Witness: Firsthand accounts of the largest volcanic eruption in the twentieth century
Schaaf JM. 2004. Witness: Firsthand accounts of the largest volcanic eruption in the twentieth century. National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Firsthand accounts about the largest volcanic explosion of Alaska are included. There is a long-standing bond between Katmai’s volcanoes and resident people. In the 10,000 years since the close of the last Ice Age, there have been at least seven explosive eruptions and many minor eruptions within the Katmai volcanic cluster. These events are evident in the archaeological sites throughout the region, where tephras are layered between prehistoric house floors and camp surfaces. Witnessing the explosion of a mountain within very close proximity was not an unknown experience for people living on the Alaska Peninsula when Novarupta volcano unleashed one of the five largest eruptions in recorded history on June 6, 1912. Although an eruption of this scale had not happened in their lifetime, ancestral knowledge of immeasurable antiquity instructed them through oral tradition. Some of these firsthand accounts are included in this document.