The history of one volcano: Klyuchevskaya Sopka

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Without a doubt, the main attraction of the Kamchatka Peninsula is Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which is a large active volcano of a cone-shaped regular shape. If we talk about the origin of the name, then the term "hill" itself is interpreted by local residents as a hillock or hill. The name of the mountain is associated with the nearby river Klyuchevka and the settlement of Klyuchi. Presumably, the choice of the name of the volcano was also influenced by the presence of a large number of hot springs nearby. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is covered with an ice cap. Some of her tongues go almost to the foot of the mountain.

The first eruption of this volcano was documented in 1697, and the first detailed description dates back to 1737. Then Stepan Krashennikov, a member of the second Kamchatka expedition led by Bering, noted that the ferocious, terrible fire lasted about a week. Because of him, the whole mountain turned into a red-hot stone, and the flame with the strongest noise rushed down in the form of a red-hot river. Klyuchevskaya Sopka significantly increased its activities in the summer of 1966. Then in the course of a serieseruptions, lava descended into the valley of the Kirgurich River, along the bed of which it flowed for a long time in the direction of the settlement of Klyuchi. For two months, the lava flow covered a distance of ten kilometers, which greatly frightened the locals.

Over the past more than two hundred years of observations, Klyuchevskaya Sopka has erupted about fifty times. In the twentieth century, the volcano was most active in January 1980. At that time, a crack about one kilometer long appeared on the side of the mountain, from which a huge amount of ash and lava was thrown out.

Regarding the height of the volcano, there is no specific answer yet. According to most atlases, this parameter is 4688 m. However, in many books and encyclopedic reference books the figure is 4750 m. Based on the data of the popular Internet source Wikipedia, Klyuchevskaya Sopka has a height of 4649 m. The explanation for all this is quite simple. The fact is that the volcano is now active. Like any other living being, it has a tendency to constantly change its size. If you study historical statistical information, you can see that as of 1978 the height of the mountain was 4750 m. In another twenty years, Klyuchevskaya Sopka increased in height by one hundred meters. As a result of the eruption that occurred in 1994, due to the growth of cinder cones, the mountain grew to 4822 m. Despite this, the active activity of the volcano led to the gradual destruction of the cones and a reduction in height to 4750 m. observedaccumulation of material, which leads to its growth. In this regard, the height of the mountain is now approximately 4800 m.

The first officially registered ascent of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano dates back to 1788. This happened between 4 and 8 August. Then the Russian expedition, led by Billings, approached the base of the mountain, and, driven by curiosity, mountain conductor Daniil Gaus, together with several of his companions, climbed to the top of the volcano.