Augustine is part of the Aleutian volcanic arc and is made of several lava domes and steep, short lava flows. Debris avalanches form an apron around the volcano and indicate repeated collapse of the central domes. Many of the debris avalanches extend offshore. Debris avalanches that reach the inlet have the potential to generate tsunami. A tsunami was generated during the 1883 eruption that had a height of 30 feet (9 m) at Port Graham. Historic eruptions were recorded in 1812, 1883, 1935, 1963-64, 1976, and 1986. Augustine's eruptions tend to be highly explosive and tend to spread ash across the Cook Inlet region. The eruption commonly end with the less explosive extrusion of a lava dome. This photo was taken on March 27, 1986, during the initial highly explosive stage of the eruption. Photograph by M.E. Yount of the U.S. Geological Survey. Photo courtesy of NOAA'S National Geophysical Data Center.
Captain James Cook named the volcano on St. Augustine's day (May 26) in 1778.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory has additional information about Augustine.
Kienle, J., Swanson, S.E., and Pulpan, H., 1983, Magmatism and subduction in the eastern Aleutian arc: in Shimozuru, D., and Yokoyama, I., eds., Arc Volcanism: Physics and Tectonics, D. Riedel, Boston, 191-224.
Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the World: Geoscience Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.
Swanson, S.E., and Kienle, J., 1988, The 1986 eruption of Mount St. Augustine: Field test of a hazard evaluation: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 93, p. 4500-4520.
Wood, C.A., and Kienle, J., 1993, Volcanoes of North America: Cambridge University Press, New York, 354 p.
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