Emmons Lake
- United States
- Alaska
- Caldera
- Unknown - Evidence Credible
- Country
- Volcanic Region
- Primary Volcano Type
- Last Known Eruption
- 55.341°N
- 162.073°W
- 1436 m
4710 ft - 312020
- Latitude
- Longitude
- Summit
Elevation - Volcano
Number
- Latest Activity Reports
- Weekly Reports
- Bulletin Reports
- Synonyms & Subfeatures
- General Information
- Eruptive History
- Deformation History
- Emission History
- Photo Gallery
- Smithsonian Samples
- Affiliated Sites
Most Recent Bulletin Report: September 1990 (BGVN 15:09) 
Cite this Report
Fumarolic activity
On 14 July at about 2100, Richard Mack observed and photographed a white plume that had risen 350-500 m from the SW side of the summit crater of Mt. Hague, near the E margin of Emmons Lake Caldera. A series of pulses slowly diminished in size until sunset at about 2200. Traces of material trailed SSW from the top of the plume.
Mack stated that he had not seen such activity during his 57 years on the Alaska Peninsula. However, during fieldwork in 1946, Kennedy and Waldron (1955) observed six large fumaroles and many other small ones in a steep gully on the SW side of Mt. Hague, at altitudes of ~975-1,150 m. They did not give plume heights, but reported clouds of SO2 and steam rising from the major vents, with a locomotive-like noise that was audible ½ km away. The volume of sulfur fumes prevented the geologists from approaching nearer than roughly 100 m from the vents. Sulfur odors were strong many kilometers downwind. Sulfur cones ~1 m high had developed around the vents and extensive deposits of native sulfur were found in the gully. Miller (in Wood and Kienle, 1990) also reported a large fumarolic area on the S side of Mt. Hague.
Miller notes two caldera-forming eruptions at Emmons Lake, the second, in late Wisconsin time, depositing non-welded rhyolitic ashflow tuffs >30 km from the caldera rim. Post-caldera activity, dominantly basaltic, generated lava flows from several small cinder cones and vents. Some young Holocene flows advanced through the breach in the S caldera wall to within 1 km of the ocean.
References. Kennedy, G.C. and Waldron, H.H., 1955, Geology of Pavlof Volcano and Vicinity, Alaska: USGS Bulletin 1028A, p. 1-20.
Miller, T.P., 1990, Emmons and Hague, in Wood, C.A. and Kienle, J., eds., 1990, Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada: Cambridge University Press, p. 52-53.
Information Contacts: J. Reeder, ADGGS.
The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Emmons Lake.
Bulletin Reports - Index
Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.
Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
September 1990 (BGVN 15:09) Cite this Report
Fumarolic activity
On 14 July at about 2100, Richard Mack observed and photographed a white plume that had risen 350-500 m from the SW side of the summit crater of Mt. Hague, near the E margin of Emmons Lake Caldera. A series of pulses slowly diminished in size until sunset at about 2200. Traces of material trailed SSW from the top of the plume.
Mack stated that he had not seen such activity during his 57 years on the Alaska Peninsula. However, during fieldwork in 1946, Kennedy and Waldron (1955) observed six large fumaroles and many other small ones in a steep gully on the SW side of Mt. Hague, at altitudes of ~975-1,150 m. They did not give plume heights, but reported clouds of SO2 and steam rising from the major vents, with a locomotive-like noise that was audible ½ km away. The volume of sulfur fumes prevented the geologists from approaching nearer than roughly 100 m from the vents. Sulfur odors were strong many kilometers downwind. Sulfur cones ~1 m high had developed around the vents and extensive deposits of native sulfur were found in the gully. Miller (in Wood and Kienle, 1990) also reported a large fumarolic area on the S side of Mt. Hague.
Miller notes two caldera-forming eruptions at Emmons Lake, the second, in late Wisconsin time, depositing non-welded rhyolitic ashflow tuffs >30 km from the caldera rim. Post-caldera activity, dominantly basaltic, generated lava flows from several small cinder cones and vents. Some young Holocene flows advanced through the breach in the S caldera wall to within 1 km of the ocean.
References. Kennedy, G.C. and Waldron, H.H., 1955, Geology of Pavlof Volcano and Vicinity, Alaska: USGS Bulletin 1028A, p. 1-20.
Miller, T.P., 1990, Emmons and Hague, in Wood, C.A. and Kienle, J., eds., 1990, Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada: Cambridge University Press, p. 52-53.
Information Contacts: J. Reeder, ADGGS.
This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.
Cones |
||||
| Feature Name | Feature Type | Elevation | Latitude | Longitude |
| Double Crater | Stratovolcano | 1400 m | 55° 22' 24" N | 161° 58' 20" W |
| Emmons, Mount | Stratovolcano | 1326 m | 55° 20' 26" N | 162° 4' 43" W |
| Hague | Stratovolcano | 1465 m | 55° 22' 4" N | 161° 59' 30" W |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eruptive History
The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Emmons Lake. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 10,000 years ago, information might be found on the Emmons Lake page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).
Deformation History
There is data available for 1 deformation periods. Expand each entry for additional details.
Deformation during 1993 - 2009 [Subsidence; Observed by InSAR]
| Start Date: 1993 | Stop Date: 2009 | Direction: Subsidence | Method: InSAR |
| Magnitude: Unknown | Spatial Extent: Unknown | Latitude: Unknown | Longitude: Unknown |
|
Remarks: Emmons Lake Caldera exhibits persistent subsidence. There is a gap in InSAR data coverage between 1997 and 2003. |
|||
|
(Left column) averaged deformation images of the Emmons Lake volcanic center produced by stacking all available Envisat interferograms for 2003?2009 from two descending tracks. (Right column) modeled deformation images for the corresponding interferograms in the left column, showing LOS displacements predicted by the best-fit sill source. A full cycle of colors (i.e., one interferometric fringe) represents 14 mm/year of LOS surface displacement From: Lu and Dzurisin 2014. |
||
Reference List: Lu and Dzurisin 2014.
Full References:
Lubis, A. M., 2014. Uplift of Kelud Volcano Prior to the November 2007 Eruption as Observed by L-Band Insar. Journal of Engineering and Technological Sciences, 46(3), 245-257.
Emission History
There is no Emissions History data available for Emmons Lake.
Photo Gallery
| Emmons Lake is a massive 11 x 18 km caldera that is one of the largest calderas in the Aleutian arc. The caldera was formed during two very large Quaternary eruptions that produced welded tuffs that reached both the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean. This 1988 view from the SW shows the crescentic Emmons Lake, the south caldera wall (right) and Mount Emmons, a post-caldera volcano (left). The three post-caldera cones of Mount Emmons, Double Crater, and Mount Hague are oriented along the same NE trend as the elongated caldera. Photo by Tom Miller, 1988 (U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Volcano Observatory). |
|
| Mount Emmons, a 1436-m stratovolcano (right center), was constructed at the SW side of the 11 x 18 km Emmons Lake caldera. Youthful lava flows from Mount Emmons form the irregular shoreline of Emmons Lake in the foreground. The high peaks in the background (left center) are Pavlof volcano, which was constructed just beyond the NE rim of Emmons Lake caldera, and Pavlof Sister volcano. No historical eruptions are known from Emmons Lake, although steam emission was observed in 1990 and 1991 from Mount Hague, hidden behind Mount Emmons in this view. Photo by Tom Miller (Alaska Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey). |
 |
| Snow-capped Mount Dutton volcano, seen here from the NE with the wall of Emmons Lake caldera in the foreground, is a small stratovolcano near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. Successive dacitic lava domes overlying andesitic lava flows form the summit. Collapse of the summit during the Holocene produced debris avalanches that traveled to the west and also reached Belkofski Bay to the south. No historical eruptions are known, although earthquake swarms were recorded in 1984-85 and 1988. Photo by Betsy Yount, 1986 (Alaska Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey). |
 |
Smithsonian Sample Collections Database
The following 8 samples associated with this volcano can be found in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections, and may be availble for research (contact the Rock and Ore Collections Manager). Catalog number links will open a window with more information.
| Catalog Number | Sample Description | Lava Source | Collection Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| NMNH 117233-168 | Pumice | Emmons | -- |
| NMNH 117233-169 | Tuff | Emmons | -- |
| NMNH 117233-170 | Pumice | Emmons | -- |
| NMNH 117233-171 | Pumice | Emmons | -- |
| NMNH 117233-172 | Tuff | Emmons | -- |
| NMNH 117233-173 | Pumice | Emmons | -- |
| NMNH 117233-180 | Pumice | Emmons | -- |
| NMNH 117233-184 | Pumice | Emmons | -- |
Affiliated Sites
|
WOVOdat
Single Volcano View Temporal Evolution of Unrest Side by Side Volcanoes |
WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. |
| Large Eruptions of Emmons Lake | Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA). |
| MIROVA | Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity. |
| MODVOLC Thermal Alerts | Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales. |
| EarthChem | EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS). |
