World's Most Spectacular Volcanic Region

Karymsky, the most active volcano in the  eastern volcanic zone Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East. The Kamchatka River and the surrounding Central Valley are flanked by large volcanic belts, containing around 160 volcanoes, 29 of them still active. The peninsula has the highest density of volcanoes and associated volcanic phenomena in the world, with 19 active volcanoes being included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The caldera enclosing Karymsky volcano formed about 7600-7700 radiocarbon years, is a symmetrical stratovolcano constructed within a 5-km-wide caldera that formed during the early Holocene.
Construction of the Karymsky strato volcano began about 2000 years later. The latest eruptive period began about 500 years ago, following a 2300-year quiescence. Much of the cone is mantled by lava flows less than 200 years old.

Image Source: photo by J. M. Lees, Associate Professor, Geophysics University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Posted by Jason McManus.

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