Renewed extrusion of rigid blocks onto the summit lava dome was first observed on 9 December. Lava outflow started during the night of 16-17 December, accompanied by explosions that fed pyroclastic flows ~4 km long. The eruption cloud reached 5-6 km height and extended 40-50 km to the SE. The eruption ended 17 December.

Geological Summary. The modern Bezymianny, much smaller than its massive neighbors Kamen and Kliuchevskoi on the Kamchatka Peninsula, was formed about 4,700 years ago over a late-Pleistocene lava-dome complex and an edifice built about 11,000-7,000 years ago. Three periods of intensified activity have occurred during the past 3,000 years. The latest period, which was preceded by a 1,000-year quiescence, began with the dramatic 1955-56 eruption. This eruption, similar to that of St. Helens in 1980, produced a large open crater that was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater.

Information Contacts: G. Bogoyavlenskaya, IV.