Gorely Volcano in Kamchatka: description, history, interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

In the south of Kamchatka, on the Gorelinsky Dole, there is an active Gorely volcano. It is part of the South Kamchatka Park. Its second name is Gorelyaya Sopka. This unique natural monument is located 75 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

History

Almost forty millennia ago, on the site of the current volcano, there was a shield-shaped volcano of enormous size, which was called Pra-Gorely. The diameter of its base exceeded thirty kilometers. Under its own weight, its summit part sank over time, and a 10 x 14 km caldera was formed. It is framed by the remains of an ancient volcano, which is a small rocky ridge.

Volcanic eruptions continued from the bottom of the caldera through a chain of formed craters. They layered on each other, and gradually growing cones merged. Thus, an elongated modern massif was formed, which is covered with slag, sand and layers of solidified lava.

Volcanic eruptions continued much later. The last scientists recorded in 1986. The plume of ash then stretched from Gorely to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky through Avacha Bay. It was a very unusual sight: a column of black smoke stretched from the ground towards the city.

Today, the Gorely volcano (Kamchatka) has an "old building", which covers an area of more than 650 kilometers. It extends to the headwaters of the Paratunka Zhirovaya, Vulkannaya and Asacha volcano.

Description of the volcano

The active volcano Gorely, whose height is 1829 m, is located in the south of the peninsula. It is represented by two buildings: an ancient shield-shaped structure, the top of which is crowned with a thirteen-kilometer caldera, and a modern one, which is a complex stratovolcano.

Modern building, 150 sq. km, located in the center of the caldera. It is composed mainly of lavas of the balsate and andesite-balsate type. This building resembles the Hawaiian type of volcanism, however, its top is framed by a chain of craters, and on the slopes there are thirty cinder cones with solidified lava.

Array structure

The mountain range, about three kilometers long, is composed of a chain of eleven craters. All this is Gorely volcano. Its full name reflects the modern structure of the volcano - Gorely Ridge.

This array was formed at the confluence of volcanic hills. The vast expanse of these slopes is home to many lakes, hot gas fumaroles and nearly fifty cinder cones.

Crater East

Several well-like craters are among those in which, in the distant past,eruptions occurred, today are filled with acid lakes. East Crater is one of them. Its bottom half a kilometer in size is occupied by a deep blue lake. It is surrounded by sheer two-hundred-meter cliffs. It is partially covered by floating ice.

A feature of this crater is its ability to change its "behavior" during the activity of the volcano. When the water in the lake remains blue, the earth's interior is calm. When the volcano comes into a pre-active state, the lake literally "boils away", changing its shape and color.

Crater Active

Gorely Volcano has another amazing crater. It's called Active. Its bottom is filled with an acid lake of deep orange color, and its shores soar with fumaroles. This crater has the shape of a funnel, the diameter of which is 250 meters. The depth of the crater is 200 meters.

Descent into it is dangerous, because its walls are crumbling, and the air is saturated with sulfurous poisonous gases.

Crater Western

The bottom of this crater is covered by a glacier that gives rise to a stream. It flows into the northwestern part of the caldera, forming several small waterfalls.

Cylinder

This crater with such an unusual name is also interesting. It is located on the southern slope of the volcano and has a regular rounded shape. Its diameter reaches 40 m.

Crater nest

This is a kind of whole "family". At the bottom of the ancient crater there are two young ones: the narrow crater Shchel, which got its name from its elongated shape, and Deep.

Frozen streamsBurgundy lavas, cracked caldera bottom covered with black volcanic sand – Gorely volcano creates the impression of a dangerous, but at the same time surprisingly beautiful place with its structure.

Plateau

The plateau of the volcano looks no less interesting. It is practically devoid of vegetation. The only exceptions are low tundra grasses. Here, ancient lava flows come to the surface, reddish in color, which have cracked under the influence of time.

This picture makes many tourists think of the mysterious Mars. It seems that this simply cannot be on our planet.

Caves

More than two millennia ago, a rather liquid lava flow, formed as a result of an active eruption, created stone wide fields that are located to the north of the volcano. The upper layer of lava had time to solidify during the flow, while the inner ones continued to spread.

As a result of this natural phenomenon, the lava caves of the Gorely volcano known today were formed. Weekend tours are organized from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, so everyone can see these unique structures.

There are fourteen caves near Gorely volcano. They have an ice "floor" and domed vaults. Their length ranges from sixteen to one hundred and forty meters. Only six of them are now available for inspection by tourists.

Eruptions

During the last century and a halfGorely volcano erupted only seven times. At the end of the last century, only weak eruptions were recorded, which consisted in the release of a large amount of gases, sand and ash. The last activity was in the summer of 2010. It provoked a drop in the level of lakes, soil vibrations and vapor emissions. They were visible even in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Almost every twenty years, Gorely demonstrates his amazing power and strength, spewing lava burning flows to the surface, which stretched over a distance of more than ten kilometers. And even the calm period on this massif is characterized by very active fumarole activity.

Climbing Gorely Volcano

One day trip to the Gorely volcano is a simple but endlessly exciting weekend tour. It will give a lot of impressions and wonderful photos. An organized hike from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is designed for tourists of all ages. Even children and people with different physical fitness can take part in it.

You do not need climbing equipment and special training to climb. By the way, you can also climb the Gorely volcano on your own. From Petropavlovsk by car you can get to the Gorely volcano caldera (from mid-July).

The tour takes one day. The ascent itself, as well as the descent, takes up to six hours. The road to the caldera takes 3 to 4 hours. It depends on the presence of snow and the condition of the track.

In clear weather, from the top of the Gorely volcano, tourists cansimultaneously see several extinct and active volcanoes: Mutnovsky, Zhirovsky, Asacha, Vilyuchinsky, Opala, in the south - Priyomysh, Khodutka, Ilyinsky, Zheltovsky in the north - Arik, Aag, Avachinsky, Koryaksky, then - a group of Zhupanovsky volcanoes, Dzendzur, Tolmachevsky Dol volcanoes.

Tourist Tips

If you are planning a trip to the Gorely volcano, take care of firewood in advance. You won't be able to find them locally. You can replace firewood with a gas burner.
Be careful when choosing a tent - it must be stable. The winds around the volcano are quite strong.
Nature in these places is very fragile, so it is better to just enjoy the local flowers, take pictures, but do not pluck them, and the few lawns with grass should not be used for making a fire.