Mount Edgecumbe

Mount Edgecumbe is a dormant stratovolcano on Kruzof Island near Sitka and the highest point in a volcanic field that also includes Crater Ridge and Shell Mountain. Sacred to the Tlingit as Lʼúx, it has long held cultural as well as geologic importance. Spanish explorer Juan de la Bodega named it Montaña de San Jacinto in 1775, but Captain James Cook’s 1778 name, later adopted by George Vancouver, became standard. Though it has not had a major eruption in about 4,000 years, it remains classified as historically active. Earthquakes and ground deformation detected from 2018 to 2022 renewed scrutiny, prompting expanded monitoring.

Sitka, Alaska · United States