ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT
U.S. Geological Survey
Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 12:42 PM AKST (Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 21:42 UTC)

ILIAMNA VOLCANO (VNUM #313020)
60°1'55" N 153°5'30" W, Summit Elevation 10016 ft (3053 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN

Over the past three months, there have been several episodes of increased earthquake activity at Iliamna Volcano. One of these episodes is currently ongoing, and is characterized by numerous small earthquakes. This increase in earthquake activity may be related to movement of magma at depth, and additional observations including an airborne gas sampling and observation flight are being planned to help constrain this interpretation. A similar, but longer episode of increased earthquake activity occurred from September 1996 to February 1997. It was likely related to the intrusion of new magma at depth, but an eruption did not occur.

AVO will continue to observe Iliamna carefully and will report on new observations and interpretations as warranted.

Iliamna Volcano is located on the western side of lower Cook Inlet in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The volcano has a summit altitude of 3053 m (10,016 feet) above sea level and the volcanic edifice supports an extensive cover of snow and glacier ice. An active fumarole field is present on the upper eastern face of the volcano and on calm days, vapor emissions are often visible. There have been no known historical eruptions of Iliamna Volcano, but volcanic deposits preserved on the flanks of the volcano indicate that there have been multiple episodes of explosive eruptive activity in the past 2500 years. Occasional large ice and rock avalanches, and changes in glacial ice have been observed in the past at Iliamna, but are not directly related to volcanic activity. The volcano is located 210 km (130 miles) southwest of Anchorage and 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Homer.

Links to Additional Information

Iliamna Web Page
https://www.avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/volcinfo.php?volcname=Iliamna

Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for Iliamna Volcano, Alaska
https://www.avo.alaska.edu/pdfs/Iliamna.Haz.OFR.99.373.pdf (2.84 MB)
https://www.avo.alaska.edu/pdfs/Iliamna.Haz.Plate.OFR.99.373.pdf (1.0 MB)

VOLCANO INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET: http://www.avo.alaska.edu
RECORDING ON THE STATUS OF ALASKA'S VOLCANOES (907) 786-7478

CONTACT INFORMATION:

David Schneider, Acting Scientist-in-Charge, USGS
djschneider@usgs.gov (907) 786-7497

Steve McNutt, Coordinating Scientist, UAF
steve@giseis.alaska.edu (907) 474-7131

The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.

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