The St. Paul echo. [volume] (St. Paul ;) 1925-1927, 1926-01-30
MANY CRATERS
ON UN|MAK ISLE
Often Causes Great Confu.
sion in Locating Various
Eruptions.

TORS IN the interior OF Alaska are anx-
iously awaiting the end Of summer
like weather, so the rivers may freeze
and they can make their way out.
Unusually high temperatures for No
vember followed the reported activity
Of Mount Shishaldin, q volcano on
Unimak island.
"Unimak island, the largest Of the
Aleutian stepping stones is focus
Of volcanic activity second only to the
Katmai district, scene, in 1912, Of one
Of the greatest volcanic eruptions the
world has known says bulletin
from the Washington headquarters of
the National Geographic society. "Al-
though it has an area only little
larger than Rhode Island, so many
craters occur on Unimak island that
there is often a great deal Of confu-
sion as to the location Of the various
eruptions reported.
FuJIyama's "DoubIs."
Mount Shishaldin, the peak recent.
ly reported active, Is the most strik-
ing and beautiful Of the eleven major
craters of the island. It has one of
the most nearly perfect cones In the
world, seeming to float suspended in
the air above its cloud-girt base. Be-
cause Of its white symmetry 1t has
been called the most formidable rival
Of the celebrated Fujiyama. Fortu-
nate, however, is the visitor who has
seen this Alaskan queen in all her
beauty, for most of the year Unimak,
and the rest of the Aleutians, are en-
veloped in a heavy blanket Of fog and
low-lying clouds.
Despite Unimak's size and its sep
aration from the mainland panhandle
Of Alaska by only narrow strip of
water, it is of little Importance. There
are no good harbors around its shores
God fishing on the great banks to
the south Of the island, which are
similar to those Of Newfoundland. and
the mining of small quantities Of
sulphur and pumice stone are the
principal industries. The Inhabitants
are mostly the remnants Of the orig
inal native tribes found here by the
Russians in the Eighteenth century.
"There is no tourist trade, partly
because there are no accommodations
for them, but mainly because the
beauties Of the island can be seen
to advantage with binoculars on ship
board. West coast steamers bound
for Nome and other places on the
Bering sea, or for the Arctic ocean,
pass almost around the island, for the
narrow strait separating 1t from the
mainland is not as safe as Unimak
pass, the strait between 1t and the
rest of the Fox group.
like its sister islands Unimak Is
in general desolate and scraggy along
it's rocky, grass-covered lower slopes.
It is treeless, and, except for its
heavy rainfall and fogs, has de-
lightful climate. Summers in Unimak
are cooler than places farther north,
while in winter the weather Is milder
than that of Tennessee or Kentucky,
twenty degrees Of latitude farther
south. The warm Japan current, which
sweeps up the coast Of Asia and
around the Aleutians, gives 1t a
January average Of 30 degrees above
zero.
Grasses Of all kinds grow In abun-
dance on the lowlands all year round
but the climate Is too damp to ma
ture grain. Although the soil is rich,
being composed Of vegetable mold
mixed with volcanic ash, the land is
rugged and there are no places where
farms of any size can be made. Small
though the island is, the interior has
never been thoroughly explored, and
reports of lake Of sulphur in solu-
ton there have never been confirmed.
On Direct Route to Japan.
"Unimak and other islands Of the
Aleutian chain, believed to be the
route by which man first migrated
to the Western hemisphere. should be
better known to the world at large, for
they are on the shortest route be-
tween our northwestern states and
Japan. The great expanse Of the
Pacific and the curvature of the earth
place Yokohama almost due northwest
of Seattle, If one follows the most
direct path.
1.-THE American world flyers remem-
Der Unimak as part Of one Of the
most difficult stages in their globe
circling trip. Port Moller, the COM
munity to which Major Martin made
his way on foot after his plane
crashed, is about $50 miles farther
east. The district presented the same
pitfalls for aviators as Unimak, con-
ical peaks and sharp ridges rising
suddenly out Of dreary fog-hidden
tundras and marshes.
"In addition to Mt. Shishaldin, Uni
max has several other exceptional
peaks. Pogromni Volcano, the mile
high sentinel Of Unimak pass In the
western part Of the island, today is
but the broken shell Of vast crater
which is said to have burst In 1895.
Other violent eruptions are reported
between 1927 and 1880. Lately it has
been a very well behaved volcano.
A thin, slow wisp Of smoke is a con-
slant reminder, however, Of its lurid
past. The Isanotsky peaks are cred
tied with a violent eruption within
the last century, but as is the case
with SO much Of the rest of the his
tory Of the island, there is no con-
frmation. Their appearance suggests
long period Of erosion rather than