The Veniaminof Volcano is Settling Down

Once of the most active volcano’s in Alaska has begun to settle down after several months of eruptive activity. On Friday the Alaska Volcano Observatory lowered the Volcano Alert Level for the Veniaminof Volcano to “Advisory” from the more severe “Watch”. The downgrade was based on a decline in seismic activity and the lack of eruptive activity in satellite and web camera images over the past week. The volcano is still exhibiting low-level seismic tremor and elevated surface temperatures. However, AVO believes this is due to cooling lava flows. The Observatory notes that it’s possible that this is only a temporary waning of activity and more vigorous activity could resume. AVO stresses that pauses in eruptive activity are not uncommon for the Veniaminof Volcano. The recent eruption began in June. The Veniaminof Volcano is located on the Alaska Peninsula about 480-miles southwest of Anchorage and it’s one of the largest and most active volcanic centers in the Aleutian Arc. The volcano has erupted 13-times in the past 200-years. The other volcano in Alaska with an elevated alert level is the Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands. It’s currently at alert level “Advisory” and the AVO notes that no unusual activity has been observed in satellite imagery over the past week. You can follow the activity at all of the volcano’s in Alaska on the Alaska Volcano Observatory website at www.avo.alaska.edu.