Mount Veniaminof
Steam rising from the intracaldera cinder cone at Veniaminof volcano in the waning stages of the 1983 to 1984 eruption.
Highest point
Elevation8,225 ft (2,507 m)[1]
Prominence8,199 ft (2,499 m)[2]
Listing
Coordinates56°11′53″N 159°23′27″W / 56.19806°N 159.39083°W / 56.19806; -159.39083
Geography
Parent rangeAleutian Range
Topo mapUSGS Chignik A-5
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano with a summit caldera
Volcanic arc/beltAleutian Arc
Last eruption2021
Designated1967

Mount Veniaminof (Russian: Вулкан Вениаминова) is an active stratovolcano on the Alaska Peninsula. The mountain was named after Ioann (Ivan Popov) Veniaminov (1797–1879), a Russian Orthodox missionary priest (and later a prominent bishop in Russia) whose writings on the Aleut language and ethnology are still standard references. He is a saint of the Orthodox Church, known as Saint Innocent for the monastic name he used in later life.

The volcano was the site of a colossal (VEI 6) eruption around 1750 BCE.[1] This eruption left a large caldera. In modern times the volcano has had numerous small eruptions (over ten of them since 1930), all at a cinder cone in the middle of the caldera.

Veniaminof is one of the highest of Alaskan volcanoes. Partly for this reason, it is covered by a glacier that fills most of the caldera. Because of the glacier and the caldera walls, there is the possibility of a major flood from a future glacier run.

The volcano recently began erupting on September 3, 2018 as magma broke through the summit and flowed down its slopes as a lava flow. Despite starting off as an effusive eruption, by November 20, the eruption became more intense and ash was reaching 20,000 feet, prompting the AVO to give a warning for aviation because of the ash posing a threat to aviation. Even an ashfall warning was issued for the nearby town of Perryville.

In 1967, Mount Veniaminof was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.[3]

Map showing volcanoes of Alaska Peninsula.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Veniaminof". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  2. ↑ "Alaskan ultra-prominent peaks". peaklist.org. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  3. ↑ "National Natural Landmarks - National Natural Landmarks (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
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