Tolbachik (russian: Толбачик) is a volcanic complex on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia. It consists of two volcanoes, Plosky (''flat'') Tolbachik (3,085 m) and Ostry (''sharp'') Tolbachik (3,682 m), which as the names suggest are respectively a flat-topped

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...

and a peaked

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

. As Ostry is the mountain's highest point, the entire mountain is often referred to as "Ostry Tolbachik", not to be confused with

Ostry Ostry (russian: Острый) is a stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characte ...

, a separate volcano to the north also on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Activity

Its eruptive history stretches back thousands of years, but the most notable eruption occurred in 1975, commonly known as "The Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption". It was preceded by an earthquake swarm, which led to a successful

prediction A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dicere'', "to say"), or forecast, is a statement about a future event or data. They are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge. There is no universal agreement about the exact ...

of the eruption by scientists from the Russian Institute of Volcanology. The eruption created several new

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...

s, and in terms of volume of lava emitted, was Kamchatka's largest basaltic eruption in historic times. On November 27, 2012 a strombolian type eruption started from two fissures. Basaltic lava flows move relatively fast, and quickly flooded buildings 4 km away. The eruption continued for more than a month, as lava continued to flow from the fissures.Volynets A. O., Melnikov D. V., Yakushev A. I. (2013
First data on composition of the volcanic rocks of the IVS 50th anniversary Fissure Tolbachik eruption (Kamchatka)
// Doklady Earth Sciences. V. 452, № 1. P. 953-957. doi: 10.1134/S1028334X13090201. Lava flowed up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the line of fissures on the volcano's southern flank
This satellite image
was collected on December 22, 2012. According to th
Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
the eruption ended September 15, 2013. Several lava caves were formed as a result of the 2012–2013 eruption.

Mineralogy

The fumarole deposits of Tolbachik are rich in exotic minerals and, , 100 new minerals have been first described here including alarsite and tolbachite.

Views

Tolbachik Kamchatka from SSW on 2015-07-26

Tolbachik volcano 1975 cone pano Kamchatka on 2015-07-28

ISS-38 Kliuchevskoi Volcano on Kamchatka

References

Other references

*
Plosky Tolbachik volcano and Tolbachik lava field
* Fedotov S.A. and Markhinin Ye.K. (Eds) (1983). ''The Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption: Geological and Geophysical Data, 1975-1976''. Cambridge University Press, 341 p.

on author's project website
"Russia Begins Here"
{{Authority control Active volcanoes Volcanoes of the Kamchatka Peninsula Mountains of the Kamchatka Peninsula Complex volcanoes Shield volcanoes of Russia Stratovolcanoes of Russia Holocene shield volcanoes Holocene stratovolcanoes Holocene Asia Geological type localities

Activity

Mineralogy

Views

See also

References

Other references