This dramatic mountain is the only active volcano in southeastern Alaska. The beautiful conical volcano erupted between 13,000 and 9,000 years before present and has steamed and smoked within the last 300 years. On April 1 1974, smoke pouring from the crater proved to be the result of burning tires lit by a local prankster.
The basaltic lava that formed the volcano was fluid and flowed readily to produce the gently sloped shield type volcano. Volcanism in southeastern Alaska is somewhat surprising because, in contrast to further south along the west flank of the Cascades, there is no subduction of oceanic crust beneath this part of the North American margin. However, the nearby Queen Charlotte - Fairweather transform fault may have provided a conduit for magma migration to the surface.
