Except the top of the cone is cut off — and sports a crater lake. The volcano literally exploded… about a year ago… on August 7th, 2008.

Summit crater and crater lake of Kasatochi volcano, August 6, 2008, the day before the eruption. The crater shown here is about 4,000 feet in diameter. Photo by Chris Ford, USFWS.

Kasatochi shown October 23, 2008, three months after the eruption. Photo by Jerry Morris

The eruption sent an ash plume almost five miles into the sky over the surrounding Aleutian Islands. It also covered the entire island in several feet of scorching ash, incinerating everything alive. Now, some scientists are paying the island a visit — looking for new signs of life on the barren terrain.

We’re just looking for the name of the island.

For today’s Geo Quiz, we’re looking for a volcanic island… roughly halfway between Alaska and Russia. An eruption a year ago coated the island in a thick layer of searing hot ash. And as far as scientists knew at the time, nothing survived.

Now people are returning to explore the island. Among them is University of Alaska entomologist Derek Sikes… and he joins us by satellite phone. He’s among those searching for new signs of life on Kasatochi, a volcanic island that is part of the Aleutian chain. An eruption there last year incinerated the island’s plants and animals.

Listen to the interview:

Download MP3