1912: Volcano erupts; destroys Alaska Native village
At the head of the Alaska Peninsula in southwestern Alaska, the volcano Novarupta erupts, destroying the village of Savonoski. The eruption showers more than 40 square miles of lush land with volcanic ash, which in some places is 700 feet deep. Alaska Natives including some Unangan (Aleut) and Athabaskan are displaced.
- Theme
- Land and Water
- Region
- Arctic
Map showing settlements, canneries, and mines in the Alutiiq region of southwestern Alaska, which were covered by volcanic ash during the eruption of Novarupta
Courtesy University of Alaska Press and Arctic Studies Center
Refugees evacuated from Kodiak following the Novarupta volcanic eruption, on board the U.S. Customs Service cutter Manning, June 1912
Courtesy Kodiak Historical Society
Children make ash pies out of volcanic ash, Kodiak, Alaska, 1912
Courtesy Kodiak Historical Society, Bigford Collection