Espenberg volcanic field

The Espenberg volcanic field on Alaska’s northern Seward Peninsula is a late Pleistocene cluster of basaltic volcanoes famed for its enormous maars, including the largest known on Earth. Between the Chukchi Sea and Goodhope Bay, it includes North and South Killeak Maar, Devil Mountain Maar, Whitefish Maar, cinder cones, lava flows, and small shield-like volcanoes. Its maars formed when rising magma met thick permafrost, producing unusually explosive eruptions and craters so large they rival some calderas. The field is the first known example of maars formed in permafrost, has informed studies of Mars, preserves important climate and environmental evidence, and long served Native peoples as fishing, hunting, and landmark sites.

Shishmaref, Alaska · United States