Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective, does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
Volcanoes are natural geological formations that have formed in places where there are cracks in the earth's crust. They can be both active and extinct, although the latter sometimes wake up, spewing gas, lava, ash and loose volcanic rocks. There are about a thousand volcanoes on our planet at this time, and a significant part of them are located under water. Most of the world's largest volcanoes are located in South America, but Russia also has many of these inanimate wonders. We present to your attention the ten largest Russian volcanoes.
Rating of the largest volcanoes in Russia
| Nomination | a place | Volcano | Volcano height |
| Rating of the largest volcanoes in Russia | 1 | Karymskaya Sopka | 1468 METERS |
| 2 | Sarychev volcano | 1496 meters away | |
| 3 | Shishel volcano | 2525 meters away | |
| 4 | Avachinskaya Sopka | 2741 meters | |
| 5 | Volcano Shiveluch | 3307 meters away | |
| 6 | Koryakskaya Sopka | 3456 meters away | |
| 7 | Kronotskaya Sopka | 3482 meters | |
| 8 | Ichinskaya Sopka | 3621 meters | |
| 9 | Volcano Tolbachik | 3682 meters | |
| 10 | Klyuchevskaya Sopka | 4900 meters |
Karymskaya Sopka
Rating: 4.1
The Karymskaya Sopka stratovolcano is located in Kamchatka, 30 kilometers from the Pacific coast, and is part of a mountain system called the Eastern Ridge. It has an altitude of 1468 meters above sea level. At the foot of the volcano, the Karymskaya river flows, on the right bank of which there is a volcanological station. For about 100 years of observation, scientists have recorded more than twenty eruptions of varying degrees of intensity.
The formation of the Karymskaya Sopka volcano took place 6300 years ago and was accompanied by violent eruptions, as well as seismic activity. He then went into a dormant phase for 2800 years. Today the volcano is active and is considered one of the most unstable in the region. In the last ten years alone, there have been four eruptions, one of them in 2009, when the ash columns over the Karymskaya Sopka rose 3 kilometers in height. The last activity was recorded in mid-2016.
Sarychev volcano
Rating: 4.2
Located on the island of Matua, belonging to the Kuril Islands, the 1,496-meter-high volcano was named after the famous Russian navigator and explorer Gabriel Sarychev. The volcano consists of many types of rocks, among which basalts and andesites predominate. It is distinguished by strong fumarole activity (observed to this day) and frequent, albeit short-lived, eruptions.
The peak of modern activity of the Sarychev volcano came in 2009, when clouds of smoke rose to a height of 16 kilometers, and erupted lava flows up to one hundred meters wide and more than two kilometers long reached the sea. As a result, the coastline in some places retreated by 400 meters, and the total area of the island increased by one and a half kilometers.
Shishel volcano
Rating: 4.3
Shield stratovolcano in the Sredinny ridge on the Kamchatka Peninsula has a height of 2525 meters. It is located near the Glubokoe and Mezhdosopochnoe lakes. Shishel is an extinct volcano, the time of the last eruption is unknown, but apparently it took place in the prehistoric period. The volcano was formed in the Holocene era, most of it is almost entirely composed of lava.
In shape, it is a gentle cone with the upper part shifted to the west. Frozen lava flows, separated by layers of pyroclastic material, cover the western slopes of the upland, resembling a kind of cloak. The summit has two craters, of which the southwestern one stands out, its depth is 80 meters, and its diameter reaches 250 meters. The total area occupied by the Shishel volcano is about 43 square kilometers.
Avachinskaya Sopka
Rating: 4.4
One of the largest permanent volcanoes in Kamchatka, it rises 2,741 meters above sea level. Just like the famous Vesuvius, Avachinskaya volcano is a double volcano, in which one crater is located inside the cone of another crater. Translated from the Itelmen language, the name Avacha is translated as “fiery”, which is quite appropriate, given the activity of the volcano. More than 15 eruptions have been recorded since the middle of the 18th century. In 1827 and 1926, volcanic mud flows reached the ocean coast, and in 1991 there was a violent eruption, accompanied by two powerful explosions. It lasted for two weeks and led to almost complete filling of the crater cavity with lava. Due to the incessant activity, the volcano still continues to grow, as lava flows are being layered.
At the foot of the Avachinskaya volcano, not far from the Sukhaya River, there is a tourist camp and a ski resort. Due to its convenient location, the volcano is very popular among tourists.
Volcano Shiveluch
Rating: 4.5
Shiveluch is the northernmost active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Its height is 3307 meters. The name Shiveluch comes from “Suelich”, which means “smoking mountain” in the local language. The formation of the volcano began about 70 thousand years ago, after which a giant eruption led to the formation of a caldera with a diameter of 9 kilometers. At the top of Shiveluch, there are glaciers that do not melt all year round, and a little lower there are also large ice masses that feed several large and small rivers flowing from the mountain.
In modern history, there have been about 60 major eruptions. One of the most famous was in 1964, it entailed the release of ash to a height of 15 kilometers. In 2019, after a three-year hiatus, the Shiveluch volcano reactivated, a large ash ejection occurred, the height of the column of which exceeded 10 kilometers above sea level. The volcano was assigned a red aviation hazard level.
Koryakskaya Sopka
Rating: 4.6
Koryakskaya Sopka is an active stratovolcano 3456 meters high. It is distinguished by a regular cone shape, its slopes consist mainly of basalt and andesite rocks, and at the foot there are traces of activity in the form of huge lava fields. The northern slope is completely covered with glaciers and snowfields, which stretch to the foot for almost four kilometers. The crater reaches two kilometers in diameter, but its depth is only 30 meters.
According to scientific studies, the most powerful eruptions in the history of this volcano occurred before our era. The largest of the modern ones were recorded in 1895 and 1956. The last case was accompanied by an earthquake, which led to the formation of a 15-meter crack in the volcano, which was later covered with debris. Also, a significant release of gases and ash over tens of kilometers occurred in 2008. Koryakskaya Sopka is a local attraction and is popular with climbers, but for amateurs without special training, the path to the top is closed, since climbing the steep slopes of the volcano is considered quite dangerous.
Kronotskaya Sopka
Rating: 4.7
Kronotskaya Sopka is considered one of the most picturesque volcanoes in Russia. It rises 3482 meters above sea level, making it visible even from ships sailing along the Pacific coast. The summit of the volcano is covered with non-melting snow and glaciers, and lush forest vegetation flourishes on the slopes. On the western side of the foot of a natural elevation with a diameter of 16 kilometers is Kronotskoye Lake. Also nearby is the famous Valley of Geysers, one of the largest geyser fields in the world.
Kronotsky volcano is considered relatively calm, its last eruption dates back to 1923, it led to the formation of a lava plug with a diameter of one and a half kilometers. However, fumarolic activity with the release of hot gases is still observed on the slopes.
Ichinskaya Sopka
Rating: 4.8
This 3621 meter high volcano is located in the central part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the western slope of the Sredinny Range. It is based on solidified lava flows with some fraction of clastic material. The formation of the Ichinsky volcano began about 10-15 thousand years ago, and during its entire existence it ejected 450 cubic kilometers of lava.
The last eruption happened in 1740, since then until the present Ichinskaya Sopka has shown only insignificant fumarolic activity, which, according to forecasts, will gradually fade away. Steam and gases with a temperature of about 90 degrees rise above the slopes to a height of 250 meters. It is considered the most beautiful of all the peaks of the Sredinny Range.
Volcano Tolbachik
Rating: 4.9
Tolbachik is a volcanic massif consisting of two merged volcanoes. The first of them, Ostry Tolbachik, has a height of 3682 meters, its top is covered with a layer of ice, and the Schmidt glacier is located on the southern slopes. The last eruption took place in the prehistoric era, but scientific researchers find it difficult to determine exactly when. Plosky Tolbachek is an active stratovolcano, 12 of its eruptions have been recorded since the middle of the 18th century, the last one in 2012. The most powerful eruption in the new history of the volcano is considered to be 1975, which generated huge fields of lava.
The main feature of Tobachik is fissure lava eruptions that do not emit huge clouds of smoke and ash from the summit. Instead, large quantities of liquid lava are poured out. Such volcanic activity attracts a large number of tourists, as it allows you to approach the epicenter by helicopter without much risk.
Klyuchevskaya Sopka
Rating: 5.0
Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the oldest volcano in Russia, as well as the highest active volcano in Europe and Asia. Its formation took place about seven thousand years ago. The height of the volcano above sea level is 4900 meters. It is distinguished by frequent, but relatively calm eruptions, which usually occur at intervals of three to five years and last several months. From the moment when scientists first began to document the eruptions of Klyuchevskaya Sopka (which happened in 1737) to the present, there have been more than fifty of them. The strongest is considered to be a three-year eruption that began in 1984. It promoted the formation of a new summit and was accompanied by the release of ash to a height of 15 kilometers, as well as descents from the slopes of incandescent lava moving at a speed of up to 100 km / h.
The Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano is of great interest not only from the point of view of tourism, but also for science. Therefore, since 1935, a volcanological station has been located near it, one of the first in Russia. In addition to scientific premises, the station also contains a museum with geological exhibits.
Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
