Mount Shishaldin simmers down after explosive eruption

Mount Shishaldin has simmered down after a Friday eruption sent an ash cloud across the eastern Aleutians, prompting the Alaska Volcano Observatory to raise the aviation color code to red.

This was the stratovolcano’s latest eruption in a summer of increased activity.

Shishaldin is the highest peak in the Aleutian chain, rising 9,373 feet. It’s near the center of Unimak Island, about 20 miles from the small fishing community of False Pass.

The observatory said things slowed down quickly after Friday’s eruption and activity has returned to pre-eruptive levels.