Skip to main content

Yunaska Island

Yunaska

Shield volcano · United States · 550m

The summit caldera rim of Yunaska is seen from an older volcanic center on the western side of the island. The younger eastern complex contains two nested calderas. A young lava flow to the far right descended through a notch in the caldera rim. The peaks in the background are (left-to-right) of Carlisle, Cleveland, and Herbert volcanoes.
The summit caldera rim of Yunaska is seen from an older volcanic center on the western side of the island. The younger eastern complex contains two nested calderas. A young lava flow to the far right descended through a notch in the caldera rim. The peaks in the background are (left-to-right) of Carlisle, Cleveland, and Herbert volcanoes. · Photo: Photo by Jim Meyers, 1992 (University of Wyoming, courtesy of Alaska Volcano Observatory). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Shield volcano
Country
United States
Region
North America Volcanic Regions / Aleutian Ridge Volcanic Arc
Elevation
550m
Coordinates
52.639, -170.632
Last eruption
1937
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Intermediate crust (15-25 km)
Landform
Shield
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The elongated 9 x 23 km Yunaska in the Islands of the Four Mountains group of the Aleutian Islands is comprised of two distinct volcanic centers. The older western center consists of the eroded remnants of four overlapping stratovolcanoes that form a linear, NNE-trending ridge. Cinder cones and fissure-fed lava flows extend from the western end of the complex. The younger eastern complex consists of a shield volcano capped by two nested calderas. The 3.5-km-wide Coats caldera is located within an older 10 x 13 km caldera and contains cinder cones and a lava field. Two areas of youthful lava flows extend down the flank through a gap in the SW caldera rim and cover the upper N flank of the caldera. Vents are found on the flanks of the caldera within a kilometer of its rim. A post-caldera cone is capped by a small summit crater. The eastern center is presumably the source of eruptions recorded since the early 1800s.

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1817~1829 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 31829~1841 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21865~1877 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21925~1937 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 318171841187719011925

Detailed timeline

  1. 1937VEI 3Observed
    1937-11-03 – 1937-11-04
  2. 1929VEI ?Geological estimate
    1929 – Ongoing
  3. 1873VEI 2Geological estimate
    1873 – Ongoing
  4. 1830VEI 2Observed
    1830 – Ongoing
  5. 1824VEI 3Observed
    1824 – Ongoing
  6. 1817VEI ?Geological estimate
    1817 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.