page_title: Mount Shishaldin
hierarchical_section_title: Mount Shishaldin
caption_attribution_description: English: Often compared to Mount Fuji, Japan, the symmetrical Shishaldin volcano located on central Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands rises 2,857 m (9,373 ft) above sea level. The volcano has had several historical eruptions. A summit crater emits a nearly continuous plume of steam. Deutsch: Der 2.857 m hohe de:Vulkan Shishaldin auf der de:Aleuten-Insel Unimak.
context_page_description: Mount Shishaldin is a moderately active volcano on Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands chain of Alaska. It is the highest mountain peak of the Aleutian Islands. The most symmetrical cone-shaped glacier-clad large mountain on Earth, the volcano's topographic contour lines are nearly perfect circles above 6,500 feet. The lower north and south slopes are somewhat steeper than the lower eastern and western slopes. The volcano is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes along an east–west line in the eastern half of Unimak Island.
  The upper 6,600 ft is almost entirely covered by glacial snow and ice. In all, Shishaldin's glacial shield covers about 35 square miles. It is flanked to the northwest by 24 monogenetic parasitic cones, an area blanketed by massive lava flows. The Shishaldin cone is less than 10,000 years old and is constructed on a glacially eroded remnant of an ancestral somma and shield. Remnants of the older ancestral volcano are exposed on the west and northeast sides at 4,900 to 5,900 ft elevation. The Shishaldin edifice contains about 120 square miles of material.
context_section_description: Mount Shishaldin (/ʃɪˈʃældən/) is a moderately active volcano on Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands chain of Alaska. It is the highest mountain peak of the Aleutian Islands. The most symmetrical cone-shaped glacier-clad large mountain on Earth, the volcano's topographic contour lines are nearly perfect circles above 6,500 feet (2,000 m). The lower north and south slopes are somewhat steeper than the lower eastern and western slopes. The volcano is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes along an east–west line in the eastern half of Unimak Island.
  The upper 6,600 ft (2,000 m) is almost entirely covered by glacial snow and ice. In all, Shishaldin's glacial shield covers about 35 square miles (91 km²). It is flanked to the northwest by 24 monogenetic parasitic cones, an area blanketed by massive lava flows. The Shishaldin cone is less than 10,000 years old and is constructed on a glacially eroded remnant of an ancestral somma and shield. Remnants of the older ancestral volcano are exposed on the west and northeast sides at 4,900 to 5,900 ft (1,500 to 1,800 m) elevation. The Shishaldin edifice contains about 120 square miles (310 km²) of material.  A very steady steam plume rises from its small summit crater which is about 500 ft (150 m) across and slightly breached along the north rim.
  In 1967, Shishaldin Volcano was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.
caption: Mount Shishaldin, May 1994
exif: {}