With a summit that reaches 3,283 meters (10,771 feet), Shiveluch
is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Russia’s
Kamchatka Peninsula. At least 60 large eruptions of Shiveluch
have occurred during the past 10,000 years, making it the most
vigorous volcano of the Kuril-Kamchatka volcanic arc. On January
25, 2011, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and
Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite detected
a hot avalanche of volcanic debris—a pyroclastic flow—sliding
down the south side of the volcano. This image shows the flow’s
heat signature as measured in thermal infrared light. The white
area at the lava dome is very hot, while the red areas on the
edge of the flow are just warmer than the surrounding snow. The
hot trail of material descending to the south forms a large
distributed deposit, indicating a recent collapse of the lava
dome and formation of a large debris avalanche. According to the
Global Volcanism Program, Shiveluch’s current eruptive period
began in 1999. - Global