Volcanoes

Augustine spitting out steam as usual

About 80% of all active volcanoes in the United States are in Alaska, so naturally we have a few close by here in the village.  Three are ever visible across the inlet: Augustine, Iliamna, and Redoubt.  Along the Southern edge of the horizon lies Augustine.  It is probably the least impressive to look at but it finds ways to make up for its humble appearance.  It seems that at least half of the days we can see Augustine, a trail of smoke rising from its peak also makes itself visible.  No one seems to notice, so we're assuming (and hoping) this is normal.  In 1986 it had a very large eruption that spewed ash as far as Anchoarage - a little over 300 miles - and wreaked havoc on flights, but hasn't seemed too aggressive since.

As you follow the shore north, Iliamna is the next volcano and it is very impressive to look at.  As the morning sun hits it (or should I say used to hit it considering our current daylight hours), the snow which covers this mountain year round glows a soft pink.  I, of course, always see this from the window at school when I do not have my camera handy so I have yet to capture it on digital film.  It has an impressive elevation of 10,000 feet and also spews a little bit of smoke regularly.  It's not had any major eruptions in recorded history, but I have mixed feelings about that information.  I cannot decide if that means it is unlikely to erupt any time soon, or that it has had a very long time to build up pressure and is waiting for an excuse to make its voice heard.

Keep traveling north, and you'll end with Redoubt.  He's as impressive as his southern neighbor, but has a much more exciting history.  It spewed ash an enthusiastic 45,000 feet in the air in 1989 and decided to relive its glory days a little over 2 years ago.  Redoubt has been relatively quiet since and I'm hoping it is still recovering from that adventure and hasn't gathered enough energy to to play just quite yet.  I'm thinking I'll be having some serious conversations with Jesus about more than just plane rides.