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The Itschinskaja Sopka (Russian Ичинская сопка, also Itschinski, Ичинский or short Itscha, Ича ) is a stratovolcano in the Sredinny - ridge on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. With a height of 3621 m ( according to other sources 3607 m ), he is by far the highest of Sredinny - back and five -to six- highest total of the peninsula. He is also the only active volcano outside the active zone in the eastern part of Kamchatka today.

Location

The massive volcano belongs to a volume of 450 km ³ and about 20 km in diameter to the largest of the peninsula. He is preceded by the main ridge of the mountain west and is located approximately 70 km in a straight line to the southwest of the nearest village Esso. The volcanic massif towers over the surrounding mountains more than 2000 meters and is from the west by the 130 kilometers from the coast of the Okhotsk Sea on a clear recognizable. The surrounding mountains are partly extinct volcanoes, such as in the southeast of the volcano Achtang.

The Itschinskaja Sopka is a volcano of Somma - type: the summit is a 5 km long and 3 km wide caldera, rise out of here two larger and a smaller lava domes. The summit area is covered with a Firnkappe, glaciers flow into the valley in several directions from the.

The name of the volcano is derived from the river Itscha, which has its origins in several flowing from the southern flank of the volcano complex streams and flows west to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Geology

The emergence of the volcano began in the Late Pleistocene (from about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago ) with the eruption of andesitic and basaltic - andesitic lava. The more than ten secondary craters surrounding the summit caldera in 1800-3000 meters altitude, later also produced more acidic dacite and rhyodacite lava and ash.

To strongest eruption occurred about 6500 years ago, with accrued up to 15 km long lava flows. More active modes lie at 4200-4000 BP and 2600-2400 BP. For the last eruption occurred probably in the mid-18th century.

Today's activity is limited to fumaroles and solfataras in the caldera and on the northern flank at about 3000 meters height. 1956 rose above the steam fumarole field in the caldera to 250 meters in height.