Mount Katmai, seen here from the south, is truncated by a caldera that formed in 1912 during a catastrophic eruption at Novarupta volcano, 10 km to the west. Little eruptive activity occurred at Katmai itself during the collapse. Prior to 1912, Mount Katmai was a 2290-m-high complex of 4 small overlapping stratovolcanoes. The 3 x 4.5 km wide caldera is filled by a lake that was 250-m deep by 1976 and is still rising. The small glaciers on the bench on the north caldera wall began forming shortly after the 1912 eruption.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1978.

Copyrighted image used with permission. All Rights Reserved. Contact photographer for any usage requests.

Katmai