Hundreds of earthquakes have been detected beneath Mount Spurr in the past week, increasing the odds of an eruption.
Mount Spurr’s summit crater is seen from the air on March 7, 2023. Escaping gas from one of the volcano’s main fumarole and a dry crater floor can be seen. For months, observatory scientists have monitored a growing number of earthquakes beneath and near the volcano, snow melting atop it, and bulging ground around it.
“We’re watching it very closely,” Haney said. “We’re saying that there’s unrest above background , but it’s uncertain if this is actually building to an eruption.”A map of Mount Spurr, Alaska, showing monitoring stations operated by the Alaska Volcano Observatory and hypocenters of earthquakes that occurred from Jan. 1, 2024, through Feb. 6, 2025. Mount Spurr is about 75 miles west of Anchorage.
That year, an eruption was preceded by three weeks of escalating activity at the volcano, including nonstop seismic tremors and huge amounts of melting ice and snow atop the mountain. “These are very small . If we were out there at Spurr, we wouldn’t even feel them,” Haney said. “These are Magnitude 1 earthquakes. They have no discernible shaking, but they’re important because they’re telling us about the conditions inside the volcano. Every day, we’re locating dozens of these small earthquakes, and just in the past month, we’ve begun to see more earthquakes.”
Data from that flight was not immediately available, and two prior overflights didn’t find unusual levels of those gases.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Indonesian Volcano, Mount Ibu, Erupts Over 1,000 Times in 2025, Triggering EvacuationsMount Ibu, a volcano on Halmahera island in Indonesia, has erupted over 1,000 times since the beginning of 2025, prompting authorities to raise the alert level to the highest tier and initiate large-scale evacuations. The increased activity poses a significant threat to both the environment and human populations, with ash plumes reaching several kilometers into the sky. Despite the urgency, the evacuation process faces challenges due to villagers' reluctance to leave their homes and agricultural lands.
Read more »
Trump Vows to Revert Mount Denali Back to 'Mount McKinley'President Trump plans to rename Mount Denali back to 'Mount McKinley' during his presidency, sparking debate about honoring indigenous history and cultural recognition.
Read more »
Trump Renames Mount Denali as Mount McKinleyPresident Donald Trump reversed a 2015 name change by former President Barack Obama, renaming Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley. This restoration honors the 25th U.S. president, William McKinley, a native of Canton, Ohio.
Read more »
Vesuvius Peaks Through Clouds in Breathtaking Satellite ImageA recent satellite image captured by NASA's Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 reveals the summit of Mount Vesuvius, Europe's only active volcano, emerging from a cloud blanket. The image, taken in January 2022, highlights the volcano's iconic central cone and the remains of Mount Somma, an ancient volcano that collapsed to form a caldera. Experts compare the volcano's appearance through the cloud hole to fallstreak holes often created by airplanes.
Read more »
Alaska officials preparing geothermal lease sale at Cook Inlet volcanoAfter three companies expressed interest, the state Division of Oil and Gas started the formal process that may result in new exploration at Augustine Volcano.
Read more »
Alaska officials preparing geothermal lease sale at Cook Inlet volcanoAfter three companies expressed interest, the state Division of Oil and Gas started the formal process that may result in new exploration at Augustine Volcano.
Read more »