Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes fumaroles

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes was formed during the massive 1912 eruption of the Novarupta volcano on the Alaska Peninsula. This eruption was the largest volcanic event of the 20th century and covered the former river valley in a deep layer of ash and pumice.

The valley is a volcanic landscape located within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. It sits near the base of the Alaska Peninsula, offering a barren, stark landscape that looks remarkably like a moonscape.

In the immediate aftermath of the 1912 Novarupta eruption, thousands of fumaroles—vents emitting steam and volcanic gas—formed in the cooling ash. When explorers first surveyed the area, they saw tens of thousands of these smoking vents, leading them to name it the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

No, the vast majority of the smoking fumaroles have cooled and died out since the initial eruption over a century ago. Today, the valley is mostly a quiet, gray landscape of solidified ash, though a few isolated fumaroles still exist near the Novarupta dome.