Historic Eruption

The sixth-strongest earthquake ever recorded hit Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29. It triggered tsunami warnings as waves rippled across the Pacific Ocean. And it may have contributed to the eruption of a long-dormant volcano.

On August 3, the Krasheninnikov volcano erupted. It spewed ash clouds into the sky for the first time in hundreds of years. Officials in Russia called it a “historic” eruption.

The volcano is located in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. In a statement, director Vsevolod Yakovlev said there was no threat to any people or to the reserve. “A volcanic eruption is a vivid and interesting event,” he wrote. But it’s “not something out of the ordinary for a region with high volcanic activity.”

In 1996, Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula earned a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognition for its “high density of active volcanoes.” Another volcano in the area is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It also erupted recently. That was just hours after July’s huge quake.

Russian officials said the quake probably made the eruptions on the peninsula stronger. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, large earthquakes might release gases underground that increase the pressure inside volcanoes. The effect, the USGS said, can be thought of as similar to “a shaken soda bottle.”

Stop and Think!

WHAT facts and details does the author include to help the reader understand the story?