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Report on Semisopochnoi (United States) — 8 January-14 January 2020


Semisopochnoi

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 8 January-14 January 2020
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2020. Report on Semisopochnoi (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 8 January-14 January 2020. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (8 January-14 January 2020)

Semisopochnoi

United States

51.93°N, 179.58°E; summit elev. 1221 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


On 9 January AVO lowered the Aviation Color Code for Semisopochnoi to Yellow and the Volcano Alert Level to Advisory, noting that explosions had not been detected since 19 December 2019. In addition, seismic tremor had last been recorded on 29 December 2019; seismicity subsequently declined but remained above background levels.

Geological Summary. Semisopochnoi, the largest subaerial volcano of the western Aleutians, is 20 km wide at sea level and contains an 8-km-wide caldera. It formed as a result of collapse of a low-angle, dominantly basaltic volcano following the eruption of a large volume of dacitic pumice. The high point of the island is Anvil Peak, a double-peaked late-Pleistocene cone that forms much of the island's northern part. The three-peaked Mount Cerberus (renamed Mount Young in 2023) was constructed within the caldera during the Holocene. Each of the peaks contains a summit crater; lava flows on the N flank appear younger than those on the south side. Other post-caldera volcanoes include the symmetrical Sugarloaf Peak SSE of the caldera and Lakeshore Cone, a small cinder cone at the edge of Fenner Lake in the NE part of the caldera. Most documented eruptions have originated from Young, although Coats (1950) considered that both Sugarloaf and Lakeshore Cone could have been recently active.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)