Augustine


Facts


  • Official Name: Augustine Volcano
  • Seismically Monitored: Yes
  • Color Code: GREEN
  • Alert Level: NORMAL
  • Elevation: 1260m (4133ft)
  • Latitude: 59.3626
  • Longitude: -153.435
  • Smithsonian VNum: 313010
  • Pronunciation:
  • Nearby Towns:
    • Pedro Bay 38 mi (60 km) NW
    • Pope-Vannoy Landing 39 mi (64 km) NW
    • Kokhanok 47 mi (75 km) NW
    • Nanwalek 53 mi (86 km) SE
    • Port Graham 57 mi (91 km) SE

    Distance from Anchorage: 176 mi (284 km)

Description

From Miller and others (1998) [1] : "Augustine Island, an 8 by 11 km island in lower Cook Inlet, is composed almost entirely of the deposits of Augustine Volcano. Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary strata form a bench on the south side of the island and are overlain by granitoid glacial erratics and volcanic hyaloclastites. The volcano consists of a central dome and lava flow complex, surrounded by pyroclastic debris. The irregular coastline of Augustine Island is due to the repeated catastrophic collapse of the summit dome, forming debris avalanches down the flanks and into Cook Inlet. At least 11 avalanches have occurred in the past 2000 years with an average recurrence interval of about 150-200 years [2] [3] .
"Augustine lies within the area of uplift resulting from the 1964 Alaska earthquake; 30-33 cm of uplift was measured on the northwest side of the island [4] . A 25-meter-high, south-facing submarine scarp 3 km south of the island, of similar orientation to joint sets in sedimentary rocks of the Kamishak River area (on the Alaska Peninsula), is almost certainly of tectonic origin."

Name Origin

The volcanic peak on Augustine Island was named "Mount San Augustine" in an 1867 U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey report, and "Mount Chinabora" on a 1928 U.S. Post Route map. Captain James Cook named the island "Saint Augustine Island" in 1778 because it was sighted on St. Augustine's Day (Orth, 1971). In recent years, the "Saint" has been dropped from the name of both the island and the volcano; the volcano's formal name is "Augustine Volcano." Tebenkov (1852) called the island "O[strov] Chernoburoy", meaning "black brown" (Orth, 1971).


References Cited

[1] 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.

[2] Cyclic formation of debris avalanches at Mount St Augustine volcano, 1992

Beget, J. E., and Kienle, J., 1992, Cyclic formation of debris avalanches at Mount St Augustine volcano: Nature, v. 356, n. 6371, p. 701-704.

[3] Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, 1999

Waythomas, C. F., and Miller, T. P., 1999, Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for Iliamna Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-0373, 31 p., 1 sheet, scale unknown.
full-text PDF 2.84 MB

[4] Recent volcanic activity on Augustine Island, Alaska, 1968

Detterman, R. L., 1968, Recent volcanic activity on Augustine Island, Alaska: in Geological Survey research 1968, Chapter C, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper PP 0600-C, p. C126-C129.
full-text PDF 185 KB

Current Activity

No new updates for Augustine volcano since September 6, 2019, 10:29 am.

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Ash Forecasting

Mathematical models developed by the USGS forecast various aspects of how a volcanic ash plume will interact with wind—where, how high, and how fast ash particles will be transported in the atmosphere, as well as where ash will fall out and accumulate on the ground. AVO runs these models when a volcano is restless by assuming a reasonable hypothetical eruption, to provide a pre-eruptive forecast of areas likely to be affected. During an ongoing eruption, AVO will update the forecast with actual observations (eruption start time and duration, plume height) as they become available.

View the current airborne ash cloud models for Augustine

Ashfall thickness forecast

The Ash3d model was developed by the USGS to forecast how a volcanic ash plume will interact with wind and where ash will fall out and accumulate on the ground. AVO runs these models twice daily when a volcano is restless by assuming a reasonable hypothetical eruption altitude and duration. The map shows the model results of ashfall thickness for areas that are likely to be affected, if one were to occur. During an ongoing eruption, AVO will update the forecast with actual observations (eruption start time and duration, plume height) as they become available, and these plots will be automatically updated. The National Weather Service Anchorage Forecast Office will issue the official ashfall warning product and post them at weather.gov/afc

THESE PRODUCTS MAY NOT BE CURRENT.

During an actual eruption, see National Weather Service forecasts of ashfall:https://weather.gov/afc.

Ashfall Forecast

Click on the X on the graphic (upper right) to expand the map to show the map legend.

Ashfall Start Time

This map shows the modeled estimate of the time it would take for ashfall to begin following an eruption. It corresponds to the ashfall thickness forecast map shown above. This map uses the start time of either the twice-daily hypothetical model runs (time shown in the legend) or the actual eruption start time (if one were to occur). In the case of an actual eruption, the National Weather Service Anchorage Forecast Office will issue the official ashfall warning product that includes the ashfall start time and post them at weather.gov/afc

THESE PRODUCTS MAY NOT BE CURRENT.

During an actual eruption, see National Weather Service forecasts of ashfall:https://weather.gov/afc.

Ashfall Start Times Forecast

Click on the X on the graphic (upper right) to expand the map to show the map legend.