Tanaga Island is an island in the western 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...

, in the southwest part of the Aleutian Islands, 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 has a land area of 204 square miles (528.4 km²), making it the 33rd largest island in the United States. Its highest point is volcano Mount Tanaga

Tanaga (volcano)

Tanaga is a 5,924-foot stratovolcano in the Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. There have been three known eruptions since 1763. The most recent was in 1914 and produced lava flows.-External links:*...

at 5925 feet (1,805.9 m).

Tanaga Island is about 62 miles west Adak Island, the nearest inhabited island. There are several large waterfalls on Tanaga Island. Tanaga Island is uninhabited, but several cabins are shown on the NOAA nautical chart, as well as some Aluet villages on the east side of the island.

There are no native land mammals on Tanaga Island.

Tanaga Island was established as a Navy emergency landing field in July 1943 as an adjunct to the Adak Naval Operation Base. Navy Seabees built a runway, small-craft pier, mooring area, office and storage buildings, radio building, galley and mess facilities, dispensary, and 4 miles of gravel road in 1943, near Lash Bay in the southwest of the island. The site was abandoned in 1945. The control tower is still shown on nautical charts.

Volcano

The last known eruption of Tanaga Volcano occurred in 1914. Earlier eruptions were reported in 1763-1770, 1791, and 1829. Reports of these eruptions are vague, but deposits on the flanks of the volcano show that typical eruptions produce blocky lava flows and occasional ash clouds.

Eruptions have occurred both from the summit vent and a 5,197 ft-high satellite vent on the volcano's northeast flank. Immediately west of Tanaga volcano lies Sajaka, a 4,443 ft-high compound edifice.

Takawangha's 4,754 ft-high summit is mostly ice-covered, except for four young craters that have erupted ash and lava flows in the last few thousand years. Parts of Takawangha's edifice are hydrothermally altered and may be unstable, and could produce localized debris avalanches. No historical eruptions are known from Sajaka or Takawangha; however, field work shows that recent eruptions have occurred and it is possible that historic eruptions attributed only to Tanaga may instead have come from these other vents.

External links

• Tanaga Island Photos Photos from Tanaga Island, July 2008]