Mount Edgecumbe (Alaska) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Edgecumbe |
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Mount Edgecumbe in December 2004
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,201 ft (976 m) |
| Prominence | 3,201 ft (976 m) |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Error {{native name}}: an IETF language tag as parameter {{{1}}} is required (help) |
| Geography | |
 Mount Edgecumbe
Location in Alaska
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| Topo map | USGS Sitka A-6 |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | < 600,000 yr |
| Mountain type | Dacite stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 2220 BCE ± 100 years |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1805 by Urey Lisianski |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Mount Edgecumbe (Russian: Эджком) is a dormant volcano located at the southern end of Kruzof Island, Alaska, about 15 miles (24 km) west of Sitka. The volcano is about 9.9 miles (16 km) east of the Queen Charlotte Fault that separates the North American and Pacific Plates, and is the highest point in the Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field, an area of about 100 square miles (260 km2) on Kruzof Island that also includes Crater Ridge and Shell Mountain.
After about 800 years of dormancy at Mount Edgecumbe, researchers have observed hundreds of small earthquakes in April 2022. Analysis by the Alaska Volcano Observatory following the swarm, revealed deformation starting in August 2018 in an 11-mile (17 km) diameter area to the east of the mountain. Uplift totalled 11 inches (27 cm) since the start and occurred at 3.4 inches (8.7 cm) a year in its center. This deformation is likely related to a magmatic intrusion at 3 miles (5 km) depth.
Name
The indigenous Tlingit people considered the mountain to be sacred. In the Tlingit language, the mountain is called L’ux, which means "to flash" or "blinking," purportedly because the Tlingit people first discovered it while it was smoking or erupting.
On 16 August 1775, Spanish explorer Juan de la Bodega named the mountain Montaña de San Jacinto to honor Saint Hyacinth, whose feast day is celebrated on 17 August. Captain James Cook passed the mountain on 2 May 1778 during his third voyage and named it Mount Edgecumbe, presumably after a hill overlooking Plymouth Harbor, England, or possibly for George, Earl of Edgcumbe. Explorer George Vancouver later adopted the name chosen by Cook, and it came into popular usage.
Ascent
The first recorded ascent was made in July 1805 by Captain Urey Lisianski of the Imperial Russian Navy. In the 1930s a trail to the top of the mountain was made by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of a New Deal program to ease the Great Depression.
The Mt. Edgecumbe Trail is roughly 11 km (7 miles), ascending through taiga and muskeg before becoming steep and ending in a barren landscape of snow and red volcanic ash above the treeline, at about 2,000 feet, with sign-posts directing hikers toward the crater rim. A three-sided cabin built by the Conservation Corps lies about four miles up trail. The trail can be muddy and wet in places, the last three miles are a steep climb, and bears may be present. The difficulty of the trail is listed as "moderate."
Eruptions
- 7620 BC
- 3810 BC
- 2220 BC ±100 years
Eruption hoax
On April 1, 1974, a local prankster named Oliver "Porky" Bickar ignited hundreds of old tires in the crater, which he had flown in for an April Fools' Day joke. The dark smoke rising from the crater convinced nearby residents of Sitka, Alaska that the volcano was erupting. The hoax was soon revealed, as around the rim of the volcano, "April Fool" was spray-painted in 50 ft letters. The Guardian reports that Bickar had been planning the prank for four years, and lists it among the ten best Aprils Fools hoaxes of all time.
See also
In Spanish: Monte Edgecumbe para niños
