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Report on Tanaga (United States) — 31 March-6 April 2021


Tanaga

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 31 March-6 April 2021
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2021. Report on Tanaga (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 31 March-6 April 2021. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (31 March-6 April 2021)

Tanaga

United States

51.885°N, 178.146°W; summit elev. 1806 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


AVO reported a loss of operation and communication with all but two seismic stations on Tanaga, likely caused by snow cover. Both the Aviation Color Code and the Volcano Alert Level were changed to Unassigned, reflecting the inability to locate earthquakes to detect unrest. Monitoring will continue with the remaining seismic stations, regional infrasound networks, lightning detection, and satellite images.

Geological Summary. Tanaga volcano, the second largest volcanic center of the central Aleutians, is the central and highest of three youthful stratovolcanoes oriented along a roughly E-W line at the NW tip of Tanaga Island. Ridges to the east and south represent the rim of an arcuate caldera formed by collapse of an edifice during the Pleistocene. Most Holocene eruptions originated from Tanaga volcano itself, which consists of two large cones, the western of which is the highest, constructed within a caldera whose 400-m-high rim is prominent to the SE. At the westernmost end of the complex is conical Sajaka, a double cone that may be the youngest of the three volcanoes. Sajaka One volcano collapsed during the late Holocene, producing a debris avalanche that swept into the sea, after which the Sajaka Two cone was constructed within the collapse scarp.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)