Mount Makushin
| Makushin Volcano | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,036 m (6,680 ft) |
| Prominence | 2,036 m (6,680 ft) |
| Listing |
|
| Coordinates | 53°53′11″N 166°55′52″W / 53.8863889°N 166.9311111°WCoordinates: 53°53′11″N 166°55′52″W / 53.8863889°N 166.9311111°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Unalaska Island, Alaska, U.S. |
| Parent range | Aleutian Range |
| Topo map | USGS Unalaska C-3 |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Early Pliocene |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano with caldera and parasitic cone |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Aleutian Arc |
| Last eruption | January 1995 |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | George Davidson in 1867 |
The Makushin Volcano (also known as Mount Makushin) is an ice-covered stratovolcano located on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. With an elevation of 2,036 metres (6,680 ft), its summit is the highest point on the island. Makushin is one of the most active among the 52 historically active volcanoes of Alaska. It has erupted at least two dozen times over the past several thousand years, with the last eruption occurring in 1995.
In 1792, Sarichev called the volcano "Ognedyshushchaya Gora" meaning "fire erupting mountain", i.e. volcano in Russian. In 1825, it was known as Makuschkin Volcano, possibly from the Russian word makushka, meaning "the top (of the head)". Its native name was Aigagin, a derivative of the word Aigak in the native tongue of the Aleuts. Makushin was also the native village here on the northern shore of the Makushin Bay where the foreman or bidarshik of the Russian American Company lived. There were six huts (yourts) where 35 natives lived.
Alaska Volcano Observatory has identified "Ajagin Wesselow", "Makushin Volcano", "Ajagisch", "Makouchine", "Ognedieshutshai Gora", "Ayagsh", "Aiyagin", "Cheerful Mtn.", "Ayyagyh", "Ayagish", "Makuschkin Volcano", "Ognedyshushchaya Gora" and "Makishinskaia sopka" as alternate names for the Makushin Volcano. Specifically identified here are the four features namely, Red Cinder Dome, Pakushin cone, the Sugarloaf and the Point Kadin vents.
The history of the volcano has been identified with the early Pliocene age. However, the caldera of the volcano is dated to a comparatively recent history of 8000 years. The “Sugarloaf cone on the ENE flank, and a cluster of about a dozen explosion pits and cinder cones at Point Kadin on the WNW flank” is attributed to the Holocene age.
According to the history recorded by the Alaska Volcano Observatory: “The first episode began in Pliocene or early Pleistocene time (the oldest known age of lavas is 0.93 Ma [Nye, 1990]) and produced extensive flows and subordinate pyroclastic deposits of basaltic and andesitic composition, which enlarged the island by several kilometers along the northwest coast. Radial dips of flows suggest that Makushin Volcano itself was the principal vent area. The older flows are extensively glaciated, which implies a minimum age of late Pleistocene. The summit of Makushin subsequently collapsed, forming a caldera. Andesitic pyroclastic-flow and debris flow deposits occur in glaciated valleys on the north and south sides of the volcano indicating a Holocene age for the caldera-forming eruption."
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Wikipedia