VanderFloek (2009) went farther, arguing that the caldera-forming
Aniakchak II eruption (Beget et al., 1992; Blackford et al., 2014) wrought an ecological catastrophe severe enough to decimate western Alaskan caribou populations and blanket the region with highly toxic volcanic ash.
From there, he was able to catch a ride with a bush pilot to visit
Aniakchak National Monument, one of the wildest and least visited parks in the National Park System.
Only 134 intrepid individuals visited the
Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, located further west on the Alaskan Peninsula from Katmai.
The Ends of the Earth was written, produced, and directed by John Grabowska of the National Park Service and co-pro duced by Roy Wood, chief of interpretation for Katmai and
Aniakchak national parks.
"Here's this incredible institution, and the Park Service does so little to publicize it directly, beyond the Internet, which is such a passive vehicle--no one's going to search for
Aniakchak Crater, per se, they're going to have to find it on their own," he says.
Don't get dizzy as you look down into the
Aniakchak caldera in Alaska--and watch out for the mud volcano!
Most goes by air as bypass mail, but in the winter residents of Aniak,
Aniakchak, Stony River, Eek, and other communities will stop by after riding their snowmachines or four-wheelers down the frozen river to Bethel.