Because of continued low seismicity, on 5 March 1993 the Alaska Volcano Observatory downgraded its Level of Concern Color Code for Spurr from Yellow to Green. Seismicity has remained low since December 1992, longer than the quiet period between the 27 June and 18 August 1992 eruptions. Between 12 February and 12 March 1993 two or fewer events/day were recorded. Measurements on 18 February of CO₂ (400 tons/day) and SO₂ (none detected) were similar to those made in early January. Visual inspection of Crater Peak between 12 and 19 February showed no significant morphological changes to the crater area, although one large slab of glacial ice is detaching from the outer NE flank. It may produce a significant seismic signal if it fails suddenly.

Spurr was last at color code green from 8 July to 18 August 1992. Green indicates that the "volcano is in its normal 'dormant' state." The observatory did warn that "the possibility for steam and ash explosions still exists. Should such explosions occur, they are unlikely to pose a hazard to high-flying aircraft or to communities downwind."

Geological Summary. The summit of Mount Spurr is a large lava dome constructed at the center of a roughly 5-km-wide horseshoe-shaped caldera open to the south. The volcano lies 130 km W of Anchorage and NE of Chakachamna Lake. The caldera was formed by a late-Pleistocene or early Holocene debris avalanche and associated pyroclastic flows that destroyed an ancestral edifice. The debris avalanche traveled more than 25 km SE, and the resulting deposit contains blocks as large as 100 m in diameter. Several ice-carved post-caldera cones or lava domes lie in the center of the caldera. The youngest vent, Crater Peak, formed at the breached southern end of the caldera and has been the source of about 40 identified Holocene tephra layers. Eruptions from Crater Peak in 1953 and 1992 deposited ash on the city of Anchorage.

Information Contacts: AVO.