The history of a volcano: Klyuchevskaya hill

Without a doubt, the main attraction of the Kamchatka Peninsula is the Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which is a large active volcano of a cone-shaped regular shape. If we talk about the origin of the name, then the term "hummock" in the locals is treated as a hill or a hill. The name of the mountain is connected with the nearby river Klyuchevka and the settlement of Klyuchi. Presumably, the choice of the name of the volcano was also affected by the presence nearby of a large number of keys that are hot. Klyuchevskaya hill is covered with a glacial cap. Some of its languages go down almost to the foot of the mountain.

For the first time the eruption of this volcano was documented in 1697, and the first detailed description dates back to 1737. Then the participant of the second Kamchatka expedition under the direction of Bering Stepan Krashennikov noted that the ferocious, terrible fire lasted about a week. Because of him, the whole mountain turned into a red-hot stone, and the flame with the strongest noise rushed down in the form of a red-hot river. Klyuchevskaya Sopka significantly increased its activity in the summer of 1966. Then, during a series of eruptions, the lava descended into the valley of the Kirgurich River, along which it had long flowed in the direction of the settlement of Klyuchi. For two months, the lava flow overcame a distance of ten kilometers, which greatly frightened the locals.

Over the last more than two hundred years of observations, the eruptions of the Klyuchevskaya volcano occurred about fifty times. In the twentieth century, the volcano was the most active in January 1980. On the slope of the mountain there was a crack about one kilometer in length, from which a huge amount of ash and lava was thrown out.

As for the height of the volcano, there is as yet no specific answer. According to most atlases this parameter is 4688 m. However, in many books and encyclopedic reference books the figure is 4750 m. Based on the data of the popular Internet source Wikipedia, Klyuchevskaya Sopka has a height of 4649 m. The explanation for all this is quite simple. The fact is that the volcano is now operational. Like any other living being, he has a tendency to constantly change his size. If you study historical statistical information, you can see that, as of 1978, the mountain height was 4750 m. Twenty years later Klyuchevskaya Sopka increased by a hundred meters. As a result of the eruption that occurred in 1994, due to the growth of the slag cones, the mountain rose to 4822 m. Despite this, the active activity of the volcano led to the gradual destruction of cones and the reduction of the altitude to a mark of 4750 m. To date, in the crater of the volcano again There is an accumulation of material, which leads to its growth. In connection with this, the height of the mountain is now about 4800 m.

The first officially registered ascent to Klyuchevskaya volcano volcano dates back to 1788. This happened in the period from 4 to 8 August. Then the Russian expedition, led by Billings, approached the base of the mountain, and the curious mountain conductor Daniel Gaus, along with several of his companions ascended to the top of the volcano.