Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes~Katmai
The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Taking a flight from Brooks Falls in Katmailand one can view the valley filled with ash flow from the eruption of Mt. Novarupta on June 6–June 8, 1912. The name was given by Robert F. Griggs because "the whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands—literally, tens of thousands—of smokes curling up from its fissured floor."
The mountain, Novarupta, generated many major earthquakes with levels of energy release unprecedented during volcanic eruptions in modern memory. After the eruption, the summit of Mount Katmai collapsed forming the central caldera. The ash-filled valley covers a 40-square-mile area and in places deep canyons have been cut by the River Lethe. The ash forms many striations on the glaciers around the valley for an artistic view.
Read MoreThe mountain, Novarupta, generated many major earthquakes with levels of energy release unprecedented during volcanic eruptions in modern memory. After the eruption, the summit of Mount Katmai collapsed forming the central caldera. The ash-filled valley covers a 40-square-mile area and in places deep canyons have been cut by the River Lethe. The ash forms many striations on the glaciers around the valley for an artistic view.
