Global Volcanism Program | Iskut-Unuk River Cones

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Iskut-Unuk River Cones.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Iskut-Unuk River Cones.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Iskut-Unuk River Cones.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Cinder Mountain

Cone

1880 m

56° 34' 0" N

130° 38' 0" W

Cone Glacier

Cone

1400 m

56° 34' 0" N

130° 40' 0" W

Iskut River
Iskut Canyon

Cone

914 m

56° 43' 0" N

130° 36' 0" W

King Creek

Cone

1070 m

56° 30' 0" N

130° 40' 0" W

Lava Fork

Cone

1330 m

56° 25' 0" N

130° 52' 0" W

Second Canyon
Canyon Creek
Unuk River

Cone

300 m

56° 25' 0" N

130° 43' 0" W

Snippaker Creek

Cone

762 m

56° 38' 0" N

130° 52' 0" W

Tom Mackay Creek

Cone

910 m

56° 43' 0" N

130° 34' 0" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

320090

1800 CE

1,880 m / 6,168 ft

56.567°N
130.75°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Cluster

Volcano Types
Pyroclastic cone(s)

Rock Types

Major
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Tectonic Setting

Intraplate
Continental crust (> 25 km)

Population

Within 5 km
Within 10 km
Within 30 km
Within 100 km

0
0
0
663

Geological Summary

Eight small basaltic centers at the southern end of the Stikine volcanic belt near the Alaska border comprise the Iskut-Unuk River Cones group. Lava flows date back 70,000 years, but the subaerial vents produced cinder cones and lava flows that were probably all active between about 9,000 and a few hundred years ago. Five of the centers produced lava flows that traveled up to ~20 km down the Iskut and Unuk River valleys and their tributaries. The three remaining centers are products of ice-contact volcanism that formed pillow lava, hyaloclastite breccias, and scoria. The flows are similar in mineralogy and contain abundant crustal xenoliths. Vents in the Iskut River Canyon area produced at least 10 lava flows, and the Lava Fork vents at least three lava flows, the latest of which erupted within the past few hundred years.

References

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography.

Edwards B R, Russell J K, Anderson R G, 2002. Subglacial, phonolitic volcanism at Hoodoo Mountain volcano, northern Canadian Cordillera. Bull Volcanol, 64: 254-272.

Elliott R L, Koch R D, Robinson S W, 1981. Age of basalt flows in the Blue River valley, Bradfield Canal quadrangle. U S Geol Surv Circ, 823-B: 115-116.

Grove E W, 1976. Deglaciation a possible triggering mechanism for recent volcanism. In: Gonzalez-Ferran O (ed) Proc Symp Andean & Antarctic Volcanology Problems (Santiago, Chile, Sept 1974), Rome: IAVCEI, p 88-97.

Hauksdottir S, Enegren E G, Russell J K, 1994. Recent basaltic volcanism in the Iskut-Unuk rivers area, northwestern British Columbia. Geol Surv Can Pap, 94-1A: 57-67.

Hickson C J, Edwards B R, 2001. Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards in Canada. In; Brooks G R (ed) A Synthesis of Geological Hazards in Canada, Geol Surv Can Bull, 548: 1-248.

Hickson C J, Soos A, Wright R, 1994. Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes. Geol Surv Canada Open-File Rpt.

Holland S S, 1976. Landforms of British Columbia, a physiographic outline. Brit Columbia Dept Mines Petrol Resour Bull, 48: 1-138 (2nd printing).

IAVCEI, 1973-80. Post-Miocene Volcanoes of the World. IAVCEI Data Sheets, Rome: Internatl Assoc Volc Chemistry Earth's Interior.

Kerr F A, 1948. Lower Stikine and western Iskut River areas, British Columbia. Geol Surv Can Mem, 246: 1-94.

Souther J G, 1977. Volcanism and tectonic environments in the Canadian Cordillera, a second look. Geol Assoc Can Spec Pap, 16: 3-24.

Stasiuk M V, Russell J K, 1990. Quaternary volcanic rocks of the Iskut River region, northwestern British Columbia. Geol Surv Can Pap, 90-1E: 153-157.

Wood C A, Kienle J (eds), 1990. Volcanoes of North America. Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univ Press, 354 p.

Wright F E, 1906. Unuk River mining region. Ann Rpt Ministry Mines, Brit Columbia (1905), p 68-74.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 7 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

[ 1904 ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Lava Fork

1904 - Unknown

Evidence from Unknown

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Lava Fork

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Explosion	Uncertain
	- - - -	- - - -	Ash	Uncertain

1800 (?) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Lava Fork

1800 (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Lava Fork

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow

1590 ± 50 years Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Lava Fork

1590 ± 50 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Lava Fork

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow

0620 BCE ± 150 years Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Iskut River

0620 BCE ± 150 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at Iskut River

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
- - - -	- - - -	Ash

1830 BCE ± 300 years Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Iskut River

1830 BCE ± 300 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Iskut River

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow

3450 BCE ± 150 years Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Iskut River

3450 BCE ± 150 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Iskut River

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow

4700 BCE ± 300 years Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Iskut River

4700 BCE ± 300 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 1 Events for Episode 1 at Iskut River

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow

6830 BCE ± 150 years Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Iskut River

6830 BCE ± 150 years - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at Iskut River

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
- - - -	- - - -	Tephra

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Iskut-Unuk River Cones.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Iskut-Unuk River Cones.

Photo Gallery

Shallow ponds are seen across the surface of valley-filling lava flows of the Iskut-Unuk volcanic field. The flows traveled south 5 km where they crossed the border into Alaska and dammed the Blue River, forming several small lakes and traveling a total of approximately 22 km. The Iskut-Unuk River Cone Group consists of eight small basaltic centers at the southern end of the Stikine volcanic belt that range in age from about 70,000 to only a few hundred years old and form one of the youngest volcanic fields in Canada.

Photo by Ben Edwards, 1997 (Dickinson College, Pennsylvania).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Iskut-Unuk River Cones in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Iskut-Unuk River Cones. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Iskut-Unuk River Cones. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

Large Eruptions of Iskut-Unuk River Cones

Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).