Kanaga 1996/6
Start: June 11, 1996 [1]
Event Type: Explosive
- Debris-avalanche, volcanic avalanche, or landslide [1]
- Phreatic [1]
Description: From Neal and McGimsey (1997): "Possible small (phreatic?) ash eruption, continued avalanching of debris from cooling lava flows.
"On June 11, [1996] a commerical airline crew noted a small, bluish-brown cloud possibly containing some ash, rising a few hundred feet above the summit of the volcano, discoloring the snow. The flight crew noted a sulfur smell upon descent into Adak. A ground observer from Adak Island noted dark 'splotches' on the east flank of Kanaga, but a ballistic origin for the pattern was never confirmed. It should be noted that these observations occurred several days after a M 6.0 earthquake in the area and extensive rockfalls and increased steaming had been observed at Gareloi and Kasatochi volcanoes east and west of Kanaga (USFWS, oral communication, 1996).
"The captain of the USFWS research vessel Tiglax, Kevin Bell, photographed Kanaga's north flank from his ship on September 3, 1996 [see fig. 12 in original text]. The extent of lava flows is not much different from that inferred from 1995 photographs; small wisps of steam persisted along the upper reaches of the lava flow on the northwest flank. Captain Bell said he continued to see material rolling down the steep flank of the volcano during the summer and fall of 1996."
"On June 11, [1996] a commerical airline crew noted a small, bluish-brown cloud possibly containing some ash, rising a few hundred feet above the summit of the volcano, discoloring the snow. The flight crew noted a sulfur smell upon descent into Adak. A ground observer from Adak Island noted dark 'splotches' on the east flank of Kanaga, but a ballistic origin for the pattern was never confirmed. It should be noted that these observations occurred several days after a M 6.0 earthquake in the area and extensive rockfalls and increased steaming had been observed at Gareloi and Kasatochi volcanoes east and west of Kanaga (USFWS, oral communication, 1996).
"The captain of the USFWS research vessel Tiglax, Kevin Bell, photographed Kanaga's north flank from his ship on September 3, 1996 [see fig. 12 in original text]. The extent of lava flows is not much different from that inferred from 1995 photographs; small wisps of steam persisted along the upper reaches of the lava flow on the northwest flank. Captain Bell said he continued to see material rolling down the steep flank of the volcano during the summer and fall of 1996."
References Cited
[1] 1996 volcanic activity in Alaska and Kamchatka: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, 1997
Neal, Christina, and McGimsey, R. G., 1997, 1996 volcanic activity in Alaska and Kamchatka: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 97-0433, 34 p.
full-text PDF 795 KB 
Complete Eruption References
1996 volcanic activity in Alaska and Kamchatka: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, 1997
Neal, Christina, and McGimsey, R. G., 1997, 1996 volcanic activity in Alaska and Kamchatka: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 97-0433, 34 p.
full-text PDF 795 KB 