Gallery: Vulcan's View: Eruption News and Volcanoes From Space for October 21, 2011
01volcanoes-of-the-kamchatka-peninsula-russia
I skipped last week because of certain other events in my life, but this week, I return with the newly christened "Vulcan's View" (thank you to *Eruptions* reader Cindy for that suggestion). This week I will segue a bit from the Smithsonian/USGS Global Volcanism Program *Weekly Volcanic Activity Report*, so if you want to catch up on all the eruption-related news of the week, be sure to [check that out in its entirety](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111012). As always, special thanks to the Global Volcanism Program and the [NASA Earth Observatory](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/) for information and images! Onto the images! __Above:__ Volcanoes of Kamchatka — Shiveluch, Bezymianny and Kliuchevskoi --------------------------------------------------------------- [No less](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111012#kizimen) than three [volcanoes](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111012#karymsky) on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula appear in this week's GVP report, but the image today only has one of them — [Shiveluch](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111012#shiveluc). However, not to be shortchanged, you also get [Tolbachik](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1000-24=), [Bezymianny](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1000-25=) and [Kliuchevskoi](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1000-26=) (that, along with Shiveluch, shows a wispy plume drifting eastward). If you have a hankering for even more details about the Kamchatka volcanoes, be sure to check out the [weekly updates](http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/updates.php) that [KVERT](http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/kvert/index_eng.php) issues for these remote volcanoes. *Image: A view of multiple volcanoes on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula seen on Oct. 16, 2011. Image from the NASA Earth Observatory.*
02el-hierro-canary-islands
El Hierro, Canary Islands ------------------------- I ran a [very similar image to this one](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/el-hierro-eruption-continues-but-not-likely-to-form-new-island/) earlier this week, but here you can clearly see the green/brown plume from [the eruption off the southern coast of El Hierro](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111012#hierro). So far, the eruption has remained subsurface, but an area of [strong surface bubbling was seen on Monday](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2I8ub2e6qM). However, the latest reports from Wednesday suggest that the first phase of the eruption might already be over (according to Joan Martí of CSIC). [Pieces retrieved from the area](http://www.plocan.eu/es/images/stories/2noticiaHierro/portada3.jpg) of the eruption don't appear to have much juvenile (new) volcanic material but rather might be pieces of the hydrothermally altered seafloor ripped up during the initial eruption. We also have [some new data](http://www.plocan.eu/es/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=352:el-hierro-resultados-preliminares-dia-17102011&catid=61:procesos-volcanicos-de-la-isla-de-el-hierro&Itemid=121) about how the eruption changed the pH and turbidity (how much kicked up material) of the sea to the south of the island. *Image: The October 2011 eruption of El Hierro. Image courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory.*
03puyehue-cordon-caulle-chile
Puyehue-Cordón Caulle --------------------- The [ongoing eruption at Puyehue-Cordón Caulle](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111012#puyehue) on the Chilean-Argentine border is still [causing air traffic snarls](http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hRaVKbIAlZ0oLNhkd3xdkj-j7YTQ?docId=CNG.547dfeaad0e4554dbf3ae76b3bfe7f41.e21) in South America — some as [far away as Brazil](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOKnsfj2DBEjram2Tx1MYf0OzaPQ?docId=84a139de237941cbb70359c1f9a38dba). This eruption is producing both the copious ash that is grounding/delaying aircraft but also an [impressive lava flow](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76107) with prominent flow ridges that spreads to the northwest from the vent on Cordón Caulle. Likely this lava flow is a very slow moving andesite, dacite or rhyodacite lava that is typical for the compositionally diverse [Puyehue-Cordón Caulle complex](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1507-15=). *Image: Puyehue-Cordón Caulle complex seen on Oct. 9, 2011. Image from the NASA Earth Observatory.*
04llullaillaco-chile
Llullaillaco ------------ Here I break from the GVP Report because the NASA EO posted a number of great images from the Andes of Chile/Argentina/Bolivia. The first is [Llullaillaco](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1505-11=), on the border of Chile and Argentina, a large composite volcano that last erupted in 1877. On the north flank of Llullaillaco is [a lava flow](earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43256) (what we'd call a "[coulée](http://bigthink.com/ideas/23709)") that is very reminiscent of the new flow on Puyehue-Cordón Caulle. Llullaillaco also has another common feature to many large Andean volcanoes — [a debris avalanche deposit](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=72520). The best age constraint on this deposit is that it was deposited ~150,000 years ago, but you can clearly see the flow lobe enter the Salar de Llullaillaco (dry lake bed). I also venture to say that Llullaillaco might be one of the few words in Spanish that sports three double L's! *Image: Llullaillaco in Chile/Argentina, with the flow directions for the large debris avalanche marked with arrows. Image from the NASA Earth Observatory.*
05parinacota-chile
Parinacota and Pomerape ----------------------- Another quiet Chilean volcano that makes this week's Vulcan's View is [Parinacota](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1505-012), part of the [Nevados de Payachata](http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/47805) complex. As mentioned for Llullaillaco, [Parinacota has both prominent lava flows and debris avalanche deposits](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76144). Now, this doesn't mean that volcanoes in the Andes of central and northern Chile are unique — however, what is unique is the climate. The arid environment of the [Altiplano](http://www.eosnap.com/tag/altiplano-plateau/) and much of the high Andes means a lot of these volcanic features are preserved as if they erupted yesterday. This means we can still clearly see features like avalanche scraps that might have been buried or reworked by weathering in other parts of the world. *Image: Parinacota and nearby Pomerape, part of Nevados de Payachata. Image from the NASA Earth Observatory.*
06cleveland-volcano-alaska
Cleveland --------- Now to the Aleutians of Alaska. [Cleveland](http://avo.alaska.edu/activity/Cleveland.php) has been the most restless over the last few months as a [new dome grows](http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm?wvarweek=20111012#cleve) in the summit crater. The dome was reported to be close to topping the lip of the crater, but there hasn't been any indications of dome collapse block-and-ash flows or new explosions from [the remote island volcano](http://avo.alaska.edu/image.php?id=41512). AVO has kept Cleveland on [Orange Alert status](http://avo.alaska.edu/activity/report_getter.php?need=current&id=18842&type=2) in case an explosive eruption does occur if/when the dome might collapse. *Image: A view down onto the summit of Cleveland. The small dome can be seen at the summit (gray) and a thin plume drifts off to the east. Image from AVO/USGS.*
07aniakchak-caldera-alaska
Aniakchak Caldera ----------------- We finish off with a view of the [Aniakchak Caldera](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1102-09-). The mostly empty caldera was formed ~3,400 years ago in an eruption that spread pyroclastic flow deposits 50 km from the vent — and was likely very similar to the eruption of [Mazama/Crater Lake](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1202-16-) in Oregon. There are also some post-collapse volcanic features in the caldera as well, including Vent Mt., a small scoria cone, much like [Wizard Island](http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/natural-history/geology-wizard-island.htm) in Crater Lake. However, unlike Crater Lake, this caldera has sprung a leak (at the Gates), where water that collects in the caldera can escape, so instead of a [large lake forming](http://www.highonadventure.com/Hoa08apr/Vicki/Crater%20Lake%20sm.jpg), only a very small body of water has formed in the caldera (Surprise Lake). The webicorder for Aniakchak is pretty quiet right now and the [last known eruption was in 1931](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1102-09-&volpage=erupt) — a VEI 4 that produced both explosive activity and lava flows. The ash from the 1931 eruption took a [heavy toll on local reindeer and caribou populations](http://avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/volcact.php?volcname=Aniakchak&page=impact&eruptionid=293) after the ash covered the animals' food supplies. *Image: Aniakchak caldera in Alaska. Image from the NASA Earth Observatory*
