September 6, 1912 Eruption of Novarupta
Novarupta in the United States erupted on September 6, 1912 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6. The eruption killed 2 people.
Where it erupted
Novarupta, United States.
The eruption
- Date
- September 6, 1912
- Volcano
- Novarupta, caldera
- Country
- United States
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 6, paroxysmal (eruption column over 25 km)
- Killed by
- Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
- Location
- 58.266° N, 155.159° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
An elderly, Indian woman died in Kodiak during the tephra fall. One man dies some weeks later after being buried for 3 hours up to his arms in wet ash.
More
Every eruption in 1912The 1900sNovaruptaEarthquakes near NovaruptaThis day in weather history
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 3248.