Douglas and Fourpeaked Volcano

Approaching Douglas volcano from the West: the crater lake at the mountain's summit at center, Cook Inlet in the background.

From SW, aligned with the chain of Alaska volcanoes: Douglas in foreground, Augustine (left), Iliamna (center) and Redoubt (center right, far away).

Flying above the summit crater of Douglas: Fumaroles heat the crater lake's water to high temperatures, despite being entirely surrounded by glacier ice.

The crater lake is partially covered by small icebergs, which have calved from the surrounding ice cliffs, and a fresh ice crust. Other parts of the lake are open and emit steam.

Note a small, ice-free section of Douglas crater on the right; in the background the heavily crevassed accumulation area of Fourpeaked glacier can be seen.

Douglas Volcano from the NE. Note how glaciers from Douglas and some smaller peaks in the background are forming an icecap covering the mountain range.

In this view, Fourpeaked Glacier, a major outlet glacier from the icecap descends into a proglacial lake separated from Cook Inlet by terminal moraines.

Close-up view of Fourpeaked Glacier's tongue and its proglacial lake; Cook Inlet in the background.

Steam is released from a vent on Fourpeaked Volcano. Fourpeaked Glacier can still be glimpsed in the background.

Steam from the active vent of Fourpeaked Volcano has penetrated the glacier ice. However, two older vents from 2006 below the active one have migrated downglacier as a result of the glacier's motion and are now closed.

Steam is released irregularly from the vent causing puffs and little clouds.

Crossing the aligned chain of Alaskan volcanoes NE of Fourpeaked Volcano. Katmai Volcano is in the far background.

A large depression in the slope of Fourpeaked volcano is either the result of glacial erosion or of a flank collapse and landslide. Note ice avalanches which have descended from the cliff.

Ice avalanches and, possibly, mudflows have transported debris and deposited it on the lower, flatter part of the glacier.

Detail of the glacier just above the ice cliff: wide crevasses are caused by longitudinal strain in the ice.

Flying back over the northern slopes of Douglas Volcano, crossing several glacier tongues which reaching far into the inner Alaska lowlands.