Novarupta

Novarupta in Detail.

On the Alaska Peninsula, in Katmai National Monument, between Broken and Falling Mountains, 7 mi W of Mount Katmai, Aleutian Range

Descritive name, meaning "new eruption", given in 1916 by R. F. Griggs, National Geographic Society, for the volcano, "of typical form and character, which has arisen in the floor of the Valley (of Ten Thousand Smokes)." The 1912 eruption of this volcano caused the collapse of Mount Katmai, and the fumeroles which gave the valley its name.

Novarupta last erupted on June 6, 1912, lasting for 3 days. It is the largest of any historically recorded eruptions in North America. Prior to 1968 it was thought that the 1912 eruption occurred at Mount Katmai. The eruption covered Kodiak in the dark for 60 hours, depositing over a foot of ash. Two weeks later the ash hit Europe. The massive quantity of ash and aerosol caused unusually brilliant sunsets from shielding the sun’s rays, but also lowered average temperatures by about 2°F (1°C) in the Northern Hemisphere for more than a year.