Gorely volcano in Kamchatka: description, history, interesting facts

In the south of Kamchatka, Gorelinsky is home to the active Gorely volcano . It is part of the South Kamchatka Park. Its second name is Gorelaya Sopka. This unique nature monument is located 75 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

History

Almost forty millennia ago, on the site of the current volcano, there was a huge volcano, which was called Pra-Gorely. The diameter of its base exceeded thirty kilometers. Under its own weight, its apical part eventually sank, and a caldera of 10 x 14 km was formed. It is surrounded by the remains of an ancient volcano, which is a small rocky ridge.

The volcanic eruptions continued from the bottom of the caldera through a chain of craters formed. They layered on each other, and the gradually growing cones merged. Thus, an extended modern massif was formed, which is covered with slag, sand and layers of frozen lava.

The eruptions of the volcano continued and much later. The last scientists recorded in 1986. The ash plume then stretched from Gorely to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky through Avacha Bay. It was a very unusual sight: from the ground to the city stretched a column of smoke of black color.

Today the Gorely volcano (Kamchatka) has an "old building", which covers an area of more than 650 kilometers. It extends to the upper reaches of the Paratunka, Zhirov, Vulkannaya and Asacha volcano rivers.

Description of the volcano

The active Gorely volcano, whose height is 1829 m, is located in the south of the peninsula. It is represented by two buildings: the shield-shaped ancient, the top of which is crowned with a thirteen-kilometer caldera, and also modern, which is a complex stratovolcano.

A modern building with an area of 150 square meters. Km, is in the center of the caldera. It is composed mainly of lavami balsate and andesite-balzate type. This building resembles the Hawaiian type of volcanism, but at the same time its summit is framed by a chain of craters, and on the slopes there are thirty slag cones with solidified lava.

Array Structure

A mountain range stretching about three kilometers is built into a chain consisting of eleven craters. All this is the Gorely volcano. Its full name reflects the modern structure of the volcano - Gorely Ridge.

This array is formed at the confluence of volcanic hills. On the vast expanses of these slopes there are many lakes, gas hot fumaroles and almost fifty slag cones.

East Crater

Several craters, reminiscent of wells, refer to those in which eruptions took place in the distant past, are now filled with acid lakes. These include the Eastern Crater. Its bottom, about half a kilometer in size, is occupied by a lake of rich blue color. It is surrounded by steep two hundred-meter-high rocks. Partly it is covered with floating ice.

The peculiarity of this crater can be called its ability to change its "behavior" during the activity of the volcano. When the water in the lake remains blue, the earth's interior is calm. When the volcano comes into a predicative state, the lake literally "boils out", changing its shape and color.

Crater Active

The Gorely volcano has another amazing crater. It's called Active. Its bottom is filled with an acid lake of rich orange color, and its beaches are fumaroles. This crater has the shape of a funnel, whose diameter is 250 meters. The depth of the crater is 200 meters.

Descent into it is dangerous, because its walls are showered, and the air is saturated with sulfur poisonous gases.

Crater Western

The bottom of this crater is covered by a glacier, which gives rise to a stream. It flows to the northwestern part of the caldera, forming several small waterfalls.

Cylinder

Interesting and this crater with such an unusual name. It is located at the southern slope of the volcano, it has a regular rounded shape. Its diameter reaches 40 m.

Crater nest

This is a kind of whole "family". At the bottom of the ancient crater are two young: the narrow crater Shchel, got its name because of its elongated shape, and Glubokiy.

Frozen lava flows of burgundy color, cracked from the bottom of the caldera, covered with black volcanic sand, - with its construction the Gorely volcano creates the impression of a dangerous, but at the same time surprisingly beautiful place.

Plateau

No less interesting is the plateau of the volcano. It is practically devoid of vegetation. Exception is only low tundra grasses. Here on the surface come out ancient lava flows, reddish color, which cracked under the influence of time.

This picture on many tourists brings to mind the mysterious Mars. There is a feeling that this can not happen on our planet.

Caves

More than two millennia ago, a stream of rather liquid lava, formed as a result of an active eruption, created stone wide fields that are located to the north of the volcano. The upper layer of the lava managed to freeze in the course of the current, while the internal layers continued to flow.

As a result of this natural phenomenon, the lava caves of the Gorely volcano are known today. Weekend tours are organized from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, so anyone can see these unique structures.

There are fourteen caves in the Gorely volcano. They have an icy "floor" and domed vaults. Their length ranges from sixteen to one hundred and forty meters. Now only six of them are accessible for tourists.

Eruptions

During the last one and a half centuries Gorely volcano erupted only seven times. At the end of the last century, only weak eruptions were recorded, which consisted in the release of a large number of gases, sand and ash. Last activity was celebrated in the summer of 2010. It provoked a drop in the level of lakes, soil fluctuation and vapor emissions. They were visible even in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Almost every twenty years Gorely demonstrates its amazing power and strength, erupting lava burning torrents on the surface, which stretched for a distance of more than ten kilometers. And even the period of calm on this massif is characterized by a very active fumarolic activity.

Climbing Gorely volcano

One-day hike to the Gorely volcano is an uncomplicated but endlessly exciting weekend tour. He will give a lot of impressions and wonderful photos. An organized march from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is designed for tourists of different ages. Even children and people with different physical training can take part in it.

For climbing, you do not need climbing equipment and special training. By the way, the ascent to Gorely volcano can also be done by yourself. From Petropavlovsk by road, you can reach the caldera of the Gorely volcano (from the middle of July).

The tour takes one day. On the ascent, as well as the descent takes up to six hours. The road to the caldera takes from 3 to 4 hours. This depends on the presence of snow and the condition of the route.

In clear weather from the top of the volcano Gorelye tourists can simultaneously see several extinct and active volcanoes: Mutnovsky, Zhirovskaya, Asacha, Vilyuchinsky, Opala, south - Priemysh, Khodutka, Ilinsky, Zheltovsky in the north - Arik, Aag, Avachinsky, Koryaksky, then - group Zhupanov volcanoes, Dzendzur, volcanoes of the Tolmachevsky valley.

Tips for tourists

1. If you are planning a trip to the Gorely volcano, take care of the wood in advance. On the spot you will not be able to find them. Replace the firewood with a gas burner.
2. Carefully refer to the choice of tent - it must be stable. In the volcano area, the winds are quite strong.
3. The nature in these places is very fragile, that's why it is better to enjoy, photograph, but not to tear down the local flowers, and a few lawns with grass should not be used for breeding a fire.