Bathymetry of Cannikin Lake, Amchitka Island, Alaska, with

UNITIDJ STATES
Amchitka-41 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
1974 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Federal Center. Lakewood, Colorado 80225
BAT-RY OF CANNIKIN LAKE. MCHITKA ISLAND. AWLSKA.
WLTH AN EVALUATION OF COMPUTER-HAPPING TECEU?IQUES
Don Diago Gonzalez, Lebnard E. Wollitz. and G. E. Brethauer
ABSTRACT
Defining the ch.racteri8tics of Cannikin Lake was eaaential in
detedning the effect of a eubsurface nuclear detonation on the
hydrologic and biologic environment. A bathymtric mrp, the basic
geometry of the leke, and the stage-area-volume relationship were
derived from data produced by a sonic survey of the lake, At the
lake's highest level, the maximum dept is 31 feet (9.45 metres), it
h e a volume of 325 acre-feet (401 x l 3 cubic metres) and covers a
surface area of 30 acre. (12,1 hectares). A computer-mapping technique
utilizing two different computer programs OJET and Calcomp GPCP) was
used to evaluate the usefulness of the programs ae mapping tools. The
two bathymerric IMPS of the lake bottom produced by this method show
a high degree of reliability when compared with the hand-drawn version.
The Cannilcln event was detonated at a depth of 5,875 ft (1.79 km)
on Amchitka Island, Mask. (fig. l), on November 6, 1971. It was the
largest underground nuclear rest that the United States ham conducted,
Cannikin, with a yicZd of lees t hn 5 megatons, wus detonated in
saturated volcanic rock. MTlliseconds after the explosion the energy
of the device was expended, creathg a spherical cavity formed by
heat and pressure. The surrounding medium was fractured several