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Chirinkotan

Stratovolcano · Russia · 724m

The 3-km-wide island of Chirinkotan is the emergent summit of a volcano that rises 3 km from the floor of the Kuril Basin. It lies at the far end of an E-W-trending volcanic chain that extends nearly 50 km W of the central part of the main Kuril Islands arc. Historical eruptions have been recorded here since the 18th century, including one observed by Captain Snow.
The 3-km-wide island of Chirinkotan is the emergent summit of a volcano that rises 3 km from the floor of the Kuril Basin. It lies at the far end of an E-W-trending volcanic chain that extends nearly 50 km W of the central part of the main Kuril Islands arc. Historical eruptions have been recorded here since the 18th century, including one observed by Captain Snow. · Photo: Photo by R. Bulgakov, 1990 (Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics, Yuzhno-Sakhalin). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Russia
Region
Northwestern Pacific / Kuril Volcanic Arc
Elevation
724m
Coordinates
48.980, 153.480
Last eruption
2022
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Intermediate crust (15-25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The small, mostly unvegetated 3-km-wide island of Chirinkotan occupies the far end of an E-W volcanic chain that extends nearly 50 km W of the central part of the main Kuril Islands arc. It is the emergent summit of a volcano that rises 3000 m from the floor of the Kuril Basin. A small 1-km-wide caldera about 300-400 m deep is open to the SW. Lava flows from a cone within the breached crater reached the shore of the island. Historical eruptions have been recorded since the 18th century. Lava flows were observed by the English fur trader Captain Snow in the 1880s.

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1760~1786 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21865~1891 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 01891~1917 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1943~1970 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21970~1996 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 21996~2022 · 6 eruptions · max VEI 317601812189119431996

Detailed timeline

  1. 2022VEI 2Observed
    2022-10-07 – 2022-10-07
  2. 2021VEI 2Observed
    2021-08-08 – 2021-08-26
  3. 2016VEI 3Observed
    2016-11-29 – 2017-04-07
    Summit crater
  4. 2014VEI 2Observed
    2014-11-21 – 2015-08-10
    Summit crater
  5. 2013VEI 1Observed
    2013-06-11 – 2014-06-01
    Summit crater
  6. 2004VEI 2Observed
    2004-07-20 – 2004-07-20
  7. 1986VEI 1Observed
    1986-10-11 – 1986-10-12
  8. 1979VEI 2Observed
    1979-04-16 – 1980-10-10
  9. 1955VEI 2Observed
    1955-07-02 – Ongoing
    Floor of summit explosion crater
  10. 1900 (±10 yrs)VEI ?Observed
    1900-07-02 – Ongoing
  11. 1884 (±6 yrs)VEI 0Observed
    1884-07-02 – Ongoing
    North foot of inner summit cone
  12. 1760VEI 2Geological estimate
    1760 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.