Living on the Ring of Fire

Being located where two plates meet means Alaska has an especially dynamic geology.  And this has important consequences for the state's human population.  As we saw on the previous page, the plate interactions create a large system of volcanoes.  Alaska has over 130 volcanoes, most of which are active.  

In June 1912, Mount Katmai, a volcano on the Alaska Peninsula, exploded in the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century and one of the five largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. The eruption, which was 10 times more forceful than the 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens, permanently destroyed the Alaskan Native villages of Katmai and Savonoski.