Seguam Island
Encyclopedia
Seguam Island is a small volcanic island
in the Andreanof Islands
group in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska
. The island is mountainous and oval shaped with a land area of 80.04 square miles (207.3 km²). It is 16 miles (25.7 km) long and 6.8 miles (10.9 km) wide. The 2000 census
reported a population of one person.
The island consists of several overlapping stratovolcano
es, and it contains two caldera
s each with central volcanic cone
s. About 10 historical eruptions have been recorded since the late 18th century, the most recent in 1993. All recent activity has occurred at Pyre Peak, the cone within the western caldera and the highest point on the island, and has produced explosive eruption
s and basalt
ic lava flows.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Andreanof Islands
Andreanof Islands
The Andreanof Islands are a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. They are located between Amchitka Pass and the Rat Islands group to the west, and Amukta Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group to the east, at about 52° North and 172°57' to 179°09' West. The islands...
group in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The island is mountainous and oval shaped with a land area of 80.04 square miles (207.3 km²). It is 16 miles (25.7 km) long and 6.8 miles (10.9 km) wide. The 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
reported a population of one person.
The island consists of several overlapping stratovolcano
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
es, and it contains two caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
s each with central volcanic cone
Volcanic cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption...
s. About 10 historical eruptions have been recorded since the late 18th century, the most recent in 1993. All recent activity has occurred at Pyre Peak, the cone within the western caldera and the highest point on the island, and has produced explosive eruption
Explosive eruption
An explosive eruption is a volcanic term to describe a violent, explosive type of eruption. Mount St. Helens in 1980 was an example. Such an eruption is driven by gas accumulating under great pressure. Driven by hot rising magma, it interacts with ground water until the pressure increases to the...
s and basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic lava flows.