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Report on Atka Volcanic Complex (United States) — 2 December-8 December 2020


Atka Volcanic Complex

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 2 December-8 December 2020
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2020. Report on Atka Volcanic Complex (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 2 December-8 December 2020. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (2 December-8 December 2020)

Atka Volcanic Complex

United States

52.331°N, 174.139°W; summit elev. 1518 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Seismic activity at Korovin had decreased, and satellite images showed no signs of unrest over the previous several weeks. AVO lowered the Alert Level to Green and the Aviation Color Code to Normal on 3 December.

Geological Summary. The Atka Volcanic Complex consists of a central shield and Pleistocene caldera with several post-caldera volcanoes. A major dacitic explosive eruption accompanied formation of the caldera about 500,000 to 300,000 years ago. The most prominent of the post-caldera stratovolcanoes are Kliuchef and Sarichef, both of which may have been active in historical time. Sarichef has a symmetrical profile, but the less eroded Kliuchef is the source of most if not all historical eruptions. Kliuchef may have been active on occasion simultaneously with Korovin volcano to the north. Hot springs and fumaroles are located on the flanks of Mount Kliuchef and in a glacial valley SW of Kliuchef. Korovin, at the NE tip of Atka Island, is the most frequently active volcano of the complex, and contains a double summit with two craters. The NW summit has a small crater, but the 1-km-wide crater of the SE cone has an open cylindrical vent of widely variable depth that sometimes contains a crater lake or a high magma column. A fresh-looking cinder cone lies on the flank of the partially dissected Konia volcano, located on the SE flank of the dominantly basaltic Korovin. Some late-stage dacitic lava flows are present on both Korovin and Konia.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)