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Pavlof Sister

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 55.457°N
  • 161.854°W

  • 2,142 m
    7,028 ft

  • 312040
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Pavlof Sister.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Pavlof Sister.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Pavlof Sister.

The Global Volcanism Program has no synonyms or subfeatures listed for Pavlof Sister.

Eruptive History

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Pavlof Sister. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 12,000 years ago, information might be found on the Pavlof Sister page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Pavlof Sister.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Pavlof Sister.

Photo Gallery

The twin volcanoes of Pavlof (left) and Pavlof Sister (right) rise above a sea of clouds on the southern Alaska Peninsula. The two conical stratovolcanoes are constructed on the same NE-SW line as Little Pavlof, a flank cone in the left center of this 1978 view from the SW. Pavlof, its NE slopes darkened by ash, is the most active volcano of the Aleutian arc. Ash-free Pavlof Sister is somewhat more glacially dissected than Pavlof and has had only one historical eruption.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1978.
The twin volcanoes of Pavlof (left) and Pavlof Sister (right) are prominent landmarks on the southern Alaska Peninsula. The summits of the two conical stratovolcanoes are only 5 km apart. This 1978 view from the SW shows a steam plume rising from the 2519-m summit of Pavlof, the most active volcano of the Aleutian arc. Pavlof Sister, somewhat more eroded than Pavlof, has had only a single historical eruption, in the 18th century.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1978.
A steam plume rises from the summit of Pavlof volcano, whose upper slopes are snow-free as a result of its frequent eruptions. More-extensive glacial dissection of Pavlof Sister volcano (upper right) has produced a series of parasol-ribbed ridges that radiate from the summit. Only one historical eruption is known from Pavlof Sister.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1978.
Pavlof Sister (center) and Pavlof (upper left) are twin stratovolcanoes whose summits are only 5 km apart. A low saddle about 1100-m high separates the conical volcanoes. They are the most prominent features along a NE-SW-trending line of vents that extends from Emmons Lake caldera, which is behind 2519-m Pavlof volcano in this view from the NE, to 2142-m Pavlof Sister volcano.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1978.
Pavlof Sister is a symmetrical stratovolcano that forms a twin volcano with Pavlof volcano, whose lower flank forms the slope at the lower right in this view from the SW. Despite its youthful profile, Pavlof Sister has had only one historical eruption, which began in 1762. Glacial dissection has produced a series of parasol-ribbed ridges that radiate from the 2142-m, sharp-peaked summit.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1978.
An ash plume disperses to the south in mid-July 1986, three months after the start of an eruption of Pavlof that lasted nearly 2.5 years. This photo was taken from the west on a fishing boat in Pavlof Bay, with Pavlof Sister to the right. The 1986-88 eruption produced intermittent ashfall and lava flows from two vents near the summit, one halfway down the SE flank, and another 600 m below the summit on the NE flank. Lava flows traveled to the N, NE, SE, ESE, and SSE, the latter to within 600 m of the Pavlof Bay shoreline.

Photo by Richard Mack, 1986.
Pavlof (left) and Pavlof Sister (right) are shown in this 20 January 1987 view from the SW. Small steam plumes rise along the length of a lava flow descending a valley on the SE (right) flank of Pavlof. Recent snowfall covers ashfall that was frequently deposited on its slopes. This eruption began with explosive activity on 16 April 1986 and continued until 13 August 1988. Lava flows traveled down the N, NE, SE, ESE, and SSE flanks, the latter reaching to within 600 m of Pavlof Bay.

Photo by Jerry Chisum (Mark Air), 1987 (courtesy of John Reeder, Alaska Div. Geology Geophysical Surveys).
The summits of Pavlof Sister (left) and Pavlof (right) rise above a roughly 1,100-m-elevation saddle. They are viewed here in 1975 from lowlands to the NW. Pavlof is darkened by recent ash deposition and has been the source of frequent eruptions in historical time. Little Pavlof, a cone on the right flank of Pavlof, was also constructed along a line of vents trending NE from Emmons Lake caldera.

Photo by Tom Miller, 1975 (Alaska Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey).
Pavlof, rising above low plains to its NW, is one of Alaska's most active volcanoes. It is part of a NNE-SSW-trending line of volcanoes near the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula. Little Pavlof is the small cone on the right horizon. The low saddle to the left separates Pavlof from Pavlof Sister, whose lower flanks are seen to the far left.

Photo by Steve McNutt, 1979 (University of Alaska, Alaska Volcano Observatory).
A small ash plume rises from the summit crater of Pavlof volcano on 28 May 1960 as the detached plume from an earlier explosion drifts away to the east. Ash deposits are visible on the flanks in this view from the north. Mild ash eruptions took place from about 1960 to 1963, especially during July 1962 to June 1963. The peak to the left is Pavlof Sister, and Little Pavlof forms the smaller peak to the right of Pavlof.

Photo by Ken Morin, 1960 (courtesy of Bill Rose, Michigan Technological University).
GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Pavlof Sister in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites