Aniakchak Crater, Alaska Peninsula

Abstract

The discovery of a gigantic crater northwest of Aniakchak Bay (see fig. 11) closes what had been thought to be a wide gap in the extensive series of volcanoes occurring at irregular intervals for nearly 600 miles along the axial line of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. In this belt there are more active and recently active volcanoes than in all the rest of North America. Exclusive of those on the west side of Cook Inlet, which, however, belong to the same group, this belt contains at least 42 active or well-preserved volcanoes and about half as many mountains suspected or reported to be volcanoes. The locations of some of these mountains and the hot springs on the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands are shown on a map prepared by G. A. Waring. Attention has been called to these volcanoes for nearly two centuries, but a record of their activity since the discovery of Alaska is far from being complete, and an adequate description of them as a group has never been written. Owing to their recent activity or unusual scenic beauty, some of the best known of the group are Mounts Katmai, Bogoslof, and Shishaldin, but there are many other beautiful and interesting cones and craters.