Karymsky, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

The 1994-1995 Kamchatka Calendar

August 12, 1999

On 5 August, seismicity under the Karymsky Volcano has increased. More than 15 gas explosions with possible pyroclastic flows have occurred.

June 30, 1999

For more than three years, the Karymsky Volcano has continued to produce low level strombolian eruptions. About 25-30 earthquakes and gas explosions occur each day.

April 21, 1998

Strombolian activity continues at Karymsky. About 200 gas and ash explosions occur daily. A steam plume was seen extending about ~60 miles (100 km) from the volcano on April 17. A hot spot was detected at the summit of the volcano on April 18. This may indicate a small renewal of lava flowing from the summit crater.

January 26, 1998

Karymsky erupted ash 9,800-11,500 ft (3000-3500 m) high on January 26. This ash cloud stretched to the east, but no distances or speeds of the cloud have been reported. Activity has been slightly higher than normal at the volcano over the past few days.

January 1, 1996

Karymsky volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula started the New Year with a bang! Early in the morning of January 1, 1996, a phreatomagmatic eruption began at the north end of Karymsky Lake about 3 miles (5 km) south of Karymsky volcano. During the initial stage of the eruption the ash plume reached 23,000 feet (7,000 meters) above sea level. A satellite image showed that the plume extended at least 120 miles (200 km) southeast and south of the volcano.

January 5, 1996

Two volcanologists from the Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky visited Karymsky on January 3. They reported that activity had shifted to Karymsky volcano where a new crater had formed on the side of the cone adjacent to the old summit crater. The new crater was twice the size of the old crater. In the past two days, a thick black ash plume has been observed erupting explosively from the new crater. The plume has reached up to altitudes of 18,000 feet (5,500 m) above sea level. As of January 5, the presence of earthquakes indicates that activity continues with explosions every 1-3 minutes.

Karymsky is one of the more active volcanoes in Kamchatka. It has erupted over 20 times in the past 200 years. Periods of seismic unrest have occurred several times in the past 12 months and the volcano emits a continuous steam plume. The volcano is capable of explosive eruptions which can send ash to over 33,000 feet (10 km) above sea level and continue sporadically for days or weeks. Short lava flows are also a possibility. The volcano is located in a remote part of the Kamchatka Peninsula about 70 miles (110 km) northwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and no towns or villages are threatened. The chief hazard at this time would appear to be encounters between airborne volcanic ash and aircraft.

January 12, 1996

On Friday, January 12, 1996, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported that eruptive activity continues at Karymsky. They based their observation on earthquake patterns for the volcano. Bad weather in Kamchatka hindered both field observations at the volcano and the interpretation of satellite images.

October 14, 1996

The Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruptions Response Team reported that ash explosions were occurring every 10 minutes at Karymsky. Individual plumes reached heights of about 10,000-15,000 feet (3000-5000 m) above the volcano. The ash plumes extended more than 125 miles (200 km) to the northeast and east. Some explosions threw volcanic bombs 1,500 feet (500 m) above the crater. Earthquake activity remains above background level.