A volcano believed by scientists to be dormant for the last 10,000 years has rumbled to life with a burst of ash, gas and steam, signs that an eruption could occur in the coming days or weeks, a joint state and federal agency said.
Scientists last week spotted a cloud streaming near the Fourpeaked Volcano, a 2,104-metre mountain about 322 kilometres southwest of Anchorage, but area residents thought the activity was coming from another active volcano in the area.
Once the weather cleared, information gleaned from overflights and sensors placed on Fourpeaked Volcano indicated the mountain was active, said Peter Cervelli, a geophysicist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
"We see a fairly healthy amount of gas coming of this thing, which makes us think that there is magma that has moved," said Cervelli. "It's a bit of a surprise that this volcano would wake up."
The closest major community to the volcano is Kodiak, a fishing centre about 130 kilometres to the southeast.
Although scientists believe Fourpeaked Volcano has been quiet for the past 10,000 years, there is no way to be sure since the mountain is covered by ice and geologic studies have been limited, Cervelli said.
