A Novarupta-Scale Eruption Today Would Cripple Global Aviation
The great eruption that created the valley came from a smallish clump of rocks called Novarupta. Nowhere near as grand as Mount Katmai (the mountain that lost its top 6 miles away), Novarupta spewed an ash cloud 20 miles into the sky, belching 100 times more ash than did Mount St. Helens.
Though few people know its name, Novarupta was the largest eruption of the 20th century.
British graduate student Rebecca Anne Welchman once took a look at what would happen if Novarupta happened today.
More: A Novarupta-scale eruption today would cripple global aviation - Alaska Dispatch News