Backpacking along Knife Creek in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, in Katmai National Park, Alaska. All of the terrain is made up of volcanic ejecta, pumice, and ash. There is a surprising amount of vegetation along Knife Creek due to the area being protected from the severe winds of Katmai Pass. The erruption happened in 1912 so it has taken over 100 years for even this much to grow here.
After 8 or 9 hours we made the Mt Katmai caldera. Prior to 1912 the volcano had a proper peak but it collapsed in the eruption that year, the magma chamber beneath it draining away and coming out 6 miles away at the Novarupta vent. The event created not only this epic caldera but also the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes which led to the establishment of Katmai National Monument in 1918, later to become Katmai National Park & Preserve.
Ascending the glaciated Mt Katmai volcano in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Everything orangey-yellow brown you see is ash and pumice. Just surreal.