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ZHUPANOVSKY VOLCANO

It is located in 70 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, beyond the Avachinsky Volcano Group. It is a ridged massif of four joined cones - the West, the Active, the Old and the East Craters - which are covered by glaciers and snowfields.

The highest peak ( 2958 m) is located at the East Cone. The West Cone is 2500 m in height, it has the diameter of 500 m. The slopes of the cone are indented by barrancoes. The West cone is not active.The Active Cone has a regular form with 200 m diameter crater. The cone height is just a little less than the volcano height. Between the eruptions the cone is a fumarole.

The Old Crater is a large cone the top of which has the crater with 1 km diameter. The bottom of the crater is declined to the north-west. The crater is covered by the glacier that descents to the external slope with the ice lobes. In the east and south the crater is surrounded by the ridges. At the bottom of the south ridge there are two groups of fumaroles which formed 50-75 m diameter lakes in the glacier. Both the Active Cone and the fumaroles erupt, and the sizes of these glacier lakes enlarge during the eruptions. The strongest fumarole activity is observed at this cone in the south-west external slope which is covered by yellow sulphur sediment. For example, in 1973 five big fumaroles and a lot of small ones were active. This sulphur sediment gradually increases around the steam-gas holes and forms original thick-walled tubes. Depending on the amount of the adjacent steam-gas streams, these tubes join into double- and triple-tubed batteries. The height of these bright yellow sulphur formations is about 2-2,5 m, and its form is rather fanciful.

Glaciers and wide snowfields are widespread. There are six glaciers only at the north slope; the length of these glaciers is 5-6 km.

The eruptions are neither powerful, nor frequent. The last lava eruption was in 1882. Ash eruptions were in 1925, 1940, 1957. The last one continued for 4 months. The ash emissions of the Active and the Old Craters reached 2 km. The fumaroles are active even between the eruptions. The last eruption was in June 2014 and lasted for almost two years.