Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak IslandOn Unimak Island, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, the following volcanoes form a chain oriented from west to east: Pogromni (2002m a.s.l.), Shishaldin (2857m a.s.l.), Isanotski (2446m a.s.l.) and Roundtop Mountain (1871m a.s.l.). |
![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7899.jpg) Rainbow at Cold Bay airport; our piper aircraft is ready for takeoff for a flight to Unimak Island. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7914.jpg) The perfect cone of Shishaldin rises high above a deck of stratocumuls clouds. Pogromni volcano far right. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7920.jpg) The chain of volcanoes on Unimak, from left to right: Roundtop Mountain, Isanotski, Pogromni and Shishaldin. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7926.jpg) Whereas Shishaldin is a superb example of a young, symmetric stratovolcano, the much older Isanotski is irregular and deeply eroded. |
![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7936.jpg) Except for the topmost part Shishaldin's uppermost flanks are covered by glaciers. Their fast flow leads to intensive crevassing. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7955.jpg) Runoff from the Shishaldin's glaciers feeds into rivers meandering through coastal plains towards the Pacific Ocean (upper right). | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7968.jpg) Despite steam and gas from fumaroles within the crater, fresh snow, which fell during recent storms, covers most of the inside and outside of the crater. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7949.jpg) Whereas Shishaldin's summit cone is very steep, its lower flanks are much flatter. Isanotski and Roundtop Mountain in the background. |
![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7943.jpg) Note the fresh ice covering the andesitic lava flows erupted during the last activity of 1999. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7944.jpg) Note massive frost deposits around Shishaldin's crater (left). Crevasses indicate where glaciers begin to erode troughs into the volcano's flanks. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/isanotski-volcano-mf7932.jpg) The nearer half of Isanotski's summit crater rim has collapsed. The crater is now occupied by a glacier of considerable size. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/isanotski-volcano-mf7970.jpg) Isanotski from the north: Note how the rock pinnacles forming the summit ridge are encrusteed by big frost deposits. |
![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/roundtop-volcano-mf7972.jpg) A lateral cone on the north flank of Roundtop Mountain has collapsed in a similar way to Isanotski and is also occupied by a glacier. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/isanotski-volcano-mf7976.jpg) A valley glacier on Isanotski displays ogives and a remarkable patch of moraine probably caused by a landslide (below cloud lower middle). | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7979.jpg) Isanotski (left) and Shishaldin (right) rise over the cloud deck covering the Bering Sea shoreline. | ![Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, Unimak Island](icons-shishaldin/shishaldin-volcano-mf7986.jpg) After leaving Unimak Island a storm begins. As heavy rain sets in it's a good time to be back and land at Cold Bay airport. |
Photos by Marco Fulle, taken on a two hour charter flight on 23 Sept 2007, starting at 11 am, during a brief pause between strong storms. The sun was shining from the SSE; this may help to understand the orientation of the photos. |