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Bezymianny   »  Summary

Bezymianny

Bezymianny Photo

Country:Russia
Subregion Name:Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia)
Volcano Number:1000-25=
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status:Historical
Last Known Eruption: 2009 
Summit Elevation: 2882 m 9,455 feet
Latitude: 55.978°N 55°58'42"N
Longitude: 160.587°E 160°35'12"E

Prior to its noted 1955-56 eruption, Bezymianny volcano had been considered extinct. The modern Bezymianny volcano, much smaller in size than its massive neighbors Kamen and Kliuchevskoi, was formed about 4700 years ago over a late-Pleistocene lava-dome complex and an ancestral volcano that was built between about 11,000-7000 years ago. Three periods of intensified activity have occurred during the past 3000 years. The latest period, which was preceded by a 1000-year quiescence, began with the dramatic 1955-56 eruption. This eruption, similar to that of Mount St. Helens in 1980, produced a large horseshoe-shaped crater that was formed by collapse of the summit and an associated lateral blast. Subsequent episodic but ongoing lava-dome growth, accompanied by intermittent explosive activity and pyroclastic flows, has largely filled the 1956 crater.

Global Volcanism ProgramDepartment of Mineral SciencesNational Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian Institution

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