Volcanoes of Kamchatka
Encyclopedia
The Volcanoes of Kamchatka are a large group of volcano
es situated on the Kamchatka peninsula. The Kamchatka River
and the surrounding central side valley are flanked by large volcanic belt
s containing around 160 volcano
es, 29 of them still active. The peninsula has a high density of volcanoes and associated volcanic phenomena, with 19 active volcanoes being included in the six UNESCO
World Heritage List sites in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka group, most of them on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The highest volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka
(4,750 m or 15,584 ft), the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere, while the most striking is Kronotsky
, whose perfect cone was said by celebrated volcanologists Robert and Barbara Decker to be a prime candidate for the world's most beautiful volcano. Somewhat more accessible are the three volcanoes visible from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
: Koryaksky
, Avachinsky, and Kozelsky. In the center of Kamchatka is Eurasia's world famous Geyser Valley which was partly destroyed by a massive mudslide in June 2007.
Owing to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
, deep-focus seismic events and tsunamis are fairly common. A pair of megathrust earthquake
s occurred off the coast
on October 16, 1737, and on November 4, 1952, in the magnitude of ~9.3 and 8.2 respectively. A chain of more shallow earthquakes
were recorded as recently as April 2006.
These volcanic features are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile
micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es situated on the Kamchatka peninsula. The Kamchatka River
Kamchatka River
The Kamchatka River runs eastward for through Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East towards the Pacific Ocean. The river is rich with salmon, millions of which spawn yearly and which once supported the settlements of the native Itelmen....
and the surrounding central side valley are flanked by large volcanic belt
Volcanic belt
A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature where magma is created by partial melting of solid material in the Earth's crust and upper mantle....
s containing around 160 volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es, 29 of them still active. The peninsula has a high density of volcanoes and associated volcanic phenomena, with 19 active volcanoes being included in the six UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage List sites in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka group, most of them on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The highest volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka
Klyuchevskaya Sopka
Klyuchevskaya Sopka is a stratovolcano which is the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia and the highest active volcano of Eurasia. Its steep, symmetrical cone towers about from the Bering Sea...
(4,750 m or 15,584 ft), the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere, while the most striking is Kronotsky
Kronotsky
Kronotsky is a major stratovolcano of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It has a particularly symmetrical conical shape, comparable to Mount Fuji in Japan and to Mayon Volcano in the Philippines. The summit crater is plugged by a volcanic neck, and the summit itself is ice capped. It exhibits the...
, whose perfect cone was said by celebrated volcanologists Robert and Barbara Decker to be a prime candidate for the world's most beautiful volcano. Somewhat more accessible are the three volcanoes visible from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the main city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Population: .-History:It was founded by Danish navigator Vitus Bering, in the service of the Russian Navy...
: Koryaksky
Koryaksky
Koryaksky or Koryakskaya Sopka is a volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia. It lies within sight of Kamchatka Krai's administrative center, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky...
, Avachinsky, and Kozelsky. In the center of Kamchatka is Eurasia's world famous Geyser Valley which was partly destroyed by a massive mudslide in June 2007.
Owing to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
The Kuril–Kamchatka Trench or Kuril Trench is an oceanic trench in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It lies off the southeast coast of Kamchatka and parallels the Kuril Island chain to meet the Japan Trench east of Hokkaido...
, deep-focus seismic events and tsunamis are fairly common. A pair of megathrust earthquake
Megathrust earthquake
Megathrust earthquakes occur at subduction zones at destructive plate boundaries , where one tectonic plate is forced under another. Due to the shallow dip of the plate boundary, which causes large sections to get stuck, these earthquakes are among the world's largest, with moment magnitudes ...
s occurred off the coast
Kamchatka earthquakes
3 earthquakes, which occurred off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia in 1737, 1923 and 1952, were megathrust earthquakes and caused tsunamis. They occurred where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Okhotsk Plate at the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench. The depth of the trench at the...
on October 16, 1737, and on November 4, 1952, in the magnitude of ~9.3 and 8.2 respectively. A chain of more shallow earthquakes
2006 Kamchatka earthquakes
The 2006 Kamchatka earthquakes were a series of powerful earthquakes that started on April 20, 2006 at 23:25 UTC as a major quake with the magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was located near coast of Koryak Autonomous Okrug at 61.075°N, 167.085°E at an estimated depth of...
were recorded as recently as April 2006.
These volcanic features are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile
Extremophile
An extremophile is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles...
micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.
List of volcanoes from north to south
- Volcanoes of the central range
- Lettunup, 1340 m, 58.40°N 161.08°E
- VoyampolskyVoyampolskyVoyampolsky is a volcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is composed of two shield volcanoes, Voyampolsky and Kakhtana. Voyampolsky is the highest one. Headwaters of the Kakhtana River are located nearby....
, 1225 m, 58.37°N 160.62°E - Severny, 1936 m, 58.28°N 160.87°E
- SnegovoySnegovoySnegovoy is a shield volcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia....
, 2169 m, 58.20°N 160.97°E - OstryOstryOstry is a stratovolcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It comprises higher Ostry volcano and smaller Kutina volcano. Ostry is one of the highest peaks of Sredinny Range.- References :*...
, 2552 m, 58.18°N 160.82°E - Spokoyny (volcano)Spokoyny (volcano)Spokoyny is a stratovolcano in the northern part of the Sredinny Range in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. It forms part of the Volcanoes of Kamchatka Unesco world heritage site.-References:*...
, 2171 m, 58.13°N 160.82°E - Iktunup, 2300 m, 58.08°N 160.77°E
- SnezhnySnezhnySnezhny , Snezhnaya , or Snezhnoye is the name of several rural localities in Russia:*Snezhny, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a settlement in Snezhnensky Selsoviet of Kartalinsky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast...
, 2169 m, 58.02°N 160.75°E - AtlasovaAtlasovaAtlasova is a basaltic shield volcano situated in Kamchatka. It is named after Russian explorer Vladimir Atlasov....
or Nylgimelkin, 1764 m, 57.97°N 160.65°E - BelyBely (volcano)Bely is a basaltic shield volcano in central Kamchatka. The volcano is located in the northern Sredinny Range....
, 2080 m, 57.88°N 160.53°E - AlngeyAlngeyAlngey is a stratovolcano in central Kamchatka. The volcano is located to the east of the shield volcano Tekletunup and to the west of the crest of the northern Sredinny Range....
, 1853 m, 57.70°N 160.40°E - Uka, 1643 m, 57.70°N 160.58°E
- Yelovsky, 1381 m, 57.53°N 160.53°E
- ShishelShishelShishel is a shield volcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.- References :*...
, 2525 m, 57.45°N 160.37°E - Mezhdusopochny, 1641 m, 57.47°N 160.25°E
- TitilaTitilaTitila is a shield volcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It comprises two shield volcanoes: Titila and Rassoshina, from which Titila is the higher one.- References :*...
, 1559 m, 57.40°N 160.10°E - Gorny InstituteGorny InstituteGorny Institute , also spelled Gornyi Institut, is a stratovolcano located in the Sredinny Range on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia It lies just east of the Titila volcano and north of the Kebeney volcano....
, 2125 m, 57.33°N 160.20°E - TuzovskyTuzovskyTuzovsky is a shield volcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It comprises three shield volcanoes from which Tuzovsky is the higher one....
, 1533 m, 57.32°N 159.97°E - LeutongeyLeutongeyLeutongey is a shield volcano located in the northern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.- References :*...
, 1333 m, 57.30°N 159.83°E - Sedankinsky, 1241 m, 57.23°N 160.08°E
- Fedotych, 965 m, 57.13°N 160.40°E
- KebeneyKebeneyKebeney is a shield volcano located in central Sredinny Range, in the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is a basaltic/andesidic shield volcano with a number of cinder cones on its flanks, aligned along the Sredinny Range NE-SW axis....
, 1527 m, 57.10°N 159.93°E - KizimenKizimenKizimen is a stratovolcano located in the southern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.The volcano was in a dormant state since an eruption in 1929, but on the second of September 2009 it was reported by Georgina Cooper for the Reuters news agency that the crater lake temperature had risen 10...
, 2376 m, 55.130°N 160.32°E
- Kluchevskaya group
- Klyuchevskaya SopkaKlyuchevskaya SopkaKlyuchevskaya Sopka is a stratovolcano which is the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia and the highest active volcano of Eurasia. Its steep, symmetrical cone towers about from the Bering Sea...
- Klyuchevskaya Sopka
- Avachinskaya group
- Aag
- Arik
- KoryakskyKoryakskyKoryaksky or Koryakskaya Sopka is a volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia. It lies within sight of Kamchatka Krai's administrative center, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky...
- Avachinsky
- Kozelsky
- KsudachKsudachKsudach is a stratovolcano in southern Kamchatka, Russia. The last eruption of Ksudach was in 1907, which was one of the largest ever recorded in Kamchatka....
- Ilyinsky (volcano)Ilyinsky (volcano)Ilyinsky is a stratovolcano located in the southern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia near Kurile Lake....
- KambalnyKambalnyKambalny is a stratovolcano located in the southern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It consists of two cones, the western one collapsed about 6,300 years ago. Three large sector collapses on the volcano had a total volume of 5-10 cubic km, which is the largest known Holocene collapse in...