BJ Deming

Repost: Decade Volcano: Avachinsky-Koryaksky

As the owner of the Yakutsk internet portal put it on March 9th, an iron curtain is descending on Russians, many of whom are young enough to never have lived in USSR times.

In the last thirty years, to my surprise, I’ve learned that the Russian people are likable, fun, fatalistic romantics (something only a Russian can pull off well), and I hope to see them online again soon.

In the meantime, let’s light some stone torches to help them through the darkness. This post is from 2020 and coincides with a chapter in my Decade Volcano book; as of today, only the Soviet-era video is gone — too bad because that expedition into Avachinsky’s crater shortly after an eruption looked awesome. However, the KVERT monitoring links now show as insecure in my browser. Sigh. At least the thugs currently running things understand the need for international cooperation in volcano monitoring.

Today we travel to the “Land of Stone Torches” — Kamchatka, in the Russian Far East, where plate tectonics shapes and reshapes what is perhaps the most beautiful peninsula in the world.

It is a volcanophile’s living dream, too.

With well over a hundred fire mountains to choose from, why did they choose Avachinsky and Koryaksky, in central Kamchatka, for the Decade Volcano program?

  • The two volcanoes stand close together, towering over nearby Kamchatka’s biggest city, Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky, some 20 miles away — a large population is at risk here.

    • Part of Petropavlosk, with Avachinsky in the background. (Image: Vdv41 via Wikimedia, public domain)

  • Both volcanoes have a history of violence. Each has had multiple explosive eruptions, some causing ash fall hundreds of miles away. Lahars (mudflows) from Koryaksky have reached the sea, while Avachinsky’s southwest flank collapsed during the last ice age. Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky is built atop this old flow.
  • They are accessible. Indeed, Avachinsky is so easy to climb that thousands of people make a mass ascent every year. The following video from 2019 wasn’t made on that particular day, but it certainly is exhilarating!

That’s Koryaksky in the background. The grill-like stuff filling the crater is a plug of lava left over from Avachinsky’s 1991 eruption.

This is one of Kamchatka’s most active volcanoes. Its crater looked very different in this Soviet-era film, released in 1979!

That descent and the views from inside Avachinsky are some of the most amazing volcanologist footage I’ve ever seen.

Of note, Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky had strategic importance during the Cold War, and the Soviet Government only opened it up in 1990 — the Decade Volcano era.

Koryaksky Volcano is a little older than its neighbor and has its own magma chamber. (Bushenkova et al.)

It is also taller and very eroded.

Here is a very Russian video of a climb up Koryaksky in 2017. It’s in Russian, but the story is a visual one, the views are spectacular, and along the way we see evidence of a big mudflow/lahar — I couldn’t find any information online about that, but it looks fairly recent.

Location:

Avachinsky: 53.256° N, 158.836° E. Koryaksky: 53.321° N, 158.712° E. Avachinsky’s GVP Volcano Number is 300100, Koryaksky’s is 300090.

Nearby Population:

Per the Global Volcanism Program website data for Avachinsky and Koryaksky, respectively:

  • Within 5 km (3 miles): 0; 0
  • Within 10 km (6 miles): 0; 13
  • Within 30 km (19 miles): 180,016; 142,050
  • Within 100 km (62 miles): 270,205; 257,322

Current Status:

Both are quiet, Aviation Code Green.

Eruptions:

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