Logo link to homepage

Report on Atka Volcanic Complex (United States) — 3 April-9 April 2024


Atka Volcanic Complex

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 3 April-9 April 2024
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2024. Report on Atka Volcanic Complex (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 3 April-9 April 2024. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (3 April-9 April 2024)

Atka Volcanic Complex

United States

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


AVO lowered the Volcano Alert Level for the Atka volcanic complex to Normal (the lowest level on a four-level scale) and the Aviation Color Code to Green (the lowest color on a four-color scale) at 0734 on 9 April. The report noted that activity at the volcano had decreased following the small explosion at the summit crater of Korovin on 27 March, one of the volcanoes at the complex. Though occasional small earthquakes and weak volcanic tremor continued to be recorded, the activity was at background levels.

Geological Summary. The Atka Volcanic Complex consists of a central shield and Pleistocene caldera and four notable volcanic cones. A major explosive dacitic eruption accompanied formation of the caldera about 500,000 to 300,000 years ago; approximately half of the caldera rime remains, open towards the NW. The Sarichef cone, ~5 km ESE of the caldera rim, retains a symmetrical profile, unlike most other heavily eroded features outside the caldera to the S and W. The Kliuchef stratovolcano grew within the caldera and exhibits five eruptive vents striking NE, including two at the summit, that have been active in the Holocene. A 700-m-diameter crater 1 km NE of the summit may have been the source vent for a large 1812 CE eruption. Hot springs and fumaroles are located on the flanks of Kliuchef and in a glacial valley to the SW. The most frequently active volcano of the complex is Korovin, at the NE tip of Atka Island about 5 km N of Kliuchef. An 800-m-diameter crater on the SE side of the summit contains a deep circular pit that sometimes contains a crater lake thought to be the source of phreatic ash explosions. The smaller Konia cone, slightly offset to the E, lies between Kliuchef and Korovin. Most of the lava flows in the complex are basaltic, though some dacitic flows are also present.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)