Waiting for Redoubt Volcano to Erupt

Image Courtesy of AVO/USGS, Photo Creator: Read, Cyrus
Photo Taken: January 27, 2009

Muddy flows coming down the north side of Redoubt.

One of our local Cook Inlet volcanoes is steaming and has everyone on high alert. Mount Redoubt is a 10,197 foot peak that is located about 50 miles west of Kenai and 100 miles southwest of Anchorage. In fact, I can see it from my 16th floor office window on a clear day. It last erupted during a five-month period from December 1989 through April 1990. They keep a close watch on this volcano and the others close to Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula because they can reek havoc on air traffic and potentially cause loss of life. The last time Redoubt erupted mud flows sped down the Drift River drainage and partially flooded the Drift River Oil Terminal facility. The workers barely had enough time to get out of the way we're told. The ash plume from the volcano disrupted international air traffic, it almost brought down a KLM jet full of people, and coated Anchorage and other communities with a fine layer of ash and that is what has everyone excited this time as well, a couple years ago when Mount Augustine (170 miles) blew we had to cover our computers and electronic equipment at work everyday before we left in case of ash. In fact, the 1992 eruption of Mount Spurr located about 70 miles due west of Anchorage did leave a thick layer of ash on Anchorage. 

Anecdote: The volcano started its activity a day after a quite sizable (5.6) earthquake at the mouth of the Cook Inlet. It was felt by our neighbors who live across the street that were visiting family in Homer (cereal boxes fell off the shelves) and Greg and I felt it all the way up here in Fishhook. It rocked the house gently, nothing major. 

Alaska has 44 historically active volcanoes which is approximately 10 % of the active volcanoes in the world, so we're no strangers to volcanic eruptions. Two volcanoes erupt here every year on average. Last summer, three of them Cleveland, Okmok and Kasitochi all erupted at about the same time and place in the Aleutians. The Cook Inlet volcanoes get the most press/ media attention as they are located so close to a major metropolitan area. Click on these links for more information on the continuing coverage: Anchorage Daily News Coverage, Alaska Volcano Observatory.