Four Volcanos Erupting in Kamchatka

A simultaneous eruption of four volcanoes is taking place on the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka. Despite the fact that all four are within 110 miles of each other, geologists believe that the volcanoes do not share a common magma source, which makes it all the more remarkable.

All four of the volcanoes now erupting have shown significant activity in recent years. Most recently, Tobalchik began spewing lava on Nov. 27 of last year, creating the impressive lava flows visible in the 360 degree video taken by Airpano. Shiveluch, the northernmost of the four, prefers shooting columns of ash high into the air, which it has been doing on a regular basis during the last four years since a magma dome in its crater exploded. Besymjanny awoke with a bang in the 1950s following 1,000 years of dormancy and has been active since then, with huge clouds of ash rising on a regular basis. Finally, the southernmost of the quartet, Kisimen, has been erupting regularly since 2010, and there is concern that it could perform a repeat of the violent explosion which sheered off half of the mountain some 1,300 years ago.

The Russian photography company Airpano flew over the area, taking panoramic shots and a 360-degree video that follows a helicopter visiting all four volcanoes. More