It’s hard to imagine that the 380 m wide by 68 m tall Novarupta dome is the site of the largest volcanic eruption in over 100 years! However, the undulating pattern of the surface in the foreground is the first clue that something more powerful than any of us have witnessed occurred here not so long ago.
What is the loudest explosion you have ever heard? How far away could you hear it? 1 mile? 2 miles? 10 miles? What about 100 miles? If something exploded, and you could hear it from over 100 miles away, that would be impressive, wouldn’t it! I can’t imagine an explosion that big. Now, think about an explosion that could be heard 800 miles away, and you are on the scale of the explosion that started the Novarupta-Katmai eruption of 1912!
Today, June 6, 2014, is the anniversary of the largest volcanic eruption in over 100 years, the June 6-8, 1912 eruption of Novarupta-Katmai. Located in Katmai National Park in remote Southwest Alaska, the eruption was more like an explosion. The 60-hour blast filled the surrounding valley with sand-like flows up to 700 feet thick in places. And most of that occurred in the first 16 hours!
As magma blasted out of Novarupta’s vent, the magma chamber supporting nearby Mt. Katmai also started to empty out Novarupta. With its internal support gone, the top of Mt. Katmai collapsed, creating a massive hole (caldera) that all the buildings in New York City and then some could fit inside.
Although I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in Katmai National Park studying this gigantic eruption, it is still hard to imagine what it must have looked like as ash clouds bellowed and the surrounding valley rapidly filled with one ignimbrite package (sandflow) after another. But it did happen, it happened very quickly, and the evidence is there for all to see.
Surrounding Novarupta-Katmai, evidence also exists for an Ice Age, preceded by Noah’s flood. You see, Novarupta-Katmai materials rest atop glacial till (Ice Age deposits). And the Ice Age deposits rest atop the 15,000 foot thick Naknek formation, a water-deposited sedimentary rock layer (Flood deposit).
Would you like to learn more about this amazing eruption? One way is by purchasing our new Journey to Novarupta audio adventure. Produced by the creators of the popular Jonathan Park creation adventure series, Journey to Novarupta follows our 2009 and 2011 trips to the volcano. It also flashes back to the 1900’s and the expeditions of Dr. Robert Griggs, the first human to see the eruption site. Journey with us as we search for and find evidence of Noah’s Flood, reveal huge problems in the radiometric dating methods use as evidence for millions of years, and more. This family adventure will build your faith as you discover powerful scientific evidence for a young and active planet!
Journey to Novarupta is on sale now through June 12, 2014! Click here to listen to the opening scene, and/or to order. To receive the sale price, copy/paste coupon code JourneySale682014. Digital downloads are on sale for $7.99 and CDs for $11.99.
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