Major Volcanoes of the World
Major Volcanoes of the World : Avachinsky
| Colima | Galeras
| Mauna Loa | Mount
Etna | Mount Nyiragongo
| Mount Rainier | Mount
Unzen | Mount Vesuvius
| Sakurajima | Santamarķa
| Santorini | Taal
| Teide |
Ulawun
Avachinsky
Avachinsky (also known as Avacha or Avacha Volcano) is an active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia. It lies within sight of the capital of Kamchatka Oblast, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Together with neighbouring Koryaksky volcano, it has been designated a Decade Volcano, worthy of particular study in light of its history of explosive eruptions and proximity to populated areas.
Geological history
Avachinsky lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at a point where the Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the Eurasian Plate at a rate of about 80 mm/year. A wedge of mantle material lying between the subducting Pacific Plate and the overlying Eurasian Plate is the source of dynamic volcanism over the whole Kamchatka Peninsula.
The volcano is one of the most active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula, and began erupting in the middle to late Pleistocene era. It has a horseshoe-shaped caldera, which formed 30-40,000 years ago in a major landslide which covered an area of 500 km² south of the volcano, underlying the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Reconstruction of a new cone inside the caldera occurred in two major eruption phases, 18,000 and 7,000 years ago.
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