Eruptive activity at Anatahan declined steadily during the week of 14 February to a level that was less than 5% of the peak level attained during the eruption that began on 5 January. Ash eruptions continued, and the 2003 crater floor was almost entirely covered by fresh lava to a diameter of about one kilometer. On 21 February, seismic and acoustic records from Anatahan showed very low levels of activity over the previous 5 days. A MODIS image taken at 0115 on 18 February showed a plume of steam and vog (fog composed of volcanic fumes) extending about ~170 km SW of Anatahan.

Geological Summary. The elongate, 9-km-long island of Anatahan in the central Mariana Islands consists of a large stratovolcano with a 2.3 x 5 km compound summit caldera. The larger western portion of the caldera is 2.3 x 3 km wide, and its western rim forms the island's high point. Ponded lava flows overlain by pyroclastic deposits fill the floor of the western caldera, whose SW side is cut by a fresh-looking smaller crater. The 2-km-wide eastern portion of the caldera contained a steep-walled inner crater whose floor prior to the 2003 eruption was only 68 m above sea level. A submarine cone, named NE Anatahan, rises to within 460 m of the sea surface on the NE flank, and numerous other submarine vents are found on the NE-to-SE flanks. Sparseness of vegetation on the most recent lava flows had indicated that they were of Holocene age, but the first historical eruption did not occur until May 2003, when a large explosive eruption took place forming a new crater inside the eastern caldera.

Source: Emergency Management Office of the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands and United States Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program