AVO reported that the eruption at Veniaminof continued during 12-18 September. A lava flow had traveled 800 m down the S flank of the summit cone by 14 September, remaining confined to the ice-filled summit caldera. A webcam in Perryville (35 km S) recorded nighttime incandescence, and sporadic gas emissions in the day during clear conditions. Elevated surface temperatures were identified in satellite images, and seismicity remained elevated. The Aviation Color Code remained at Orange and the Volcano Alert Level remained at Watch.

Geological Summary. Veniaminof, on the Alaska Peninsula, is truncated by a steep-walled, 8 x 11 km, glacier-filled caldera that formed around 3,700 years ago. The caldera rim is up to 520 m high on the north, is deeply notched on the west by Cone Glacier, and is covered by an ice sheet on the south. Post-caldera vents are located along a NW-SE zone bisecting the caldera that extends 55 km from near the Bering Sea coast, across the caldera, and down the Pacific flank. Historical eruptions probably all originated from the westernmost and most prominent of two intra-caldera cones, which rises about 300 m above the surrounding icefield. The other cone is larger, and has a summit crater or caldera that may reach 2.5 km in diameter, but is more subdued and barely rises above the glacier surface.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)