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Kurile Lake

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 51.45°N
  • 157.12°E

  • 81 m
    266 ft

  • 300023
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Kurile Lake.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Kurile Lake.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Kurile Lake.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 2 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

6440 BCE ± 25 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 7

Episode 1 | Eruption Tephra layer KO
6440 BCE ± 25 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 9 Events for Episode 1 at Tephra layer KO

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Lava dome
   - - - -    - - - - Avalanche
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice
   - - - -    - - - - Caldera Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Lahar or Mudflow
6440 BCE ± 25 years    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

7550 BCE ± 500 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption
7550 BCE ± 500 years - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Lapilli
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Kurile Lake.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Kurile Lake.

Photo Gallery

This renowned exposure of pyroclastic flow deposits from Kurile Lake caldera has been named Kutkhiny Baty because of its erosional features. The pyroclastic flow deposit originated from the caldera-forming eruption of Kurile Lake about 7,600 years ago, one of the largest Holocene eruptions in Kamchatka. The deposit is about 100 m thick at this location on the Ozernaya River, 3 km W of Kurile Lake.

Photo by Oleg Volynets (Institute of Volcanology, Petropavlovsk).
Iliinsky volcano at sunrise above the NE shore of Kurile Lake, was constructed beginning about 8,000 years ago within a 4-km-wide caldera of about the same age as the Kurile Lake caldera. It is one of several visible from the shores of one of Kamchatka's most scenic lakes. Its latest eruption, in 1901, created a 1-km-wide crater on the NE flank. The 10-km-wide Kurile Lake caldera was the source of one of Kamchatka's largest Holocene explosive eruptions about 7,600 years ago.

Photo by Oleg Volynets (Institute of Volcanology, Petropavlovsk).
Kambalny (left-center) and Koshelev (far right) volcanoes rise above the Kurile Lake caldera to the SW, one of the scenic highlights of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Kambalny is the southernmost large volcano in Kamchatka. Both volcanoes have produced recent lava flows from flank vents on complex older structures. The small island in Kurile Lake caldera is the "Heart of Alaid," a rhyolitic lava dome.

Photo by Nikolai Smelov, 1980 (courtesy of Vera Ponomareva, Inst. Volcanic Geology & Geochemistry, Petropavlovsk).
Erosion of unwelded pyroclastic flow deposits from Kurile Lake caldera formed these cliffs along the Ukanovich River, 10 km N of the caldera. Voluminous pyroclastic flows accompanying formation of the caldera about 7,600 years ago covered the area during one of the largest Holocene eruptions of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Photo by Nikolai Smelov, 1996 (courtesy of Vera Ponomareva, Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry, Petropavlovsk).
Kambalny (left) and Koshelev (right) rise above the SW shore of Kurile Lake caldera at the southern tip of Kamchatka. The caldera formed in two stages, the first about 41,500 radiocarbon years ago and the second about 7,600 years ago during one of Kamchatka's largest Holocene eruptions. The small island (right-center) is the lava dome referred to as the "Heart of Alaid”. The peak on the distant horizon at right-center is Alaid in the Kuril Islands.

Photo by Nikolai Smelov, 1996 (courtesy of Vera Ponomareva, Inst. Volcanic Geology & Geochemistry, Petropavlovsk).
The Diky Greben lava dome complex rises above Kurile Lake caldera. Early eruptions took place about 6,000 years ago, about 2,000 years after formation of the 10-km-wide caldera. The eastern lava dome, seen here, opens to the E. Most of the edifice, including the unvegetated thick lava flow visible to the S (left) of the summit, was constructed about 2,000-1,500 years ago.

Photo by Nikolai Smelov, 1996 (courtesy of Vera Ponomareva, Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry, Petropavlovsk).
Iliinsky volcano, seen here across Kurile Lake from the SW at the outlet of the Ozernaya River, was constructed during the past 7,600 years above the NE rim of Kurile Lake caldera. The flat ridge with a steep terminus on the left horizon consists of north-flank lava flows that were emplaced about 1,500-2,000 years ago.

Photo by Oleg Dirksen, 1996 (courtesy of Vera Ponomareva, Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry, Petropavlovsk).
The Kurile Lake caldera, with Iliinsky volcano to the NE of the lake and Diky Greben to the W, is shown in this September 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 22 km across). The caldera formed during two large eruptions, with the more recent 7,600 14C yr BP eruption being one of the largest Holocene eruptions around the world. Surrounding the lake are the resulting ignimbrite deposits with some outcrops reaching 150 m thick.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/).
GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

The following 4 samples associated with this volcano can be found in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections, and may be availble for research (contact the Rock and Ore Collections Manager). Catalog number links will open a window with more information.

Catalog Number Sample Description Lava Source Collection Date
NMNH 116556-65 Pumice -- --
NMNH 116556-68 Pumice -- --
NMNH 116556-70 Andesite -- --
NMNH 116556-87 Volcanic Ash -- --
External Sites