Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve which is filled with ash flow from the eruption of Novarupta on June 6-June 8, 1912. Following the eruption there were thousands of fumaroles venting steam from the ash. Robert Griggs, who explored the volcano's aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916, gave the valley its name. Griggs wrote: "The whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands-literally, tens of thousands-of smokes curling up from its fissured floor."

The ash filled valley covers a 40 square mile (104 km²) area and is up to 700 feet (210 m) deep. In places deep canyons have been cut by the River Lethe, allowing one to view the ash flow strata. Since the ash has cooled, most of the fumaroles are now extinct and the valley is no longer filled with smoke, but it retains its name. The signs of volcanic activity is still visible on nearby hills.