USGS Newsroom

"Exploring the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes: A Centennial Perspective on the Novarupta-Katmai Eruption of 1912"

MENLO PARK, Calif. — 100 years ago, in June 1912, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20^th century took place in what is now Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve. U.S. Geological Survey geologist Judy Fierstein, co-author of a new landmark study on this huge volcanic event, shares her work with the community in a free public lecture Wednesday, June 6, a century to the day after the Novarupta-Katmai Eruption of 1912 began. Today, study of Novarupta and Katmai volcanoes sheds light on how future events in Alaska’s volcanic regions could affect air quality and air-transportation safety across the globe.