• Credit:

  NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Seismic activity above background levels suggested ash emissions from Shiveluch Volcano in mid-October 2009, while video footage showed multiple hot avalanches, reported the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program. This false-color image, acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Imaging Spectroradiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite on October 24, 2009, shows ash stains on the volcano’s slopes.

In this false-color image, volcanic ash appears reddish brown, snow appears white, and shadows appear deep blue-gray. The ash stains are most conspicuous south of the summit. The Sun’s low angle leaves part of the northern face of Shiveluch in shadow.

Shiveluch (also spelled Sheveluch) is a stratovolcano composed of alternating layers of solidified ash, hardened lava, and rocks from earlier eruptions. Rising to a height of 3,283 meters (10,770 feet), the volcano ranks among the largest and most active on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

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• Database Updated: May 25, 2013