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Mount Shishaldin

Shishaldin

Stratovolcano · United States · 2857m

Shishaldin, located on central Unimak Island in the Aleutians, has a summit crater that emits a nearly continuous plume. It is the highest and one of the most active volcanoes of the Aleutian Islands. There have been frequent Strombolian eruptions, sometimes with lava flows, since the 18th century.
Shishaldin, located on central Unimak Island in the Aleutians, has a summit crater that emits a nearly continuous plume. It is the highest and one of the most active volcanoes of the Aleutian Islands. There have been frequent Strombolian eruptions, sometimes with lava flows, since the 18th century. · Photo: Photo by Chris Nye (Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Alaska Volcano Observatory). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
United States
Region
North America Volcanic Regions / Aleutian Ridge Volcanic Arc
Elevation
2857m
Coordinates
54.756, -163.970
Last eruption
2023
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

The symmetrical glacier-covered Shishaldin in the Aleutian Islands is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes in the eastern half of Unimak Island. The Aleuts named the volcano Sisquk, meaning "mountain which points the way when I am lost." Constructed atop an older glacially dissected edifice, it is largely basaltic in composition. Remnants of an older edifice are exposed on the W and NE sides at 1,500-1,800 m elevation. There are over two dozen pyroclastic cones on its NW flank, which is covered by massive aa lava flows. Frequent explosive activity, primarily consisting of Strombolian ash eruptions from the small summit crater, but sometimes producing lava flows, has been recorded since the 18th century. A steam plume often rises from the summit crater.

From Wikipedia

Shishaldin Volcano, or Mount Shishaldin, is one of six active volcanoes on Unimak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is the highest mountain peak of the Aleutian Islands, rising to a height of 9,373 ft (2,857 m) above sea level. Shishaldin's magma supply is generated via flux melting above the Aleutian Trench, where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the North American Plate. Due to its remote location and frequently inclement weather, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) monitors the volcano remotely via satellite and a seismic network deployed in 1997. Shishaldin is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands, with 40 confirmed eruptions in the last 11,700 years. Notably, Shishaldin produced a sub-Plinian eruption in 1999.

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Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
7550 BCE~7231 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?7231 BCE~6912 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?747~1066 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1704~2023 · 48 eruptions · max VEI 37550 BCE5316 BCE2763 BCE530 BCE1704

Detailed timeline

  1. 2023VEI 3Observed
    2023-07-11 – 2023-11-03
  2. 2019VEI 3Observed
    2019-07-23 – 2020-05-04
    Summit crater
  3. 2014VEI 1Observed
    2014-01-30 – 2015-07-03
    Summit crater
  4. 2008VEI 1Geological estimate
    2008-02-12 – 2008-02-12
  5. 2004VEI 2Observed
    2004-02-17 – 2004-07-16
  6. 2000VEI 1Geological estimate
    2000-08-11 – Ongoing
    Summit
  7. 1999VEI 3Observed
    1999-03-13 – 1999-05-27
  8. 1999VEI 1Geological estimate
    1999-09-25 – 2000-02-04
  9. 1998VEI 1Observed
    1998-11-04 – 1998-11-04
  10. 1997VEI 1Observed
    1997-06-02 – 1997-06-02
  11. 1995VEI 3Observed
    1995-12-23 – 1996-05-16
  12. 1993VEI 2Observed
    1993-09-04 – 1993-10-29
  13. 1986VEI 2Observed
    1986-03-19 – 1987-02-15
  14. 1981VEI ?Geological estimate
    1981-09-25 – Ongoing
  15. 1979VEI 2Observed
    1979-02-16 – Ongoing
  16. 1978VEI 2Observed
    1978-02-08 – 1978-02-09
  17. 1976VEI 2Observed
    1976-01-16 – 1976-09-28
  18. 1975VEI 2Observed
    1975-09-13 – 1975-10-26
  19. 1967VEI 2Observed
    1967-01-28 – Ongoing
  20. 1963VEI 2Observed
    1963-12-28 – Ongoing
  21. 1955VEI 2Observed
    1955-07-16 – Ongoing
  22. 1953VEI 2Observed
    1953-10-04 – Ongoing
  23. 1951VEI 2Observed
    1951-04-16 – 1951-10-05
  24. 1948VEI 2Observed
    1948 – Ongoing
  25. 1946VEI 2Observed
    1946-08 – 1947-01
  26. 1932VEI 2Observed
    1932-02-01 – 1932-05-21
  27. 1929VEI 2Observed
    1929-05-28 – 1929-06-23
    Summit and north flank
  28. 1928VEI 2Observed
    1928-08 – Ongoing
  29. 1927VEI ?Observed
    1927 – Ongoing
  30. 1925VEI ?Observed
    1925 – Ongoing
  31. 1922VEI 2Observed
    1922-10-15 – Ongoing
  32. 1912VEI ?Geological estimate
    1912 – Ongoing
  33. 1901VEI ?Observed
    1901 – Ongoing
  34. 1899VEI ?Geological estimate
    1899 – Ongoing
  35. 1898VEI 2Observed
    1898 – Ongoing
  36. 1897VEI ?Geological estimate
    1897 – Ongoing
  37. 1883VEI 2Observed
    1883 – Ongoing
  38. 1880VEI ?Geological estimate
    1880 – 1881
  39. 1865VEI ?Geological estimate
    1865 – Ongoing
  40. 1842VEI 2Observed
    1842 – Ongoing
  41. 1838VEI 2Observed
    1838 – Ongoing
  42. 1830VEI 3Observed
    1830-11-16 – 1831-03-16
  43. 1827VEI 2Observed
    1827 – 1829
  44. 1826VEI 0Observed
    1826 – Ongoing
  45. 1825VEI 2Observed
    1825 – Ongoing
    NE flank (1300 m)
  46. 1824VEI 3Observed
    1824 – Ongoing
  47. 1790VEI ?Geological estimate
    1790 – Ongoing
  48. 1775VEI ?Geological estimate
    1775 – 1778
  49. 950VEI ?Geological estimate
    950 – Ongoing
  50. 7050 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 7050 – Ongoing
  51. 7550 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 7550 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.