[Rockhounds] Alaska May Be Hiding a Huge Volcanic System

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

As if we needed more upsetting right news right now, geologists have reason
to suspect that a cluster of Alaskan islands is actually part of an
interconnected volcanic system of the same kind seen at Yellowstone
National Park.

Called the Islands of the Four Mountains (IFM), this volcanic archipelago
is located along the Aleutian island chain. New research led by John Power
from the U.S. Geological Survey at the Alaska Volcano Observatory presents
evidence for “a large, previously unrecognized caldera” in the IFM, in
research that will be presented December 7 at the AGU’s Fall Meeting 2020.

The cluster consists of six closely spaced stratovolcanoes, named
Cleveland, Carlisle, Herbert, Kagamil, Tana, and Uliaga. Stratovolcanoes
are what we stereotypically think about when we envision volcanoes: tall,
steep mountains capped with a smoking cone. The region is also interspersed
with a bunch of smaller cones and fissures. Of the six mountains, Cleveland
has been the most active during the past two decades, creating ash clouds
that reach 15,000 to 30,000 feet.

https://gizmodo.com/alaska-may-be-hiding-a-huge-volcanic-system-1845810147