Tolbachik

Tolbachik from southwest

The Tolbachik (Russian Толбачик ) is a complex volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East.

Construction

The volcano consists of two volcanic peaks, the flat and lower Plosky Tolbachik in the east with an altitude of 3085 m and the steep Ostry Tolbachik with a height of 3682 m in the west. In the former, it is a shield volcano, the latter is a stratovolcano.

Outbreaks

Eruptions are known inter alia from the years 1740, 1769, 1788-1790, 1793, 1904, 1931, 1939-1941 and 1954.

Between July 6, 1975 and December 10, 1976 took place on Plosky Tolbachik a particularly large outbreak, in which about two cubic kilometers of basaltic lava leaked from a column system at the edge of the old volcano. This was the largest such outbreak since the Icelandic volcano Lakagígar in the years 1783-1784 and there was four times more lava than the largest known eruption of Mauna Loa in Hawaii. It was formed northeast and southwest of the old volcano a number of new cinder cones, from which flowed the lava. In August 1975, the peak of Plosty Tolbachik collapsed and formed a 1.7 km wide and 0.5 km deep caldera. The outbreak could be accurately predicted by a series of earthquakes that began on June 27.

End of November 2012 broke the Tolbachik after 36 years break out again. On the southern slope to columns from which lava flows and ash is up to 3 km high into the air formed.

Mineral discoveries

The newly formed cinder cones on Tolbachik are a rich mineral locality. Also, a number of new, previously unknown minerals was found at Tolbachik, for a total of 36 minerals of the mountain is the type locality. Among the minerals where it was first found, among other Alarsit, Lesukit, Tolbachit and Pauflerit.