Alaska
Augustine Volcano
Augustine volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Cook Inlet, having
a symmetrical cone rising 1,254 meters above the sea level. This volcano has
erupted in 1812, 1883, 1935, 1963-64, 1976 and 1986, and surprisingly, the
intervals between these eruptions have reduced from 70 to 10 years. It's
summit comprises of several overlapping lava dome complexes formed during
historic and prehistoric eruptions. Nearly 12 landslides took place at
Augustine and the most recent slide that occurred was at the onset of the
1883 eruption, when a part of the volcano's summit collapsed into the sea.
Within an hour, a tsunami nearly 9 meters high crashed ashore on the coast
of the Kenai Peninsula, which was 80 kilometers away. As it was low tide,
there was no loss of life, only minor property damage was reported.
California
Lassen Peak
Lassen Peak is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range. It is
part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc which is an arc that stretches from
northern California to southwestern British Columbia. Located in the Shasta
Cascade region of Northern California, Lassen rises 2,000 feet above the
surrounding terrain and has a volume of half a cubic mile, making it one of
the largest lava domes on Earth. It was created on the destroyed
northeastern flank of now gone Mount Tehama, a stratovolcano that was at
least 1,000 feet (300 m) higher than Lassen.
Lassen Peak has the distinction of being the only volcano in the Cascades
other than Mount St. Helens to erupt during the 20th century. On May 22,
1915, an explosive eruption at Lassen Peak devastated nearby areas and
rained volcanic ash as far away as 200 miles to the east. This explosion was
the most powerful in a 1914–17 series of eruptions that were the last to
occur in the Cascades before the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in
Washington. Lassen Volcanic National Park was created in Shasta County,
California to preserve the devastated area and nearby volcanic geothermal
features.
Mount Shasta
Diller Canyon on Shastina near Weed, CaliforniaDuring the last 10,000 years
Shasta has erupted an average of every 800 years but in the past 4,500 years
the volcano has erupted an average of every 600 years. The last significant
eruption on Shasta may have occurred 200 years ago, as noted above.
Mount Shasta can release volcanic ash, pyroclastic flows or dacite and
andesite lava. Its deposits can be detected under nearby small towns
totaling 20,000 in population. Shasta has an explosive, eruptive history.
There are fumaroles on the mountain, which show that Shasta is still alive.
The worst case scenario for an eruption is a large pyroclastic flow, such as
what occurred in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Since there is ice,
such as Whitney Glacier and Mud Creek Glacier, lahars would also result. Ash
would probably blow inland, perhaps as far as eastern Nevada. There is a
small chance that an eruption could also be bigger resulting in a collapse
of the mountain, as happened when Mount Mazama in Oregon collapsed to form
what is now called Crater Lake, but this is of much lower probability.
Hawaii
Mauna Loa
Being one of the world's largest active volcanoes, Mauna Loa rises more than
9,000 meters from the seafloor, and is considered to be taller than Mount
Everest. Since 1900, it has erupted 15 times, with eruptions lasting from
less than a day to nearly 145 days. The most recent eruption of Maura Loa
was on March 25, 1984, that continued for 3 weeks. As a result, the lava
flows were only 6.5 kms away from buildings in the city of Hilo. It erupts
less frequently than Kilauea, but produces a larger quantity of lava in a
shorter period of time.
Kilauea Volcano
Kilauea is the youngest volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It's longest
rift-zone eruption began on January 3, 1983 when a row of lava fountains
broke out from its east rift zone, about 17 kms from the summit caldera. The
volcano was named Kilauea which means 'spewing' or 'much spreading'; in
reference to the lava flows when it erupts. The lava eruption from the
Kilauea volcano has covered approximately 75 square kilometers of forest and
grassland, destructed 179 homes, and added 120 hectares of new land to the
island. Of all the eruptions at Kilauea, a few historical eruptions were
dangerously explosive, as fast-moving mixtures of ash and gas, called
pyroclastic surges, killed many people.
Oregon
Mount Hood
Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the
Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone
and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is
located about 50 miles east-southeast of Portland, on the border between
Clackamas and Hood River counties.
The exact height assigned to Mount Hood's snow-covered peak has varied over
its history. Modern sources point to three different heights: 11,249 feet
based on the 1991 U.S. National Geodetic Survey 11,240 feet based on a 1993
scientific expedition and 11,239 feet of slightly older origin. The peak is
home to twelve glaciers.[8] It is the highest mountain in Oregon and the
fourth-highest in the Cascade Range. Mount Hood is considered the Oregon
volcano most likely to erupt, though based on its history, an explosive
eruption is unlikely. Still, the odds of an eruption in the next 30 years
are estimated at between 3 and 7 percent, so the USGS characterizes it as
"potentially active", but the mountain is informally considered dormant.
Mount Jefferson
Mount Jefferson is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, part of the
Cascade Range, and is the second highest mountain in Oregon. Situated in the
far northeastern corner of Linn County on the Jefferson County line, about
105 miles east of Corvallis, Mount Jefferson is in a rugged wilderness and
is thus one of the hardest volcanoes to reach in the Cascades; though USFS
Road 1044 does come within 4 miles of the summit. The lower reaches of the
mountain's north side also extend into southeastern Marion County, although
its summit does not. Many people consider Jefferson's craggy, deeply
glacially scarred appearance to be especially beautiful and photogenic
Washington
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is the largest volcano in the Cascade Range and is located in
Washington state. Reaching a height of 4,392 m (14,410 ft), this dangerous
volcano is situated near the large urban areas of Tacoma and Seattle. The
main danger from an eruption of Mount Rainier would be the creation of
landslides or mudflows of volcanic debris that resemble wet concrete. This
would result in melting of the glaciers capping the mountain, causing floods
that would mix with loose volcanic ash and rock debris, destroying
everything in its path.
The United States is well known for its active volcanoes that have the
potential to wreak havoc on their immediate surroundings by releasing ash
and toxic gases and causing mudslides. Nearly 80% of the US active volcanoes
are in the Aleutian Islands and about 75% of the world’s volcanic eruptions
occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County,
Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96
miles south of Seattle and 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St.
Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a
friend of explorer George Vancouver who made a survey of the area in the
late 18th century. The volcano is located in the Cascade Range and is part
of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire that
includes over 160 active volcanoes. This volcano is well known for its ash
explosions and pyroclastic flows.
Mount St. Helens is most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18,
1980, at 8:32 am PDT. which was the deadliest and most economically
destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven
people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185
miles of highway were destroyed. The eruption caused a massive debris
avalanche, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 feet
to 8,365 feet and replacing it with a 1 mile wide horseshoe-shaped
crater.[3] The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles in volume. The
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the
volcano and allow for its aftermath to be scientifically studied.
Mount Baker
Mount Baker is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade
Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United
States. It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint
Helens. It is about 31 miles due east of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom
County, making it the northernmost volcano in the Cascade Range but not the
northernmost of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which extends north into the Coast
Mountains. Mount Baker is the youngest volcano in the Mount Baker volcanic
field. While volcanism has persisted here for some 1.5 million years, the
current glaciated cone is likely no more than 140,000 years old, and
possibly no older than 80-90,000 years. Older volcanic edifices have mostly
eroded away due to glaciation.
This listing of the
Top Ten most active volcanos in the United States is constantly being revised as dormat volanos become active.
So, if you feel we are missing one, please email us and let us
know!