Mount Adagdak

Mount Adagdak is a Pleistocene stratovolcano at the northern end of Adak Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain. Named from nearby Cape Adagdak by the United States Geological Survey in 1948, it was formed during three distinct periods of volcanic activity recorded in its rocks. The youngest dated material is about 205,000 to 215,000 years old, showing that it is an ancient volcanic feature rather than a recently active one. Its remote setting later inspired an unusual proposal by John Hunter of Quicklaunch, who twice suggested the mountain’s western slope as a site for a light-gas gun to launch small payloads into orbit for the International Space Station.

Adak, Alaska · United States