Description: An Associated Press article of February 5, 1932, reported: "Shishaldin is reported in the most violent and spectacular eruption for many years, with huge quantities of lava pouring down its uninhabited slopes and smoke and ash scattered over the Bering sea by a strong wind.
"'The volcano presented a beautiful display of fireworks after dark, day before yesterday [February 3],' a radio message sent out by Joseph Nasenius".
From Jaggar (1932): "On February 10, 1932, a radio from John Gardner in False Pass informed me that Shishaldin erupted February 1, 1932, the outbreak lasting for several days with glowing material flowing down the mountain. A newspaper dispatch of February 4 called this eruption 'the most violent and spectacular seen in the past century' for this volcano. The report from Squaw Harbor described 'streams of lava flowing down the sides,' but this glowing material is quite as likely to be trains of red-hot bowlders [sic] for these Aleutian cones. A strong wind carried the ashes many miles northward over the Bering Sea. A dispatch of February 16 said that Shishaldin had again renewed its activity with boomings coming form the crater [sic] at two-minute intervals, the volcano hurling hot rocks thousands of feet into the air." An Associated Press article published on the same day stated that the eruption could be heard from a distance of 50 miles.
From Finch (1932): "While passing to the south of Shishaldin during the night of May 5-6, 1932, the writer observed a brilliant glow over the summit and for a short distance down the north-west slope.
"There were light falls of basaltic pumice from time to time after the outbreak of February 1, 1932, until, at least, the latter part of May. Shishaldin was grey most of the time during the spring of 1932. The white of each new snowfall was usually darkened within a day or two by a film of ash."
Finch (1932) continues: "The pressure within the volcano was never great enough during 1932 to produce a major explosion. Fragments of pumice a little larger than a walnut were picked up at a distance of 25 miles to the north-east. Their distribution to this distance was caused by a strong south-west wind. Most of the material ejected quietly overwelled the crater edge and rolled down the north slope. As a large part of this material was red hot, it continued to glow for a considerable distance below the summit. It was noticed that the summit vent would shift slightly in position and at times there was no visible crater. At the time of Father Hubbard's visit to the summit no crater was found. The small crater would become plugged when the pressure was sufficient to lift the clinkers to the crater throat but insufficient to eject them.
"The highest point we reached, 6,500 feet, was on a line up the northwest shoulder of the mountain. From that elevation at 10:30 a.m. on May 21 mild explosions were noticed and pumice fragments were scattered over the north slope. Several times, sounds that closely resembled the noise produced by rocks falling into a deep narrow crater were heard coming from within the mountain.
"As Shishaldin's flanks are always covered with snow and ice, the hot cinders erupted produced mud flows. During such mud flows, the source of Clinker Creek may be said to be the summit of the mountain, as most of the material of the mud flow course shown in figure 2 finds its way into Clinker Creek drainage. When the volume of the mud flow was especially large, part of the material overflowed into the next creek to the east."