Makushin Volcano

Makushin Volcano

The Makushin Volcano is located on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.  The elevation has an elevation of 2,036 meters.   The Aleutian Islands is apart of Alaska’s island chain in the Bering Sea.  Since the Makushin Volcano is an insanely northern volcano in frigid and dangerous waters it helped to create a beautiful and unique volcano.  


Makushin Volcano is classified as a stratovolcano, which is a volcano formed by layers of volcanic ash.  This volcano has a caldera which is when the mouth of the volcano collapsed following a major eruption.  The Makushin Volcano is composed of numerous documented different rocks.  Andesite is an intermediate type between basalt and rhyolite, basaltic andesite is a volcanic rock containing about 55% silica, picrobasalt is a variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt that is very rich in the mineral olivine, and trachybasalt is an effusive igneous rock intermediate in composition between trachyte and basalt, composed of calcic plagioclase. 


Makushin Volcano is an ice-covered volcano and frequently had explosive eruptions have occurred during the past 4000 years with the last eruption in 1995. It’s also interesting that this volcano has the largest and most investigated high-temperature geothermal resources in Alaska. 

There are so many amazing parts of this volcano that make me want to see it, but as a novice traveler I wonder about the safety for a journey into the Bering Sea to experience this beauty. It would be an incredible journey and one for the memory books. 

Global Volcanism Program, 2013. Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.8.7 (12 Mar 2020). Venzke, E (ed.). Smithsonian Institution. Downloaded 04 Apr 2020. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013.

Photo Credit: Cyrus Read 

Read, Cyrus. “Best Time for Makushin Volcano in Alaska 2020 - Best Season & Map.” Best Time for Makushin Volcano in Alaska 2020 - Best Season & Map, rove.me/to/alaska/makushin-volcano.