Activity on Chikurachki

Credit: Jesse Allen; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Thursday, 20 September 2007, 06:42 CDT Download full size image

In the northern Kurile Islands, off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, Chikurachki Volcano released a plume of ash and/or steam on September 8, 2007. At the time of the event, the MODIS on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of the plume blowing over the Pacific Ocean, toward the southeast. In this image, the volcanic plume appears similar in color and thickness to some wispy clouds to the immediate north.

Chikurachki is a stratovolcano—a steep-sloped cone composed of alternating layers or hardened lava, solidified ash, and volcanic rocks. This stratovolcano is actually a relatively small cone sitting atop an older structure that was built by volcanic activity in the Pleistocene. The underlying edifice makes Chikurachki, with a summit elevation of 1,816 meters (5,958 feet) the highest volcano on Paramushir Island.

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