Alaska Volcano Observatory

Scenic view of the St. Elias Mountains, taken from the east. The highest point in the photo is Mount Bona, center-right, which is a volcano not known to have been active in the Holocene, but with the highest summit elevation of any volcano in the United States at 16,421 ft (5,005 m). The prominent ridge just to the right of Mount Bona's peak is Mount Churchill, which is notable for being the source of one of the most recent colossal (VEI = 6) eruptions in Alaska's history - the White River Ash East Lobe eruption of ~800 CE. Another colossal eruption of Mount Churchill, the White River Ash North Lobe, occurred about 800 years prior to that. The ash left behind by these eruptions is found as a visible layer in widespread locations in eastern Alaska, the Yukon Territory and beyond. In this photo, White River Ash is visible as drifts on the surface of the hills in the foreground.

Credit: Image courtesy of the AVO/ADGGS.
Use Restriction: Please cite the photographer and the Alaska Volcano Observatory / Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys when using this image.
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