PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Eurasia's tallest volcano, the Klyuchevskoy, on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East, has shown signs of intensified activity throwing red-hot rocks to a height of 100 meters (about 330 feet).
The Klyuchevskoy, which lies 220 miles north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world and reaches an altitude of 15,584 feet. It erupts about every 2 years.
"At present, the Klyuchevskoy spews out magma to a height of 100 meters with 1- to 6-minute intervals," said Alexei Ozerov, a leading researcher at the Far Eastern Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
"This eruption, [which started on October 3], unlike many others, started slow, but its intensity is rapidly growing," the scientist said, adding that the volcano is dangerous only to tourists at this point.
However, the increased activity of the volcano could soon bring lava flows and high-altitude ash emissions, which could threaten air traffic in the region.
Seismological stations near the Klyuchevskoy are registering over 100 local tremors every 24 hours.
The volcano started a new active cycle with an eruption on February 15, 2007. Volcanic ash from that eruption stretched over 500 km above the Bering Sea at the height of 8.2-8.7 km.
There are more than 150 volcanoes on Kamchatka, 29 of them active.
