Four Erupting Kamchatka Volcanoes

This page contains archived content and is no longer being updated. At the time of publication, it represented the best available science.

April 2, 2010JPEG

The Kamchatka Peninsula is one of the most volcanically active regions on Earth. Located in Russia’s Far East region, the peninsula forms the northwestern edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire. At least 114 Kamchatkan volcanoes have erupted in the past 12,000 years. According to the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) 4 of these volcanoes—Shiveluch, Klyuchevskaya, Bezymianny, and Karymsky—are erupting currently.

This natural-color satellite image shows the 4 active volcanoes on April 2, 2010. Gray and brown ash covers the white snow near Shiveluch, Klyuchevskaya, and Karymsky. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite acquired the image.

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Robert Simmon.

View this area in EO Explorer

Four volcanoes were erupting on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula in early April 2010.

Instrument:: Terra — MODIS

Erupting Kamchatka Volcanoes

The Kamchatka Peninsula, the northwestern edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire, is one of the most volcanically active regions on Earth. At least 114 Kamchatkan volcanoes have erupted in the past 12,000 years. A handful of these volcanoes is erupting currently.