Katmai

Declared a national monument in 1918 after the eruption of Novarupta in 1912 — the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century by volume of material thrown out, far greater than Mount St Helens in 1980 — which buried a whole valley under burning ash and created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Today Katmai is famous the world over for Brooks Falls, where dozens of coastal brown bears gather each summer to fish for salmon leaping the cascade, a spectacle broadcast live on webcams and followed through the popular annual Fat Bear Week.