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Report on Great Sitkin (United States) — 6 November-12 November 2024


Great Sitkin

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 November-12 November 2024
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2024. Report on Great Sitkin (United States) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 6 November-12 November 2024. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (6 November-12 November 2024)

Great Sitkin

United States

52.076°N, 176.13°W; summit elev. 1740 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) reported that slow lava effusion continued to feed a thick lava flow in Great Sitkin’s summit crater during 6-12 November. The lava flow had filled most of the summit crater with minor advancement in the N part of the E lobe. The local seismic network continued to detect small earthquakes associated with the ongoing eruption. The last radar image, acquired on 3 November, confirmed ongoing effusion. Slightly elevated surface temperatures were detected in satellite images that same day, but since then weather clouds obscured webcam and satellite views of the summit. The Volcano Alert Level remained at Watch (the third level on a four-level scale) and the Aviation Color Code remained at Orange (the third color on a four-color scale).

Geological Summary. The Great Sitkin volcano forms much of the northern side of Great Sitkin Island. A younger volcano capped by a small, 0.8 x 1.2 km ice-filled summit caldera was constructed within a large late-Pleistocene or early Holocene scarp formed by massive edifice failure that truncated an older edifice and produced a submarine debris avalanche. Deposits from this and an even older debris avalanche from a source to the south cover a broad area of the ocean floor north of the volcano. The summit lies along the eastern rim of the younger collapse scarp. Deposits from an earlier caldera-forming eruption of unknown age cover the flanks of the island to a depth up to 6 m. The small younger caldera was partially filled by lava domes emplaced in 1945 and 1974, and five small older flank lava domes, two of which lie on the coastline, were constructed along northwest- and NNW-trending lines. Hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles occur near the head of Big Fox Creek, south of the volcano. Eruptions have been recorded since the late-19th century.

Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)