Geology 9 Russia Blog

Of Russia's 117 Holcene volcanoes, 33 have been active since 1950 ( Smithsonian Global Volcano Program ). Volcanoes Ebeko, Karymsky, Bezymianny, and Sheveluch have been erupting since August 2022. The majority of Russia's volcanoes--130 volcanoes--are located in the Kamchatka Peninsula, which is part of the Ring of Fire. Kamchatka is currently populated by over 40,000 people ( Oregon State ).  Due to the large threat that volcanic ash poses to aviation, scientists belonging to the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Volcanic Geology and Geochemistry (IVGG) and the Kamchatkan Experimental and Methodical Seismological Department (KEMSD) banded together to create the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) ( USGS ). This team closely collaborated with the United States Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) to monitor seismic activity in the peninsula to keep the surrounding areas secure.  Photo Source: Phys.org

 Due to Russia's size and numerous tectonic plates, earthquakes are a very common occurrence. In the past 30 days, Russia has experienced 21 earthquakes--2 of which occurred in the last seven days. The most recent earthquake happened in Dolinsk, Sakhalin, Russia on September 10th, 2022, with a magnitude of 4.5.  Russia has endured multiple tsunamis that were caused by megathrust earthquakes in the eastern Russia region of the Kamchatka Peninsula. One of the largest earthquakes happened in 2013 in the Sea of Okhotsk, where the 8.3 magnitudes created shaking that lasted for five minutes. Houses collapsed in Samara, many small cracks appeared in Moscow's infrastructure, and a bridge cracked in Yakutsk.  The deadliest earthquake in Russia was the 1952 Kamchatka Tsunami which killed 10,000-15,000 people. This magnitude 9.0 earthquake generated 50 feet-high waves and reached Peru, Chili, New Zealand, and Hawaii.  Info Source: https://www.wsspc.org/resources-reports/ts...

Russia lies on three major tectonic plates - the Eurasian, the North American, and the Pacific plates - as well as the hypothesized microplates Okhotsk, Bering, and Amurian.  One of the most active areas in Russia is the Kamchatka Peninsula in Far East Russia. This is one of the most volcanically active parts of the world with the highest density and activity of volcanoes. Kamchatka belongs to a portion of the Ring of Fire and the Okhotsk, North American, and Pacific plates meet together directly underneath. Kamchatka has 130 volcanoes with 29 that are currently active. This peninsula is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east and the Sea of Okhotsk in the west, creating "a 1,250-kilometer long portion of the 2,000-kilometer long Kuril-Kamchatka island arc" (Oregon State University).  Photo Source: https://volcano.oregonstate.edu/russia Info Source: https://volcano.oregonstate.edu/russia

Russia is a transcontinental country with 23% of its body existing in Europe and the other 77% spanning across Asia. Russia occupies one-tenth of all land on Earth and is the largest country in the world. Russia borders Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus, in the west, Ukraine in the southwest, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Japan in the south, the Pacific Ocean in the southeast, and the Arctic Ocean in the North. Russia spans 11 time zones and has varying landscapes. While there are deserts and frozen coastlines, massive mountains, and deep marshes, most of Russia is filled with treeless plains known as steppes.  Russia's population of 1.44 million people is split among 120 ethnic groups. About 80% of Russia's residents share Slavic ancestry while the rest have lineages with Ukrainians and Tartars.  Russia's large and unique ecosystems provide habitats to many rare species, such as snow leopards, pikas, Siberian tigers, polar bears, and Asiatic black bears. ...