Eruptive activity continued through early March. Perryville residents observed incandescent lava flowing down the intra-caldera cone on clear evenings between 13 February and early March. During the day, they saw a small vapor cloud rise from the cone. On the morning of 27 February, a small dark ash cloud that dissipated after about 2 hours was visible from Perryville. On the evenings of 2 and 3 March, low lava fountains were active for about 1-hour periods, declined, then resumed. Bad weather has prevented any overflights by USGS personnel since 23 January.

Geological Summary. Veniaminof, on the Alaska Peninsula, is truncated by a steep-walled, 8 x 11 km, glacier-filled caldera that formed around 3,700 years ago. The caldera rim is up to 520 m high on the north, is deeply notched on the west by Cone Glacier, and is covered by an ice sheet on the south. Post-caldera vents are located along a NW-SE zone bisecting the caldera that extends 55 km from near the Bering Sea coast, across the caldera, and down the Pacific flank. Historical eruptions probably all originated from the westernmost and most prominent of two intra-caldera cones, which rises about 300 m above the surrounding icefield. The other cone is larger, and has a summit crater or caldera that may reach 2.5 km in diameter, but is more subdued and barely rises above the glacier surface.

Information Contacts: M.E. Yount, USGS, Anchorage.