Kiska 1943/6
Start: June 6, 1943 [1]
Event Type: Not an eruption
- Fumarolic or hydrothermal activity [3]
Description: Although newspaper articles in June, 1943 state that U.S. pilots bombing Kiska observed "sulfur boiling," dark smoke, and "lava streams running down the the slopes into the valley" it is likely that only fumarolic activity occurred, as Coats visiting the volcano in 1947 was unable to find any recent-looking lava.
Miller and others (1998) summarizes from Coats (1961): "Coats briefly visited Kiska volcano in 1947 and found no evidence of recent ash flows nor any active fumaroles; the youngest lava flows were more heavily vegetated at any given altitude than counterparts on adjacent islands known to have been erupted in the 20th century. The youngest lava flows before 1962 were probably between 100 and several hundred years old. Coats concluded that any events between 1905 and 1947 were at most solfataric."
Miller and others (1998) summarizes from Coats (1961): "Coats briefly visited Kiska volcano in 1947 and found no evidence of recent ash flows nor any active fumaroles; the youngest lava flows were more heavily vegetated at any given altitude than counterparts on adjacent islands known to have been erupted in the 20th century. The youngest lava flows before 1962 were probably between 100 and several hundred years old. Coats concluded that any events between 1905 and 1947 were at most solfataric."
References Cited
[1] Kiska Volcano stirs, adds threat to Nippon occupation forces, 1943
UP, 1943, Kiska Volcano stirs, adds threat to Nippon occupation forces: The Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA, June 15, 1943, p. 19.[2] Volcano on Kiska becomes active, 1943
Associated Press, 1943, Volcano on Kiska becomes active: The Galveston News, Galveston, TX, June 16, 1943, p. 5.[3] Geologic reconnaissance of Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1961
Coats, R. R., Nelson, W. H., Lewis, R. G., and Powers, H. A., 1961, Geologic reconnaissance of Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska: in Investigations of Alaskan volcanoes, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1028-R, p. 563-581, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.
full-text PDF 5.4 MB
plate 71 PDF 4 MB Complete Eruption References
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.
intro and TOC PDF 268 KB
references PDF 43 KB 
Aleutian Islands and Alaska, 1964
Coats, R. R., 1964, Aleutian Islands and Alaska: Bulletin of Volcanic Eruptions, v. 4, p. 4.
Hard Copy held by AVO at FBKS - CEC file cabinet
Geologic reconnaissance of Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1961
Coats, R. R., Nelson, W. H., Lewis, R. G., and Powers, H. A., 1961, Geologic reconnaissance of Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska: in Investigations of Alaskan volcanoes, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1028-R, p. 563-581, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360.
full-text PDF 5.4 MB
plate 71 PDF 4 MB 
Kiska Volcano stirs, adds threat to Nippon occupation forces, 1943
UP, 1943, Kiska Volcano stirs, adds threat to Nippon occupation forces: The Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA, June 15, 1943, p. 19.
Hard Copy held by AVO at FBKS - CEC file cabinet
Volcano on Kiska becomes active, 1943
Associated Press, 1943, Volcano on Kiska becomes active: The Galveston News, Galveston, TX, June 16, 1943, p. 5.
Hard Copy held by AVO at FBKS - CEC file cabinet