate has been about 0.1 cubic kilometres per millennium (0.024 cu mi/ka), with a long-term flux about four times larger.

A second phase of activity formed pumice flows east-northeast of Koç Dağ, covering 2,100 square kilometres (810 sq mi) to a thickness of 8 metres (26 ft).

[101] The Valibaba Tepe ignimbrite extends east of the Erciyes volcano;[41] it originated there[101] and filled in the previous topography.

[54] Its total volume has been estimated at 146 cubic kilometres (35 cu mi),[103] and it contains a large proportion of fiammes.

[2][12][106] It was formed during two phases, starting with a basaltic andesite lava flow on the southern slope 1.7 million years ago.

The deposits of this activity are found north and south of the summit of Erciyes and reach thicknesses of 18 metres (59 ft).

[109] Before extrusion of Dikkartin Dağ, a Plinian fall deposit with base surges and pumice flows covered a surface of 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi) at a minimum.

[114] The dome and flow have a total volume of 0.82 cubic kilometres (0.20 cu mi),[57] and the eruption which had a Volcano Explosivity Index of 5[115] has been compared to that of Mount St. Helens in North America.

Another explosive phase, this time dominated by 20 kilometres (12 mi) long pumice flows that contain charcoal followed and generated the Perikartın lava dome[42] which is compositionally related to Dikkartin.

[2][42] Considering the ages of the oldest moraines contained within the collapse scar, it probably happened more than 25,000 years ago.

[61] This collapse generated a debris avalanche 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long which dammed a lake and presently forms a hummocky deposit.

[122] Likewise, a thin tephra layer in the Sodmein Cave of the Red Sea Hills, 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) south of Erciyes, has been linked to the Dikkartin Dağ eruption,[124] as was a layer in the former lake at Tayma in Saudi Arabia, 1,240 kilometres (770 mi) away from Erciyes.