Report on Veniaminof (United States) — 22 September-28 September 2004
Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report,
22 September-28 September 2004
Managing Editor: Gari Mayberry
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2004. Report on Veniaminof (United States). In: Mayberry, G (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 September-28 September 2004. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
56.17°N, 159.38°W; summit elev. 2507 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Low-level tremor and intermittent tremor bursts continued at Veniaminof during 17-24 September. Tremor episodes likely represented low-level ash-and-steam emissions similar to those observed over the previous 4 months, although cloudy conditions obscured views of the volcano in web camera and satellite imagery. Veniaminof remained at Concern Color Code Yellow.
Geological Summary. Veniaminof, on the Alaska Peninsula, is truncated by a steep-walled, 8 x 11 km, glacier-filled caldera that formed around 3,700 years ago. The caldera rim is up to 520 m high on the north, is deeply notched on the west by Cone Glacier, and is covered by an ice sheet on the south. Post-caldera vents are located along a NW-SE zone bisecting the caldera that extends 55 km from near the Bering Sea coast, across the caldera, and down the Pacific flank. Historical eruptions probably all originated from the westernmost and most prominent of two intra-caldera cones, which rises about 300 m above the surrounding icefield. The other cone is larger, and has a summit crater or caldera that may reach 2.5 km in diameter, but is more subdued and barely rises above the glacier surface.