Description: Miller and others (1998) summarizes this eruption: "Renewed submarine explosions between the two islands [Castle Rock and Fire Island] in 1926 produced another conical dome by early 1927. A tephra ring, located about 3 m above high tide, surrounded the new dome and connected it to Fire Island and Castle Rock, thus forming a single elongate island. By July, 1927, the circular dome was 60 m high and 300 m across and was circled by a shallow lagoon of warm water."
Jaggar (1930) records the start of this eruption as follows: "The new activity had started in July of 1926 when there was open water between the two older rocks [Castle Rock and Fire Island]. An explosive eruption was then seen by a whaler, and the natives reported explosions July 17 as seen from nearby islands. The water was greatly muddied and the whaler on August 12 saw black smoke with darkness accompanied by thunder and lightning, ending with a cloud of white steam and 'fire' about 2 p.m. There was also an explosion in December, 1926, and it is probable that the lava dome of 1927 emerged thereafter. Probably the eruption began with a series of lava pulsations, alternating with explosion."
Jaggar visited the Bogoslof Islands in June, 1927 (Jaggar, 1930), and reports the following: "The writer visited Bogoslof for the second time July 6, 1927, and found a new period of moderate lava activity inaugurated, with a pile of steaming lava rising from a warm lagoon in the midst of sand banks, and again these banks joined all of Bogoslof into one island with a complete ring-shaped salt water lagoon, surrounded in turn by a complete ring of sand permitting no connection with the sea except by seepage. The lagoon was at 70 degrees F., there were the usual herds of sea lions and myriads of birds, the bottom sand and pebbles of the lagoon were all coated with orange colored ochre, the lagoon was everywhere only two or three feet deep, there were numerous skeletons of dead birds on the beach, and in the sand were impact craters made by newly fallen bombs having rough aa surfaces. There were blocks of pumice one to two feet in diameter. The central lava heap was about 200 feet high and 1,000 feet wide. Its crest consisted of uniform aa clinker, steaming much more heavily than in this picture of a year later. It made no noise, and it is characteristic of Bogoslof that during most of the visits reported noise has been absent."
Jaggar (1930) ends with "A landing party on Bogoslof July 27, 1929 reported all quiet."
Newhall and Melson (1983) estimate the total volume of the lava dome produced during this event to be about 1x10^6 cubic meters.