Tolbachik volcano
Updated: Nov 28, 2023 16:53 GMT -
Shield volcano 3682 m / 12,080 ft
Kamchatka, 55.83°N / 160.33°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Kamchatka, 55.83°N / 160.33°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Last update: 15 Dec 2021
Tolbachik is one of Kamchakta's largest and most active volcanoes. It is located in the Central depression of Kamchatka 23 km SW of Bezimianny volcano.
Tobachik is formed by 2 overlapping cones, the Ostry Tolbachik stratovolcano and the Plosky Tolbachik shield. In the past thousands of years, the volcano has produced large fissure eruptions that erupted basaltic lava flows of several cubic km in volume. Lava flows stretch to up to 40 km SE of the volcano.
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Tolbachik volcano eruptions: 2012-13, 1975-76, 1973-74, 1970, 1968-69, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1962-63, 1961-62, 1959-60, 1958, 1956-57, 1955, 1954, 1947, 1940-41, 1939, 1936-37, 1931-32, 1904, 1793, 1790, 1789, 1788, 1769, 1740, 1739, 1699, 1550 (?), 1050 (?), 1000 (?), 950 (?), 900 (?), 550 (?), 450 (?), 400 (?), 350 (?), 250 (?), 150 (?), 50 AD (?), 100 BC (?), 200 BC (?), 700 BC (?), 750 BC (?), 800 BC (?), 1650 BC (?), 1750 BC (?), 2050 BC (?), 4550 BC (?), 5450 BC (?), 5600 BC (?), 6050 BC (?), 7600 BC (?)
Latest nearby earthquakes
No recent earthquakesBackground
The massive Tolbachik basaltic volcano is located at the southern end of the dominantly andesitic Kliuchevskaya volcano group. The Tolbachik massif is composed of two overlapping, but morphologically dissimilar volcanoes. The flat-topped Plosky Tolbachik shield volcano with its nested Holocene Hawaiian-type calderas up to 3 km in diameter is located east of the older and higher sharp-topped Ostry Tolbachik stratovolcano. The summit caldera at Plosky Tolbachik was formed in association with major lava effusion about 6500 years ago and simultaneously with a major southward-directed sector collapse of Ostry Tolbachik volcano. Lengthy rift zones extending NE and SSW of the volcano have erupted voluminous basaltic lava flows during the Holocene, with activity during the past two thousand years being confined to the narrow axial zone of the rifts. The 1975-76 eruption originating from the SSW-flank fissure system and the summit was the largest historical basaltic eruption in Kamchatka.---
Smithsonian / GVP volcano information
Tolbachik Photos
Rivers of lava from Tolbachik durig the 2012-2013 eruption (Photo: Alexander Lobashevsky) |
Panorama of 4 volcanoes (l-r): Ushkovsky, Klyuchevskoy, Kamen and Bezymianny seen from the plateau north of Tolbachik. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) |
Winter forest with the glow from the Tolbachik fissure eruption in 2012-13 (Photo: Alexander Lobashevsky) |
Rivers of lava from the Tolbachik eruption 2012-13 (Photo: Alexander Lobashevsky) |
2012 fissure eruption
A new fissure eruption started at Tolbachik volcano on 27 November 2012. During its climax during 28-29 November, fissures spread over tens of kilometers in the summit area and the southern slope, in the same area of the great fissure eruption in 1976. Several vents were active with strombolian activity and lava flow emissions. The eruption was heard in up to 60 kilometers distance.
After a few days, only the lower of the active remained active and continues to feed a large lava flow. The lava flows from the eruption reached more than 10 km length and destroyed a local volcano observatory and few other structures. ...more
A new fissure eruption started at Tolbachik volcano on 27 November 2012. During its climax during 28-29 November, fissures spread over tens of kilometers in the summit area and the southern slope, in the same area of the great fissure eruption in 1976. Several vents were active with strombolian activity and lava flow emissions. The eruption was heard in up to 60 kilometers distance.
After a few days, only the lower of the active remained active and continues to feed a large lava flow. The lava flows from the eruption reached more than 10 km length and destroyed a local volcano observatory and few other structures. ...more
See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS
Tolbachik volcano tours
Kamchatka (Russia)
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