Шивелуч: Один из самых активных вулканов Камчатки

Large active stratovolcano on the Kamchatka peninsula, Russia

Shiveluch , also called Sheveluch, which originates from the name "suelich" which means "smoking mountain" in Itelmen is the northernmost active volcano in Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It and Karymsky are Kamchatka's largest, most active and most continuously erupting volcanoes, as well as one of the most active on the planet. Shiveluch erupts around of magma per year, which causes frequent and large hot avalanches and lava dome formations at the summit. Volcanic ash emissions from this volcano often disrupt air traffic connecting the Asian and North American continents.

Shiveluch belongs to the Kliuchevskaya volcano group, located in central Kamchatka northwest of Ust Kamchatsk. The nearest settlement from the volcano is Klyuchi, situated from the mountain. The settlement is small enough to evacuate rapidly in case of a major eruption. Shiveluch is one of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanic structures.

Shiveluch began forming about 60,000 to 70,000 years ago during the Late Pleistocene, and it has had at least 60 large eruptions during the Holocene. Chemically a full spectrum of subduction zone lava types occur: basalt, mafic andesite, two pyroxene andesite, hornblende hypersthene andesite, hornblende andesite, hornblende dacite, rhyolite.

Catastrophic eruptions took place in 1854 and 1964, when a large part of the lava dome collapsed and created a devastating debris avalanche. The most recent period of volcanic activity began with the eruption of Young Shiveluch on 15 August 1999, and continues as of 2024.

Since mid 2022, volcanologists were expecting an imminent large eruption of Shiveluch due to the unstable state of its lava dome. A strong eruption occurred on 11 April 2023 at 00.54 local time. A progressive increase in activity was observed since 28 March in the form of continued extrusion, fumarole activity, and ash emissions. During the initial paroxysmal explosive phase on 11 April, the volcano ejected a cloud of volcanic gas and ash that reached a height of and spread over an area of Because the height of the eruption columns reached the stratosphere, 200,000 tons of sulfur dioxide were released into the upper atmosphere. Since 12 April, the activity of the volcano decreased, but the eruption continued in the form of ash ejections of lower intensity and height, and strong fumarole activity continued. Infra red satellite images on 16 April showed that the volcano is forming a new lava dome inside its new crater.