Volcanoes of Kamchatka

Volcanoes of Kamchatka
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Koryaksky volcano rising above Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
LocationKamchatka Krai, Russia
Includes
  1. Kronotsky Strict Nature Reserve
  2. Southern Kamchatka Wildlife Reserve
  3. Nalychevo Regional Nature Park
  4. Bystrinsky Regional Nature Park
  5. Southern Kamchatka Regional Nature Park
  6. Kluchevskoy Regional Nature Park
CriteriaNatural: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Reference765bis
Inscription1996 (20th Session)
Extensions2001
Area3,830,200 ha (14,788 sq mi)
Coordinates56°20′N 158°30′E / 56.333°N 158.500°E / 56.333; 158.500
Volcanoes of Kamchatka is located in Russia
Volcanoes of Kamchatka
Location of Volcanoes of Kamchatka in Russia

The volcanoes of Kamchatka are a large group of volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Kamchatka River and the surrounding central side valley are flanked by large volcanic belts. There are about 160 volcanoes, 29 of them still active. They are in the six UNESCO World Heritage List sites in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka, most of them on the Kamchatka Peninsula.[1]

Possibly the world's most perfect volcanic cone: the Kronotsky volcano
This astronaut photograph illustrates some of the volcanoes on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula

The highest volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4,750 m or 15,584 ft), the largest active volcano in the northern hemisphere.[2] The most striking is Kronotsky, whose perfect cone was said by volcanologists Robert and Barbara Decker to be a prime candidate for the world's most beautiful volcano.[3]

In the center of Kamchatka is Eurasia's world famous Geyser Valley which was partly destroyed by a massive mudslide in June 2007.[4]

Deep seismic events and tsunamis are fairly common. Intense volcanism is caused by the subduction of the Pacific Plate.[5] A pair of huge earthquakes occurred off the coast on October 16, 1737, and on November 4, 1952, in magnitudes ~9.3 and 8.2 respectively.[6] More shallow earthquakes were recorded as recently as April 2006.[7]

References

  1. ↑ World Heritage (1996). "Volcanoes of Kamchatka". UNESCO. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  2. ↑ Press Releases - Public Affairs Office - The University of Nottingham
  3. ↑ Robert Decker & Barbara Decker 2005. Volcanoes. San Francisco: Freeman, 4th ed. ISBN 978-0716789291 (general reference only)
  4. ↑ The World Wildlife Fund (2007). "Natural Wonder of the World Transformed within Hours, says World Wildlife Fund". Earth Times. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  5. ↑ The Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Okhotsk Plate along the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench
  6. ↑ "The 4 November 1952 Kamchatka Earthquake and Tsunami". Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  7. ↑ Earthquake Hazards Program (2006). "Magnitude 7.6 - Koryakia, Russia". US Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-02-20.