1540 Eruption of Augustine
Augustine in the United States erupted in 1540 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. It caused a tsunami.
Where it erupted
Augustine, United States, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- 1540
- Volcano
- Augustine, lava dome
- Country
- United States
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Location
- 59.363° N, 153.435° W
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this eruption.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
West Augustine Island is separated from Augustine Island by a shallow lagoon <1 km wide. West Augustine consists of deposits of an ~35 km2 debris avalanche that traveled 11 km from the summit of St. Augustine Volcano. A 14C date from a sample of alder bark indicates an age of A.D 1540+/-110 years (reference #2220). West Augustine had previously been mapped as Pleistocene in age (reference #3079). The volume of the debris avalanche would likely posses sufficient mobility to reach the coast of the island and be capable of causing a tsunami (reference #2220). A 500 year old paleo-Aleut carving showing the oldest written record of a volcanic eruption and tsunami in the western hemisphere. (reference #4220)
Other significant eruptions of Augustine
More
Every eruption in 1540The 1500sAugustineEarthquakes near Augustine
Sources
Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4583.