AVO Logo
Site Map | FAQ |
Alaska Volcano Observatory
About Alaska's Volcanoes | Hazards from Alaska's Volcanoes | Map & Alphabetical List | Interactive Map | Eruption Search | Volcano Search | Spurr 
You are here: Home > Volcano Information > Spurr

Mount Spurr description and information

SPURR LINKS

SAMPLES

Webicorders
LOCATION
FACTS
Official Name: Mount Spurr
Type:Stratovolcano and explosion caldera
Most Recent Activity:September 16, 1992
Seismically Monitored: Yes
Color Code:GREEN
Alert Level:NORMAL
Elevation: 11070 ft (3374 m)
Latitude: 61.2989° N
Longitude:152.2539° W
Quadrangle:Tyonek
CAVW Number:313040
Pronunciation: Sound file
Associated Features:Crater Peak
Nearby towns:Beluga 37 mi (60 km) SE
Tyonek 40 mi (65 km) SE
Nikiski 51 mi (81 km) SE
Susitna 55 mi (89 km) NE
Anchorage 78 mi (126 km) SE
DESCRIPTION
From Miller and others (1998) [1]: "Mount Spurr is a Quaternary stratovolcano located near the northeastern end of the Aleutian volcanic arc. It is the easternmost historically active volcano in the Aleutian arc and is the highest of several snow- and ice-covered peaks that appear to define a large, dissected stratovolcano [2].

"Capps (1929) [3] suggested that a summit caldera, largely buried by ice, is associated with Mount Spurr. Later, Juhle and Coulter (1955) [2] disagreed with the caldera interpretation suggesting that the peaks around Mount Spurr only coincidentally resemble the rim of a large subsidence structure. Most recent studies, however, suggest that ancestral Mt. Spurr, constructed during late Pleistocene time [4], was partially destroyed by a major Bezymianny-type eruption possibly as late as early Holocene time [5] [6]. The eruption produced a voluminous volcanic debris avalanche and subsequent pyroclastic flows that resulted in the formation of a 5- to 6-km-diameter explosion caldera. The volcanic debris avalanche contains blocks as much as 100 m in diameter and traveled a minimum of 25 km. The overlying pyroclastic flows are partially welded and are composed chiefly of high silica andesite. Present Mt. Spurr is the highest of several post-caldera, centrally located, ice-carved cones or domes.

"The youngest volcanic feature at Mount Spurr is a satellitic cone, Crater Peak, located in the breach in the caldera about 3.2 km south of Mount Spurr. Crater Peak has a summit crater that is itself slightly breached along the south rim; the north wall of the crater exposes the truncated remains of an older dome or lava lake. Crater Peak has been the source of all Late Holocene eruptive activity at Mt. Spurr [5]. Before the 1992 eruption, a small crater lake occupied the bottom of the crater."

REFERENCES CITED
[1]
Catalog of the historically active volcanoes of Alaska, 1998
citation imageMiller, 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.
Download PDF title page PDF : 52
Download PDF intro and TOC PDF : 268 KB
Download PDF eastern part - Wrangell to Ukinrek Maars PDF : 972 KB
Download PDF central part - Chiginagak to Cleveland PDF : 2,463 KB
Download PDF western part - Carlisle to Kiska PDF : 956 KB
Download PDF references PDF : 43 KB

[2]
The Mt. Spurr eruption, July 9, 1953, 1955
citation imageJuhle, R. W., and Coulter, H. W., 1955, The Mt. Spurr eruption, July 9, 1953: Eos, v. 36, n. 2, p. 199-202.

[3]
The Mount Spurr region, Alaska, 1929
citation imageCapps, S. R., 1929, The Mount Spurr region, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 0810-C, p. 141-172, 2 plates, scale 1:250,000.
Download PDF full-text PDF : 1.6 MB
Download PDF plate 3 PDF : 324 KB

[4]
Geochronology of eruptive events at Mt. Spurr, Alaska, 1986
Turner, D. L., and Nye, C. J., 1986, Geochronology of eruptive events at Mt. Spurr, Alaska: in Turner, D. L. and Wescott, E. M., (eds.), Geothermal energy resource investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute Report UAG-R 308, p. 20-27, 1 plate, scale 1:2,860.

[5]
A reconnaissance of the major Holocene tephra deposits in the upper Cook Inlet region, Alaska, 1985
citation imageRiehle, J. R., 1985, A reconnaissance of the major Holocene tephra deposits in the upper Cook Inlet region, Alaska: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 26, n. 1-2, p. 37-74.

[6]
Petrology, geochemistry, and age of the Spurr volcanic complex, eastern Aleutian arc, 1990
citation imageNye, C. J., and Turner, D. L., 1990, Petrology, geochemistry, and age of the Spurr volcanic complex, eastern Aleutian arc: Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 52, n. 3, p. 205-226.

Contact AVO Privacy Accessibility Information Quality FOIA
URL: avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/volcinfo.php
Page modified: September 29, 2020 12:19
Contact Information: AVO Web Team

twitter @alaska_avo
facebook alaska.avo
email Receive volcano updates by email: USGS VNS

This website is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Cooperative Agreement Grant G22AC00137

Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey.