Photograph Identification: P-44823 Kliuchevskoi Volcano (2), Russia
This is an image of the area of the Kliuchevskoi volcano,Kamchatka, Russia, which began to erupt on September 30, 1994. Kliuchevskoi is the blue triangular peak in the center of the image, towards the left edge ofthe bright red area that delineates bare snow cover. The image was acquired bythe Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR)aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on its 88th orbit on October 5, 1994. Theimage shows an area approximately 75 kilometers by 100 kilometers (46 miles by62 miles) that is centered at 56.07 degrees north latitude and 160.84 degreeseast longitude. North is toward the bottom of the image. The radarillumination is from the top of the image. The Kamchatka volcanoes are amongthe most active volcanoes in the world. The volcanic zone sits above atectonic plate boundary, where the Pacific plate is sinking beneath thenortheast edge of the Eurasian plate. The Endeavour crew obtained dramatic video and photographic images of this region during the eruption, which assist scientists in analyzing the dynamics of the volcanic activity. The colorsin this image were obtained using the following radar channels: red representsthe L-band, HH (horizontally transmitted and received) channel; green represents the L-band, HV (horizontally transmitted and vertically received) channel; blue represents the C-band, HV(horizontally transmitted and vertically received) channel. In addition toKliuchevskoi, two other active volcanoes are visible in the image. Bezymianny,the circular crater above and to the right of Kliuchevskoi, contains a slowlygrowing lava dome. Tolbachik is the large volcano with a dark summit craternear the upper right edge of the red snow covered area. The Kamchatka Riverruns from right to left across the bottom of the image. The 1994 eruptionof Kliuchevskoi included massive ejections of gas, vapor and ash, which reachedaltitudes of 15,000 meters (50,000 feet). Melting snow mixed with volcanic ashtriggered mudflows on the flanks of the volcano. Paths of these flows can beseen as thin lines in various shades of blue and green on the north flank inthe center of the image.
![[KLIUCHEVSKOI VOLCANO]](KLIUCHE2.GIF)