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MUTNOVSKY VOLCANO

The volcano is an elongated array of four merged cones. Explosions which occurred in several stages, formed two huge crater – the Southwest and Northeast craters, they resemble a figure eight, stretching for 4 km. The merged crater of Mutnovsky volcano by its size is the largest among the craters of active volcanoes of Kamchatka. The diameter of the crater is 1.5 - 2 km and depth - 400 m. The subsequent explosions in Southwest crater formed a deep crater, before it was occupied by the lake, and now by the glacier. In addition, there is an Active Funnel at the northern edge of the Southwestern crater, which is a closed cup with the depth of about 150 m with steep walls, flat bottom, diameter of which is 100 x 150 m.

On the side facing the ocean, adjacent to the northern crater is the highest, but the supine cone, height - 2323 m. From the bay Russkaya it looks like a regular cone.

In the crater of the volcano and on its northern slope there are powerful high-temperature fumaroles, jets of steam and gas, the outputs of which are framed by volcanic sulfur and hot springs in the form of water and mud pots. The most intense fumarolic activity is concentrated in the Northeast crater and Active funnel. In the crater there are three groups of constantly active outputs – Top fumarole field, temperature of the fumaroles is more than 300°C, and two relatively isolated groups on Donne fumarole field with the temperatures of the outputs up to 150°C. In Actively funnel most powerful gas activities are concentrated on the south-west wall.

During the historical period there were at least 16 eruptions of Mutnovsky volcano. The strongest eruption occurred in 1848. Periodicity in the eruptions was not observed. But the eruptions were separated by an interval of rest for about a year (1852-1854, 1916-1917, 1927-1928, 1938-1939). The greatest period of dormancy of the volcano lasted for 44 years (1854-1898), the smallest period - a few months. Eruptions mainly occur in the Active funnel. In the period of rest in the crater powerful high-temperature fumaroles are active.

The last two volcanic eruptions were phreatic (gas) and weak powered. The first eruption occurred on the night of December 31, 1960 to January 1, 1961 in the Active funnel. It had an explosive character. The second eruption occurred almost 40 years later, in 2000, under the south wall of the south-west of the crater of the volcano. When the eruption there was a formation of a hot mud flow that came down in the northeasterly direction to the Bottom fumarole field in the North-east crater. The flow length – 600 meters, width – 30-40 meters. In addition, Southwest crater lake was formed with a diameter of about 250 meters. By the end of the summer of 2002 the lake was almost completely under ice, indicating the termination of the thermal emission of the volcano through the Southwestern crater.

Interestingly, before the start of the 60s at the bottom of the crater there was a lake that had a diameter of 250-300 meters with warm water. After the eruption in 1960 in the Active funnel in the neighboring crater the lake cooled down, and then the crater quickly filled with glacier. Such mechanism is characteristic for the Southwestern crater.

Moving to the foot of the Mutnovsky volcano takes place on a bad road and takes about 4-5 hours from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The way lies through the Vilyuchinsky pass, from where you can enjoy beautiful views of the Vilyuchinsky volcano and the valley of the Paratunka River. The most difficult part is the caldera of the Gorely volcano, where the road goes over rough terrain through lava flows and snowfields.

The ascent takes place not to the top, but to the crater of the volcano. The trail begins at its foot from a height of 1250 m. It rises to the Upper Fumarole Field located at an altitude of 1500 m and ends at the eastern side of the Active Funnel at 1650 m. The ascent is not difficult and takes about 2 hrs. The inspection of the craters of the volcano takes about 1,5-2 hrs. The descent takes place along the ascent path and lasts no more than 1,5 hrs. Next to the climbing path, the picturesque Opasny (Dangerous) Canyon with an 80-meter waterfall originates.