Earth:Mount Veniaminof

Short description: Stratovolcano in Alaska, United States

Mount Veniaminof
Steam rising from the intracaldera cinder cone at Veniaminof volcano in the waning stages of the 1983 to 1984 eruption.
Highest point
Elevation	8,225 ft (2,507 m)
Prominence	8,199 ft (2,499 m)
Listing	North America prominent 36th North America isolated peak 60th
Coordinates
Geography
Mount Veniaminof Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, U.S.
Parent range	Aleutian Range
Topo map	USGS Chignik A-5
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano with a summit caldera
Volcanic arc/belt	Aleutian Arc
Last eruption	2021
U.S. National Natural Landmark
Designated	1967

Mount Veniaminof (Russian: Вулкан Вениаминова) is an active stratovolcano on the Alaska Peninsula. The mountain was named after Ioann (Ivan Popov) Veniaminov (1797–1879), a Russian Orthodox missionary priest (and later a prominent bishop in Russia) whose writings on the Aleut language and ethnology are still standard references. He is a saint of the Orthodox Church, known as Saint Innocent for the monastic name he used in later life.

The volcano was the site of a colossal (VEI 6) eruption around 1750 BCE. This eruption left a large caldera. In modern times the volcano has had numerous small eruptions (over ten of them since 1930), all at a cinder cone in the middle of the caldera.

Veniaminof is one of the highest of Alaskan volcanoes. Partly for this reason, it is covered by a glacier that fills most of the caldera. Because of the glacier and the caldera walls, there is the possibility of a major flood from a future glacier run.

The volcano recently began erupting on September 3, 2018 as magma broke through the summit and flowed down its slopes as a lava flow. Despite starting off as an effusive eruption, by November 20, the eruption became more intense and ash was reaching 20,000 feet, prompting the AVO to give a warning for aviation because of the ash posing a threat to aviation. Even an ashfall warning was issued for the nearby town of Perryville.

In 1967, Mount Veniaminof was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Map showing volcanoes of Alaska Peninsula.

See also

• List of mountain peaks of Alaska
• List of Ultras of the United States
• List of volcanoes in the United States

References

• Volcanoes of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands-Selected Photographs
• Alaska Volcano Observatory