Mount Redoubt Erupts

Mount Redoubt, a 10,000 foot active volcano in Alaska, erupted late Sunday evening, sending a column of ash 50,000 feet into the air. Geologists have been predicting an eruption there for several months, and have been watching Redoubt very closely.

Redoubt is about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, which is Alaska's largest city and contains about 40% of the total population of the state. Besides the ash in the air, there doesn't seem to be a great risk posed to people by this eruption right now, although scientists are monitoring for the possibility of mudslides or flooding causes by melted glaciers.

Redoubt last erupted over a 5 month period between 1989 and 1990.