Examples of Simultaneous Volcanic Eruptions - Novarupta vent and
Mt. Katmai, Alaska: 1912 - Karymsky Volcano and Karymsky Lake,
Russia: 1996 - Rabaul caldera, Papua New Guinea: 1994 - Kilauea
& Mauna Loa volcanoes, Hawaii: 1984 The largest eruption in the
world this century at Novarupta vent on the Alasksa Peninsula
ejected an estimated 15 cubic kilometers during a 60-hour period
beginning June 6, 1912. So much molten rock was evacuated from
magma reservoirs beneath the area that the summit of Mt. Katmai,
10 kilometers away, collapsed sometime during the eruption to
form a caldera about 600 meters deep and 3 kilometers across!
All of the magma erupted during the explosive eruption
originated at the Novarupta vent, which is nearly surrounded by
five volcanoes with active fumaroles and a history of eruptions
in the past 10,000 years. Scientists have concluded that the
magma systems beneath each of these volcanoes are sufficiently
close together that the large withdrawal of magma from the
Novarupta vent led to t