Mapping a Volcano: Adventures in AlaskaLatest update May 20, 1928 Started on January 1, 1927
During the summer of 1928 a group was sent to explore and map 2,500 square miles of territory near the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Mapping the home of the great brown bear in the area of Pavlof Volcano.
The expedition team set up camp along Canoe Bay, a land locked body of water ten miles long. To the North of Canoe Bay is a snow covered volcano with its cup crater in full view. Three A-tents were assembled and subsequently labelled Doc, Dick, and Mac, for the leader, the photographer, and the topographer, respectively. There were no trees surrounding Canoe Bay but wreckage from salmon traps provided the firewood for interior camps.
Meals at camp consisted of eggs, evaporated potatoes, canned sweet potatoes, cooked ham with bone-in, powdered milk, tinned goods, and Sourdough hot cakes for the essential Alaskan breakfast.
The team consisted of:
Thomas A. Jagger- Director of the Expedition C.P. McKinley- Topographer Richard H. Stewart- Photographer Walter N. Koels- Biologist John Gardner- Field man Peter Yatchmeneff- Field man
In April of 1928, the team gathered on the docks of Bellingham, Washington to load the regulation troll boat, "Geographic," with supplies to last the duration of the expedition.
A news bulletin from 1927 describing the preparations and decision to explore the area around Pavlof Volcano.
National Geographic Society support allows volcanologist, Dr. Thomas Jaggar, to explore Pavlof Volcano in Alaska, map 550 square miles of previously uncharted territory, and the study of wildlife and botany. Dr. Jagger implemented the use an amphibian "mobile boat," the outcome of experiments made from the previous year's reconnaissance work.
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