Volcano
West Aleutian Volcanoes: 6 Live Cameras — erupting now
Six cameras at the west end of the chain. An eruption still going on, an infrared camera that reads heat after dark, and an island just short of the date line.
What you can see
These six are on the western side of the Aleutian chain. Two things here appear on no other Alaska page: an eruption that is still going on, and a camera you can watch at night.
At Great Sitkin, an eruption that began in July 2021 is still going. Lava is slowly filling the summit crater, and there has not been a single explosion. None of the drama the word "erupting" suggests - just lava quietly accumulating.
Cleveland is a 1,730 m cone occupying the western half of an uninhabited island by itself. Its heat is reported to melt snow off sooner than on the neighbouring peak. The difference in how snow lingers is itself the evidence of heat.
The same mountain has a second camera, in infrared. Heat shows up as light and dark, so the crater's heat can be read after dark. Alaskan cameras tend to fall in the dark hours as seen from East Asia, so this is the one camera here you can open regardless of the time.
Semisopochnoi is a volcanic island at 179 degrees east, just short of the date line. Three young peaks are growing inside an 8 km caldera. By longitude it is almost due east of Japan, and the western edge of the United States.
Tanaga is an 1,806 m volcano 100 km west of Adak, with three peaks in a row; its last eruption was in 1914. Kanaga is a symmetrical 1,307 m cone with a crater 200 m across and 60 m deep at the summit, where fumaroles are active.
Cameras you can watch now: 6
All 6 are still images. Tap one to open it in the camera list.
-
Still image
Mount Cleveland
Alaska · Volcano
A 1,730 m cone that makes up the whole western half of an uninhabited island. It is reported to lose its snow faster than neighbouring peaks, apparently from its own heat.
-
Still image
Mount Cleveland, infrared camera
Alaska · Volcano
The same mountain in infrared. Heat shows up as light and dark, so the warmth of the crater can be read even after dark.
-
Still image
Great Sitkin
Alaska · Volcano
An eruption that began in July 2021 is still going. Lava has slowly filled the summit crater, and there has not been a single explosion.
-
Still image
Semisopochnoi
Alaska · Volcano
A volcanic island at 179 degrees east, just short of the date line. Three young cones are growing inside its 8 km caldera.
-
Still image
Mount Tanaga
Alaska · Volcano
An 1,806 m volcano 100 km west of Adak. Three edifices stand in a row, and the last known eruption was in 1914.
-
Still image
Mount Kanaga
Alaska · Volcano
A symmetrical 1,307 m cone. Its summit crater is about 200 m across and 60 m deep, with active fumaroles inside.
When to watch
The operator publishes no viewing season, and we will not invent one here. The eruption starting in July 2021 and continuing, the absence of explosions, the faster snowmelt, the infrared reading of heat, the longitude and the crater dimensions all come from the camera descriptions.
These six run an hour behind the eastern Aleutians: 18 hours behind Japan on daylight time, 19 hours behind on standard time. Calculated: 03:00 Japan time on daylight time, or 04:00 on standard time, is 09:00 locally (checked 2026-09-07).
So opening these in the small hours in East Asia catches their morning. But the infrared camera does not need light at all. If you remember these during your daytime, open that one first.
If it isn't showing
All six also appear on the United States page, filed under Volcano.
The eastern half of the chain is in East Aleutian Volcanoes, the peninsula in Alaska Peninsula Volcanoes, and the ones across from Anchorage in Cook Inlet Volcanoes.
Elsewhere in Alaska: Parks With No Roads, Polar Bears and Aurora. Wide American landscapes are in Wide Views of the US.
What a volcano camera actually shows is in What volcano cameras are looking at; the time zones are in Which cameras are in daylight now.
Where to find West Aleutian Volcanoes
Agencies publishing the cameras on this page
- Alaska Volcano Observatory (Free to use with credit) — Official site
The footage belongs to each agency. This site is an unofficial guide, and each sample frame was copied once per camera under that agency's terms of use.