Volcano in Russia erupts for the first time in over 450 years
The Krasheninnikov volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has erupted for the first time in more than 450 years, days after a powerful earthquake struck the region in Russia's Far East, Russian authorities said. The volcano, which rises to over 1,800 meters, is releasing a column of ash reaching 6,000 meters, the local branch of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry reported on Telegram.
"The plume spread eastward toward the Pacific Ocean," the source said, adding that no residential areas or tourist groups were in its path. The Kamchatka Peninsula, which has about 30 active volcanoes, is one of the most seismically active areas on the planet, at the meeting point of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates.
This virtually uninhabited territory, however, welcomes tourists who come to explore its spectacular mountain landscapes and natural parks teeming with bears and salmon. According to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the last recorded eruption of Krasheninnikov was in 1550.
"We are currently observing a fissure on the flank and the formation of a lava dome, which is accompanied by powerful gas activity," Guirina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), told the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
This is the latest manifestation of intense geological activity in the region since the magnitude 8.8 earthquake on Wednesday, July 30, off the coast of Kamchatka, which triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific .
That same day, the peninsula's highest volcano, Mount Klyuchevskoy (4,750 meters), erupted. The region recorded more than 65 earthquakes on Saturday, 10 of which were felt in its main town, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, according to the Russian geophysical service.
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