Kambalny Volcano

Kambalny (Russian: Камбальный) is a stratovolcano located in the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is the southernmost active volcano of Kamchatka. It has erupted mafic rocks. It has a summit crater as well as five cinder cones on its flanks which are the source of lava flows.

The volcano probably formed during the early Holocene and aside from the summit crater also features an explosion crater on the southwestern side of the summit. Three large collapses of the edifice occurred around 6300 BP; between the first two volcanic activity restored the cone, while the third occurred on the ridge on which Kambalny was constructed. The longest of these landslides travelled 20 kilometres (12 mi). The total volume of these landslides, 5–10 cubic kilometres (1.2–2.4 cu mi), is the largest of all Holocene landslides, but it was buried at Kambalny proper by later volcanic activity. The collapse scar in the ridge is still visible and was the site of later landslides when Kambalny volcano was active.

Kambalny is part of a group of volcanoes from the late Pleistocene and the Holocene that surround the Kurile Lake caldera. Other volcanoes in that group are Diky Greben, Ilyinsky, Koshelev and Zheltovsky. Kambalny itself is constructed on a ridge which formed in the Quaternary during the uplift of the central part of a trough. This trough is also the site of the Pleistocene Pauzhetka Caldera and Kambalny formed on this caldera rim. Other volcanoes in the area include Thermalny, North Kambalny and Chernye Skaly. The position of Kambalny is also controlled by the margin between the Kurile island arc and the South Kamchatka block.

The cone rises about 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) above the surrounding terrain. The Pauzhetsky geothermal field is associated with the Kambalny volcanic ridge, and Kambalny may be the heat source for this system. The geothermal energy output at Kambalny is about 320 megawatts (320,000,000 W). Fumarolic activity along with the emission of CO2, H2S and CH4 occur in the area of Kambalny. These fumaroles have left efflorescences that are derived from compounds leached from rocks and which have yielded novel minerals. The volcanic rocks have been weathered to form clays and secondary minerals. The geothermal field is subdivided into three sectors, Severo-Kambalny ("North-Kambalny"), Central'no Kambalny ("Central Kambalny") and Yuzhno-Kambalny ("South-Kambalny").