Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (Eng. Valley of Ten Thousand vapors ) is a volcanically active region in Alaska (USA ) on the Alaska Peninsula.

Origin, Significance

In June 1912 broke - after the previous earthquake - the volcano Novarupta in the region Katmai, Alaska, from. It was one of the most violent volcanic eruptions in historical times, comparable with that of Santorini, Krakatau or Tambora. Geologists are not agreed as to whether the explosion of Novarupta is not even been the largest volcanic eruption in the 20th century; is certain that it was the largest on the American continent. She was about ten times as strong as the explosion of Mount St. Helens in 1980.

When the eruption some 65 km ² of land with volcanic ash and other pyroclastic promotion products were covered; the volcanogenic deposits reached up to 200 m altitude. The rain of ash went down at the nearby Kodiak and even in Vancouver; it is reported from Kodiak that burning lanterns at a distance of only two meters were no longer visible. It is estimated that 30 cubic kilometers of ash were ejected in about 60 hours. In contrast to the eruption of Krakatoa or Tambora, which claimed many thousands of lives were - is as far as known - the outbreak in the Katmai area no people Damage: The area was and is virtually uninhabited.

After the eruption, a caldera formed - in a neighboring valley - a huge number of fumaroles and small vents. The caldera later filled with rhyolithischem magma (called lava dome ). In the neighboring valley that was unnamed until then, many hundreds of chimneys are 100 meters high, have been some even up to 300 m high. The fumaroles are still active today and push hot gases and water vapor - which gave its name to the valley. The valley is about 20 km long and 3-9 km wide and is considered a tourist attraction in Katmai National Park. From the Brooks Camp at Naknek Lake leads the only road to the National Park in the valley.