Alaska ( 4 ) 2007 Last Updated: February 27, 2022
The Valley of 10,000 Smokes
On next day we again flew into the park at Brooke’s lodge to visit valley of 10,000 smokes.
I had never heard about this valley nor about one of the largest eruption occurring in Alaska. I think it is considered next largest after the volcanic eruption that took place at Santooni island of Greece.
A bus took us to the edge of valley. The 23 mile drive to Overlook Cabin is broken up with stops for scenic views and wildlife viewing. At Overlook Cabin one can see the displays of historic photos of the “Valley of 10,000 Smokes.” One could see miles and miles of area covered with ash. The scene is unbelievable – no plants, no rivers, no villages – only ash all around. Our group consisted of several photographers who had cameras with powerful lenses.
A guide took those interested for a hike down to examine the ash and pumice “Valley” floor. The hike is a bit strenuous.
What I am writing below is what I read after the visit.
In June of 1912 eruption of Novarupta Volcano altered the Katmai area dramatically. Severe earthquakes rocked the area for a week before Novarupta exploded with cataclysmic force. Enormous quantities of hot, glowing pumice and ash were ejected from Novarupta and nearby fissures. This material flowed over the terrain, destroying all life in its path. Trees upslope were snapped off and carbonized by the blasts of hot wind and gas. For several days, ash, pumice, and gas were ejected and a haze darkened the sky over most of the Northern Hemisphere.
When it was over, more than 65 square kilometers (40 square miles) of lush green land lay buried beneath volcanic deposits as much as 200 meters (700 feet) deep. At nearby Kodiak, for two days a person could not see a lantern held at arm’s length. Acid rain caused clothes to disintegrate on clotheslines in distant Vancouver, Canada. The eruption was 10 times more forceful than the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens. Eventually, Novarupta became dormant. In the valleys of Knife Creek and the Ukak River, innumerable small holes and cracks developed in the volcanic ash deposits, permitting gas and steam from the heated ground water to escape.
It was an apparently unnamed valley when the 20th century’s most dramatic volcanic episode took place. Robert Griggs, exploring the volcano’s aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916, stared awe struck off Katmai Pass across the valley’s roaring landscape riddled by thousands of steam vents. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Griggs named it.
“The whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands – literally, tens of thousands – of smokes curling up from its fissured floor,” Griggs would write. One thousand steam vents reached 150 meters (500 feet) in the air, some more than 300 meters (1,000 feet). Such marvels inspired explorers on the next year’s expedition.
Only one eruption in historic times – Greece’s Santorini in 1500 B.C. – displaced more volcanic matter than Novarupta. The terrible 1883 eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatoa belched out little more than half as much, yet killed 35,000 people. Vastly isolated Novarupta killed no one. If the eruption occurred on Manhattan Island in New York City, Robert Griggs calculated, residents of Chicago would hear it plainly. The fumes would tarnish brass in Denver. Acid raindrops would burn your skin in Toronto. In Philadelphia the ash would lie nearly as deep as this folder is wide. Manhattan would have no survivors. Today you can take the trip from Brooks Camp out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, where the turbulent Ukak River and its tributaries cut deep gorges in the accumulated ash. The landscape slowly recovers: In nature, each destruction is somewhere’s new creation.
On our way back from the Valley, we were allowed to get off the bus and walk upto viewing platform to see bears feasting on Salmon one more time.
We were accompanied by an English gentlemen who had been visiting this for place several times.
This time he had brought one of his aunts to see all this.
While walking we were worried about facing any bear along the road. And walked very surreptitiously . We were instructed that if you see one you must stand quietly. But luck was on our side and reached the platform safely.