Most Americans are unaware that they live in one of the most volcanically active countries in the world. That is because roughly 80 percent of the active volcanoes in the United States are located in Alaska. And though the state averages one to two major eruptions each year, those eruptions rarely receive national media attention.

The Volcanoes of Alaska

The most recent notable eruption was that of Augustine Volcano last winter. That eruption raised concerns in local communities, including Anchorage, about the risk posed from volcanic ash fall. It also disrupted the aviation industry, as aircraft were rerouted to avoid contact with drifting clouds of volcanic ash.

Still, the impact of this latest Augustine Volcano eruption was minor compared to the 1912 eruption of Novarupta Volcano — the largest eruption of the 20th century. Located in the Katmai Valley on the Alaskan Peninsula, this volcano erupted for three days, spewing more than 1 foot of ash on Kodiak Island, nearly 100 miles east of the volcanic vent.  Closer to the vent, the volcano deposited a pyroclastic ash-flow sheet that was 100- to 700-feet deep and covered 40 square miles. Because of the spectacular jets of steam and gas that this flow released, the first explorers to the region named it the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

To preserve the “Valley,” the Katmai National Monument was created in 1918. This unique and pristine landscape of the Alaska Peninsula was further recognized in 1979 by the designation of approximately 4.1 million acres, including the original Katmai National Monument, as Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Since 1988, USGS, along with the state of Alaska and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, have kept a watchful eye on Alaska's many active volcanoes through the operation of the Alaska Volcano Observatory. The observatory uses federal, state, and university resources to monitor and study hazardous volcanoes by recording eruptive activity to reduce risks to life and property. It also works with the USGS Alaska Science Center to inform the public about the hazards that volcanoes pose and the ways to minimize the impact of eruptions.

Field Expeditions at Katmai’s Brooks Camp

The National Park Service also works to help the public understand and appreciate volcanoes by hosting 10,000 visitors annually during the short summer season at Katmai's Brooks Camp, deep in the heart of Katmai National Park and Preserve.

The first week of June may herald the lazy days of summer for the celebrated brown bears of the area, but it also marks the start of the busy season for Brooks Camp. Katmai provides training to about 20 staff and volunteers to help interpret the park’s famous volcanoes, brown bears, fish, rugged wilderness, and prehistoric human inhabitants for the park visitors. Since 1993, an enthusiastic group of visitors has regularly returned to the Katmai region. This annual enthusiasm is shared by Elderhostel guides who bring participants to spend the summer season at Brooks Camp and to experience Katmai with experts from various fields of study.

Elderhostel, a nonprofit organization, annually provides educational adventures to nearly 160,000 older adults through nearly 8,000 programs in more than 90 countries. The 2006 Katmai Elderhostel group included five residents of south central Alaska and seven participants from Texas, California, Maryland, and Illinois. Two local guides from Dillingham, Alaska, expertly led these adventurous participants through a week of lectures, hikes, and other activities. These informative sessions also provide NPS rangers with seasonal training through first-hand learning experiences from subject-matter experts.

Invited specialists describe, discuss, and identify Katmai’s spectacular features to both Elderhostel participants and the NPS seasonal staff of interpretive rangers and volunteers. Because of the park’s numerous well-known active volcanoes - seven of which have erupted in the last 6,000 years - Elderhostel trips to Katmai have included volcano specialists from AVO as guest speakers and guides. This year Jennifer N. Adleman, USGS Alaska Science Center geologist and outreach/education specialist was invited to participate. This was not Adelman’s first visit to Katmai, having begun her career in 1996 as an NPS Interpretive Ranger at Katmai after visiting the park the previous summer as a volunteer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and spending three more seasons working in the park. As a guest specialist at Katmai this past summer, Jennifer presented lectures describing the geologic history of Katmai that created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and the volcano monitoring that AVO conducts at Katmai and throughout Alaska and the North Pacific.  

A 23-mile bus ride, driving through several rumbling streams along the way, allowed the Elderhostel group to view massive beaver lodges in addition to seeing many other types of wildlife to be found throughout the valley. The drive also provided an opportunity for Adelman to point out particular geologic features highlighted in lectures such as glaciation of the region, well-known fault systems, and features of the 1912 eruption. Following a lunch break, the adventurous members were guided along a 1.5 mile trail to Ukak Falls and the headwaters of the Ukak River, where the spectacular scenery includes outcrops of charred wood, floating pumice, and fumarolic mounds stained red, yellow, and orange by the formerly steaming pyroclastic ash flow sheet.

The annual summer cycle of activities at Katmai has been well established with residents of the park and is punctuated with the return of the Elderhostel group, which contributes to the educational and informative part of this cycle for everyone concerned. The ongoing welcoming spirit demonstrated by park staff allows the USGS Alaska Science Center and Alaska Volcano Observatory to continue providing NPS staff at Katmai’s Brooks Camp with information regarding the past, present, and potential future activity of the region’s active volcanoes. At the same time, the enthusiasm for this program permits the Alaska Science Center and Alaska Volcano Observatory to learn from NPS what scientific materials, guidance, and information would be most useful in providing visitors with natural history information during the coming season.