2 April (0600): Steaming weakly, snow on cone uniformly white.

6 April (1500): Appeared to be radially covered with ash.

14 April (0800-1800): Steaming intermittently.

25 April (2200): Steaming weakly.

27 April (1110): A faint, veil-like ash cloud was observed over the volcano. Within ten minutes the cloud had disappeared, the ash having settled on the cone, which appeared to be irregularly covered with radial ash sprays. A dark black streak was observed on the NW flank, extending 5-10 km from the summit to about the 300 m level where the slope of the cone diminishes to about 20°. The volcano was observed until 1900 and no further activity was noted.

30 April (1100-1800): The cone appeared to be ash-covered. Strong S winds had blown black ash sprays, more noticeable than the day before, onto the N flank.

Geological Summary. The symmetrical glacier-covered Shishaldin in the Aleutian Islands is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes in the eastern half of Unimak Island. The Aleuts named the volcano Sisquk, meaning "mountain which points the way when I am lost." Constructed atop an older glacially dissected edifice, it is largely basaltic in composition. Remnants of an older edifice are exposed on the W and NE sides at 1,500-1,800 m elevation. There are over two dozen pyroclastic cones on its NW flank, which is covered by massive aa lava flows. Frequent explosive activity, primarily consisting of Strombolian ash eruptions from the small summit crater, but sometimes producing lava flows, has been recorded since the 18th century. A steam plume often rises from the summit crater.

Information Contacts: P. Sventek, USAF, Cold Bay.