1912 Novarupta eruption. Resuspension and transport of fine-grained volcanic ash from the Katmai National Park and Preserve region of Alaska have been observed and documented over the past several decades, but has likely been occurring ever since the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai eruption. Many aspects of the three-day explosive eruption at Novarupta in June 1912 focused attention on this remote volcano, and it has become one of the most intensively studied in the world. Prominent scarps along the flanks of Baked, Falling, and Broken Mountains surrounding the Novarupta depression indicate considerable subsidence occurred following the 1912 eruption. Novarupta-Katmai Ash Resuspension. Hildreth W and Fierstein J, 2000. | + Join mailing list Oct. 3 , 2006: In June 1912, Novarupta—one of a chain of volcanoes on the Alaska Peninsula—erupted in what turned out to be the largest blast of the twentieth century. An estimated 15 cubic kilometers of magma was explosively … The explosive outburst at Novarupta (Alaska) in June 1912 was the 20th century's most voluminous volcanic eruption. Its eruptive volume of 3.1-3.4 mi3 (13-14 km3) of magma places it among the five largest in recorded history. Phase relations at H2O+CO2 fluid saturation were determined for an andesite (58.7 wt% SiO2) and a dacite (67.7 wt%) from the compositional extremes of intermediate magmas erupted. Novarupta, meaning “new eruption,” is a volcano that sits below Mount Katmai and that shared in the eruption, an event that was ten times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Nearby stratovolcanoes (including Trident and Katmai) form a volcanic front trending N65E; Novarupta lies about 4 km behind the front. Located in southern Alaska within what is now the Katmai National Park Novarupta meaning "new break" in Latin sent 6.7 cubic miles (28 cubic km) of ash into the air. Description: Fierstein and Hildreth (2001) provide information about the magitude of the 1912 eruption at Novarupta and Katmai: "The world's largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century broke out at Novarupta [see fig. Alaska peninsula volcanoes. Novarupta, the least topographically prominent volcano in the Katmai area, was formed during a major eruption in 1912. New analytical and experimental data constrain the storage and equilibration conditions of the magmas erupted in 1912 from Novarupta in the 20th century's largest volcanic event. Novarupta's eruption was the largest of the 20th century and took place over 60 hours from the 6th June 1912. On June 6th, 1912, Mount Katmai/Novarupta erupted on the Alaska mainland, just 250 miles (402 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage. More than three cubic miles of volcanic material was ejected over two and a half days. Maps show location of Novarupta, VTTS ignimbrite (yellow), Katmai caldera, and region impacted by ash fall during the 6-8 June 1912 eruption. However, the 1912 eruption at Novarupta does show the potential for a new massive eruption to occur where none has happened in the geologically-recent past - a reminder of how vital volcano monitoring and research can be in helping notice the signs of such an event well in advance. Marking its centennial, we illustrate and document the complex eruptive sequence, which was long misattributed to nearby Mount Katmai, and how its deposits have provided key insights about volcanic and magmatic processes. It was so powerful that it drained magma from under another volcano, Mount Katmai, six miles east, causing the summit of Katmai to collapse to form a caldera half a mile deep. References. The Novarupta eruption was the most powerful of the 20th century (and 21st so far) and ranks among the largest in recorded history. Dust fall was reported in … Public domain via Wikipedia. The world's largest eruption of the 20th century occurred in 1912 at Novarupta on the Alaska Peninsula. This eruption was the world's largest during the 20th century and produced a voluminous rhyolitic airfall tephra and the renowned Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (VTTS) ash flow.