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KLUCHEVSKAYA SOPKA VOLCANO (KLYUCHEVSKOY VOLCANO)

It is a typical stratovolcano with a regular cone. Its height is changing from 4750 to 4850 m and is over the sea level. It is the highest active volcano in Eurasia.

The activity of the Kluchevskaya Sopka falls only to the Karymsky Volcano, but the strength of the eruptions is much greater. The greatest eruptions are registered in the top crater. One day the top crater is funnel-shaped, another day it is filled with lava and scoria, and the inter-crater cone starts forming in the centre of the crater, sometimes enlarging the height of the volcano. There are a lot of side scoria cones and lava domes at the bottom of the volcano (about a hundred). There were much more these cones and domes before, but one part of them is covered under the erupted material, another part was ruined. The height of the existing cones is about 60-100 m, and even more.

The last strongest eruptions from the top crater continued from 1978 till 1993. The volcano has still been erupting. Once in 5-6 years, sometimes even less, when it accumulates enough energy, the volcano starts another phase of its activity. Powerful explosions follow each other throwing away burning hot volcanic bombs, glowing lava flows down the slopes, ash clouds go up to several km, covering the area with grey coat of ash and turning even the sunniest day into the twilight or the dark night.

The Kluchevskaya Sopka attracts a lot of mountaineers and tourists, but this volcano has also had many fatal casualties. The main reason of it is carelessness.