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Opala

Photo of this volcano
  • Country
  • Volcanic Region
  • Landform | Volc Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  • 52.543°N
  • 157.339°E

  • 2,439 m
    8,002 ft

  • 300080
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Opala.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Opala.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Opala.

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 4 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

[ 1894 ] Discredited Eruption

[ 1854 ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption
1854 - Unknown Evidence from Unknown

List of 2 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion Uncertain
   - - - -    - - - - Fumarolic or Solfataric

[ 1827 ] Uncertain Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption
1827 - Unknown Evidence from Unknown

List of 2 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion Uncertain
   - - - -    - - - - Fumarolic or Solfataric Uncertain

1776 Oct 23 Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2 (?)

Episode 1 | Eruption
1776 Oct 23 - Unknown Evidence from Observations: Reported

List of 2 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
1776 Oct 23    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

0610 ± 50 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 5

Episode 1 | Eruption SE flank (Barany Amphitheater)
0610 ± 50 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 7 Events for Episode 1 at SE flank (Barany Amphitheater)

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Lava dome
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice
   - - - -    - - - - Crater Parasitic.
0610 ± 50 years    - - - - VEI (Explosivity Index)

1550 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption
1550 BCE (?) - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Lava flow
   - - - -    - - - - Avalanche
   - - - -    - - - - Lahar or Mudflow

3500 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption
3500 BCE (?) - Unknown Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Opala.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Opala.

Photo Gallery

Opala volcano, seen here from the E, lies about 50 km W of the main volcanic arc in southern Kamchatka. The edifice was constructed at the N end of the 10 x 12 km, 40,000-year-old Opala caldera. Post-caldera Holocene volcanism included the extrusion of lava domes and flows. The latest major explosion formed the Barany amphitheater on the SE flank about 1,500 years ago.

Photo by Andrei Tsvetkov.
Late Pleistocene-Holocene scoria cones in the foreground are located on the southern part of Tolmachev Dol (Tolmachev Plateau) with Opala volcano in the background. Tolmachev Dol is a large volcanic highland NE of Opala that contains numerous postglacial scoria cones. The cones and associated lava fields cover a broad area around Lake Tolmachev halfway between Opala and Gorely.

Copyrighted photo by Leopold Sulerzhitsky (Holocene Kamchataka volcanoes; http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/volcanoes/holocene/main/main.htm).
The early Pleistocene Bolshaya Ipelka volcano has been extensively eroded by glaciers and has a single unnamed Holocene scoria cone on the southern flank. The conical stratovolcano to the E (right) is Opala, which was constructed along the northern rim of a large 12 x 14 km wide caldera.

NASA International Space Station image ISS004-E-11691, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).
The current Opala cone formed along the northern rim of the 13 x 19 km Pleistocene caldera that formed during the largest eruption in Kamchatka in 50,000 years, shown in this September 2018 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 15 km across). The circular feature on the SE flank is the ~1.3 x 2 km Baranii Amphitheater crater, which produced a large eruption in 1400 cal BP and was then filled with an obsidian dome.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2018 (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 1 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 116556-63 Rhyolite -- --
External Sites