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Mount Spurr

Spurr

Stratovolcano · United States · 3374m

During the late Pleistocene or early Holocene Mount Spurr underwent flank collapse, resulting in the 5-6 km crater that opens to the south shown here in 1993. The collapse produced a debris avalanche that traveled at least 25 km from the summit. The snow-covered peak (center) is a post-collapse lava dome. Crater Peak, in front of it, has been the source of frequent Holocene eruptions.
During the late Pleistocene or early Holocene Mount Spurr underwent flank collapse, resulting in the 5-6 km crater that opens to the south shown here in 1993. The collapse produced a debris avalanche that traveled at least 25 km from the summit. The snow-covered peak (center) is a post-collapse lava dome. Crater Peak, in front of it, has been the source of frequent Holocene eruptions. · Photo: Photo by Christina Neal, 1993 (U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Volcano Observatory). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
United States
Region
North America Volcanic Regions / Alaska Peninsula Volcanic Arc
Elevation
3374m
Coordinates
61.299, -152.251
Last eruption
1992
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

Mount Spurr is the closest volcano to Anchorage, Alaska (130 km W) and just NE of Chakachamna Lake. The summit is a large lava dome at the center of a roughly 5-km-wide amphitheater open to the south formed by a late-Pleistocene or early Holocene debris avalanche and associated pyroclastic flows that destroyed an older edifice. The debris avalanche traveled more than 25 km SE, and the resulting deposit contains blocks as large as 100 m in diameter. Several ice-carved post-collapse cones or lava domes are present. The youngest vent, Crater Peak, formed at the southern end of the amphitheater and has been the source of about 40 identified Holocene tephra layers. Eruptions from Crater Peak in 1953 and 1992 deposited ash in Anchorage.

From Wikipedia

Mount Spurr (Dena'ina: K'idazq'eni) is a stratovolcano in the Aleutian Arc of Alaska, named after United States Geological Survey geologist and explorer Josiah Edward Spurr, who led an expedition to the area in 1898. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) rates Mount Spurr as Level of Concern Color Code Yellow. The mountain is known aboriginally by the Dena'ina Athabascan name K'idazq'eni, literally 'that which is burning inside'.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
6050 BCE~5782 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?5246 BCE~4978 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?4174 BCE~3905 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?3369 BCE~3101 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1456~1724 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1724~1992 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 46050 BCE4174 BCE2029 BCE153 BCE1724

Detailed timeline

  1. 1992VEI 4Observed
    1992-06-27 – 1992-09-17
    South flank (Crater Peak)
  2. 1953VEI 4Observed
    1953-07-09 – 1953-07-16
    South flank (Crater Peak)
  3. 1650 (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1650 – Ongoing
    South flank (Crater Peak)
  4. 3250 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 3250 – Ongoing
    Mt. Spurr central lava/cone complex
  5. 4050 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 4050 – Ongoing
    South flank (Crater Peak)
  6. 5110 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 5110 – Ongoing
    Mt. Spurr central dome/cone complex
  7. 6050 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 6050 – Ongoing
    Mt. Spurr central dome/cone complex

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.