Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska which is filled with ash flow from the eruption of Novarupta on June 6–8, 1912. Following the eruption, thousands of fumaroles vented steam from the ash. Robert F. Griggs, who explored the volcano's aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916, gave the valley its name, saying that "the whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands—literally, tens of thousands—of smokes curling up from its fissured floor." Prior to the eruption,
Geology of the Death Valley area Creek Basin opened in this area and the rest of Death Valley followed in stages. One of the last stages was the formation of Badwater Basin, which occurred by about 4 Ma. Data from gravimeters show that Death Valley's bedrock floor tilts down toward the east and is deepest under Badwater Basin; there is of fill under Badwater. By about 2 Ma Death Valley, Panamint Valley and their associated ranges were formed. Much of the extra local stretching in Death Valley that is responsible for its lower depth and wider valley floor is caused by "left" lateral strike-slip movement along