Kurile Lake Volcano

Updated: May 19, 2024 10:33 GMT - refresh

Caldera 81 m / 266 ft
Southern Kamchatka, Russia, 51.45°N / 157.12°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

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Earthquakes

Typical eruption style: unspecified
Kurile Lake volcano eruptions: 6440 BC ± 25 years

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Background

Kurile Lake caldera is one of the most impressive volcanic features in Kamchatka. It lies within the eastern part of the massive Pauzhetka caldera, but is considered as a separate volcanic system here. The low-rimmed Kurile Lake caldera was formed in two stages during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The first caldera-forming eruption took place about 41,500 radiocarbon years ago. The second episode of caldera formation occurred about 7600 radiocarbon years ago during one of the world's largest Holocene eruptions. A total of 140-170 cu km of material was ejected, and extensive thick pyroclastic-flow deposits from the caldera-forming eruptions blanket the countryside. Ash from the eruption, one of the world's largest during the Holocene, fell more than 1000 km away on the Asia mainland. The eruption resulted in the formation of an 8 x 14 km wide caldera, now largely filled by Kurile Lake. The steep-sided Serdtze Alaida (Heart of Alaid), which forms a small island rising 300 m from the caldera floor in the center of the lake, is a rhyodacitic lava dome that formed at the end of the caldera-forming eruption.
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Smithsonian / GVP volcano information