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Report on Klyuchevskoy (Russia) — July 1978


Klyuchevskoy

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 3, no. 7 (July 1978)
Managing Editor: David Squires.

Klyuchevskoy (Russia) Lava flow accompanied by crater wall collapse and moderate seismicity

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1978. Report on Klyuchevskoy (Russia) (Squires, D., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 3:7. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN197807-300260



Klyuchevskoy

Russia

56.056°N, 160.642°E; summit elev. 4754 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Activity in the summit crater increased in March, preceded by an earthquake swarm. After a 3 month recess, new lava appeared in the crater and poured through a breach in the NW rim onto the flanks. An 80-m cone was built in the center of the crater and "intense" collapse occurred on the crater walls and the NW Sciarra. Moderate seismicity accompanied the activity.

Geological Summary. Klyuchevskoy (also spelled Kliuchevskoi) is Kamchatka's highest and most active volcano. Since its origin about 6000 years ago, the beautifully symmetrical, 4835-m-high basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods of inactivity. It rises above a saddle NE of sharp-peaked Kamen volcano and lies SE of the broad Ushkovsky massif. More than 100 flank eruptions have occurred during the past roughly 3000 years, with most lateral craters and cones occurring along radial fissures between the unconfined NE-to-SE flanks of the conical volcano between 500 m and 3600 m elevation. The morphology of the 700-m-wide summit crater has been frequently modified by historical eruptions, which have been recorded since the late-17th century. Historical eruptions have originated primarily from the summit crater, but have also included numerous major explosive and effusive eruptions from flank craters.

Information Contacts: B. Ivanov, IVP.