Report on Klyuchevskoy (Russia) — 15 November-21 November 2023
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 15 November-21 November 2023
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2023. Report on Klyuchevskoy (Russia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 15 November-21 November 2023. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Klyuchevskoy
Russia
56.056°N, 160.642°E; summit elev. 4754 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
KVERT issued a Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) for Klyuchevskoy on 12 November, noting that a plume of resuspended ash rose as high as 6 km (19,700 ft) a.s.l. and drifted more than 60 km E. A thermal anomaly detected in satellite images 14 November was 27 degrees Celsius, cooler than to the 115-degree anomaly detected on 1 November. Fumarolic activity persisted. On 15 November the Aviation Color Code was lowered to Green. On 16 November collapses of hot material in the Apakhonchichsky drainage on the SE flank. Ash plumes from the collapses rose to 5 km (16,400 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 140 km E based on webcam images.
Geological Summary. Klyuchevskoy is the highest and most active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Since its origin about 6,000 years ago, this symmetrical, basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods of inactivity. It rises above a saddle NE of Kamen volcano and lies SE of the broad Ushkovsky massif. More than 100 flank eruptions have occurred during approximately the past 3,000 years, with most lateral craters and cones occurring along radial fissures between the unconfined NE-to-SE flanks of the conical volcano between 500 and 3,600 m elevation. Eruptions recorded since the late 17th century have resulted in frequent changes to the morphology of the 700-m-wide summit crater. These eruptions over the past 400 years have originated primarily from the summit crater, but have also included numerous major explosive and effusive eruptions from flank craters.