Westdahl Peak, also known as Westdahl Volcano or Mount Westdahl, is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

of the

Aleutian Range The Aleutian Range is a major mountain range located in southwest Alaska. It extends from Chakachamna Lake (80 miles/130 km southwest of Anchorage) to Unimak Island, which is at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. It includes all of the mountain ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. The volcano last erupted from November 29, 1991, to January 15, 1992.Alaska Volcano Observatory, Volcano Information -- Historic eruptions at Westdahl
Retrieved Dec. 16, 2022. It is on

Unimak Island Unimak Island (, ) is the largest island in the Aleutian Islands chain of the U.S. state of Alaska. Geography It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of , the 9th largest island in the United States and the 134th larges ...

, near the western tip of the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. T ...

. The volcano has a second summit, called Faris Peak, which is actually the highest point at 5,426 feet (1,654 m).Alaska Volcano Observatory, Volcano Information -- Faris Peak
Retrieved Dec. 16, 2022. Westdahl Peak currently has a summit elevation of 5,118 feet (1,560 m). Other historical eruptions, all attributed to Westdahl by the

Alaska Volcano Observatory The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI), and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surv ...

, have been reported in 1795–1796, 1827–1829, 1951, 1964 and 1978. A couple eruptions were originally reported to be from nearby

Pogromni Volcano Pogromni Volcano is a stratovolcano on Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands. Near it are 5 cinder cones, and a mountain called Pogromni's Sister. Pogromni is old and eroded with a single glacier on its flank and base. Eruptions have been attribu ...

, but the peak is old, eroded and most likely hasn't erupted since

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

time.Alaska Volcano Observatory, Volcano Information -- Reported Activity at Westdahl
Retrieved Dec. 16, 2022.

References

*
Volcanoes of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands-Selected Photographs

Alaska Volcano Observatory
One-thousanders of the United States Aleutian Range Westdahl Westdahl Volcano Mountains of Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Stratovolcanoes of Alaska Active volcanoes Holocene stratovolcanoes {{AleutiansEastAK-geo-stub

See also

References