Kruzof Island sits 15 miles to the west of Sitka and forms the barrier that creates Sitka Sound. Mt. Edgecumbe, our extinct volcano sits on the island. I can see it every day when there is good visibility from my living room chair. Sitting next to Edgecumbe is Saddle Back, a collapsed volcanic cone, and to the north of that several smaller cones. Flying over Kruzof Island gives you a whole new perspective. If you approach Cape Edgecumbe from the south you first see St. Lazaria Island, a national wildlife refuge because it is the breeding ground for all sorts of marine birds, including puffins. I have been to St. Lazaria by boat many times, although never on the island except once when I had engine failure and Brian and Suzi had to fend us off the rocks while I got the auxiliary kicker going. It is a volcanic plug blown out of a volcano older than Edgecumbe.
Continuing North you fly over Edgecumbe itself. This time of year you can see the red volcanic ash with stripes of snow remaining from the winder’s cover. That show will be all gone sometime in July, last year and the year before it was gone by now. And you will also see the green starting to return to the slopes. Once past Edgecumbe you get to Saddle Back. Inside it’s caldera are lakes and forestland. And north of that any number of smaller craters and calderas, some beautiful round little lakes.
For more pictures of our flightseeing trip click here.
