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Report on Veniaminof (United States) — 12 May-18 May 2021


Veniaminof

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 12 May-18 May 2021
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2021. Report on Veniaminof (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 12 May-18 May 2021. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (12 May-18 May 2021)

Veniaminof

United States

56.17°N, 159.38°W; summit elev. 2507 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


No eruptive activity at Veniaminof had been recorded in seismic or infrasound data since early April. On 12 May AVO changed both the Aviation Color Code and Volcano Alert Level to Unassigned, noting that several seismic station outages impeded the ability to detect seismic unrest at the volcano. Monitoring was ongoing based on the utilization of the remaining seismic stations, the regional infrasound networks, the detection of lightning, and satellite image monitoring.

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)