The maintenance works in the vicinity of the Viluchinsky Pass and Gorely Volcano go on in Kamchatka. As it was told in the regional administration, the observation deck on Vilyuchinsky Pass is paved with natural stone; there were made steps and were installed benches, the toilet and information boards about the alpine plants and flowers.
The tourist parking at the foot of the Gorely Volcano is equipped with benches; there were installed toilets and information boards about the volcano.
Gorely is one of the most interesting volcanoes of the Southern Group and at the same time is accessible to tourists. The volcano is not of the classic cone shape; climbing it is easy for tourists of all ages and skill levels. Meanwhile, Gorely is an active volcano: the strong fumarolic spurt coming out of one of the craters is observed in calm weathers.
Gorely volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in southern Kamchatka and located 75 km south-west of Petropavlovsk. It is a complex of several overlapping stratovolcanoes with many summit and flank craters. Activity in historic times were mainly small to medium-sized ash and steam eruptions. The large Gorely volcano has a very complex structure. The edifice fills a large caldera occupied by 3 closely spaced overlapping stratovolcanoes with 11 summit craters and more than 30 flank craters. The lavas of Gorely are mainly basalt and basaltic andesite and the volcano developed along a line within the caldera. It is cut by 3 rift zones. Some of the craters contain acid or freshwater crater lakes. The caldera formed after a giant plinian eruption that produced about 100 cubic miles of tephra about 38,000-40,000 years ago. Historic activity of Gorely volcano can be traced since the 19th century. 4 explosive eruptions from summit craters occured in 1828, 1832, 1855, and 1869. The first historic eruptions in 1929-30 produced several strong eruptions which ejected ash and larger fragments of rock, and ash plumes that reached the Pacific coast, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and the village of Nachiki at 150 km from the volcano. In the 20th century, seven eruptions occured in 1929, 1930, 1931, 1947, 1961, 1980-1981, and 1984-1986. During the last 1984-1986 eruption, the ash plumes reached 3.5 km height and a crater was formed that is now filled with a lake.
Author: Anna Dorozhkina