Novarupta


Facts


  • Official Name: Novarupta
  • Seismically Monitored: Yes
  • Color Code: GREEN
  • Alert Level: NORMAL
  • Elevation: 841m (2759ft)
  • Latitude: 58.2654
  • Longitude: -155.1591
  • Smithsonian VNum: 312180
  • Pronunciation:
  • Nearby Towns:
    • Karluk 55 mi (88 km) SE
    • Kanatak 58 mi (93 km) SW
    • King Salmon 62 mi (99 km) NW
    • Larsen Bay 66 mi (107 km) SE
    • South Naknek 73 mi (118 km) NW

Description

From Miller and others (1998) [1] : "The Novarupta dome is about 400 m in diameter and 65 m high at its center [2] , and is surrounded by a 2-km-wide, funnel-shaped structure [3] [4] . The surface of the dome is completely fractured into chaotic blocks and crumble breccia. The dome is a plug-like feature emplaced within a low ejecta ring. Prominent scarps along the flanks of Baked, Falling, and Broken Mountains surrounding the Novarupta depression indicate considerable subsidence occurred following the 1912 eruption. Nearby stratovolcanoes (including Trident and Katmai) form a volcanic front trending N65E; Novarupta lies about 4 km behind the front. Linear fractures normal to the front extend between Novarupta and Trident [5] ."

Name Origin

R.F. Griggs named Novarupta in 1916. "Novarupta" means "new eruption"; the dome formed during the 1912 eruption of Novarupta and Katmai (Orth, 1971).


References Cited

[1] Catalog of the historically active volcanoes of Alaska, 1998

Miller, T. P., McGimsey, R. G., Richter, D. H., Riehle, J. R., Nye, C. J., Yount, M. E., and Dumoulin, J. A., 1998, Catalog of the historically active volcanoes of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-0582, 104 p.

[2] The stratigraphy of the ejecta from the 1912 eruption of Mount Katmai and Novarupta, Alaska, 1968

Curtis, G. H., 1968, The stratigraphy of the ejecta from the 1912 eruption of Mount Katmai and Novarupta, Alaska: in Coats, R. R., Hay, R. L., and Anderson, C. A., (eds.), Studies in volcanology, Geological Society of America Memoir MWR 0116, p. 153-210.

[3] The compositionally zoned eruption of 1912 in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Katmai National Park, Alaska, 1983

Hildreth, Wes, 1983, The compositionally zoned eruption of 1912 in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Katmai National Park, Alaska: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 18, n. 1-4, p. 1-56.

[4] The vent of the 1912 Katmai eruption: gravity and magnetic measurements, 1991

Goodliffe, A. M., Stone, D. B., Kienle, Juergen, and Kasameyer, Paul, 1991, The vent of the 1912 Katmai eruption: gravity and magnetic measurements: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 18, n. 8, p. 1521-1524.

[5] New perspectives on the eruption on 1912 in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Katmai National Park, Alaska, 1987

Hildreth, Wes, 1987, New perspectives on the eruption on 1912 in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Katmai National Park, Alaska: Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 49, n. 5, p. 680-693.

Current Activity

No new updates for Novarupta volcano since March 18, 2022, 3:33 pm.

Color Code Timeline

ASHFALL AND ASH CLOUD FORECASTS: MODEL OUTPUT

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