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Report on Pavlof (United States) — March 1977


Pavlof

Natural Science Event Bulletin, vol. 2, no. 3 (March 1977)
Managing Editor: David Squires.

Pavlof (United States) Some steaming and ash near the summit

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1977. Report on Pavlof (United States) (Squires, D., ed.). Natural Science Event Bulletin, 2:3. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.NSEB197703-312030



Pavlof

United States

55.417°N, 161.894°W; summit elev. 2493 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


10 February, 1010-1640: no activity. Entire volcano covered with snow. 12 February, 1105-1355: steaming lightly. Part of cone covered with ash. 22 February, 0917-1625: no activity. Entire volcano covered with snow. 23 February, 0935-1710: no activity. 13 March, 1525: no activity. 16 March, 1530: overflight in private aircraft piloted by Capt. Young (USAF); steam was issuing from about 20 small vents in an ash-covered area approximately 50 m in diameter, l0 m below the base of the cone on the W slope. An older 30-m-diameter crater, partially filled with snow, was about 20 m below the base of the cone on the N slope.

Geological Summary. The most active volcano of the Aleutian arc, Pavlof is a Holocene stratovolcano that was constructed along a line of vents extending NE from the Emmons Lake caldera. Pavlof and Pavlof Sister to the NE form a dramatic pair of symmetrical, glacier-covered stratovolcanoes that overlook Pavlof and Volcano bays. Little Pavlof is a smaller cone on the SW flank of Pavlof volcano, near the rim of Emmons Lake caldera. Unlike Pavlof Sister, eruptions have frequently been reported from Pavlof, typically Strombolian to Vulcanian explosive eruptions from the summit vents and occasional lava flows. The active vents lie near the summit on the north and east sides. The largest recorded eruption took place in 1911, at the end of a 5-year-long eruptive episode, when a fissure opened on the N flank, ejecting large blocks and issuing lava flows.

Information Contacts: R. Dean, USAF, Cold Bay.