Sheveluch Volcano

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Thursday, 25 January 2007, 06:47 CST Download full size image

On January 16, 2007, the Sheveluch Volcano (also known as Shiveluch) released a plume. The MODIS flying onboard NASA's Terra satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, the plume blows northward, casting a faint shadow over the icy landscape.

The plume's predominantly white color suggests that it is composed primarily, if not completely, of water vapor. Varying thicknesses of snow and ice cover the region, and local mountains leave pale blue shadows in the north, away from the Sun's light. Patches of thin snow cover reveal the underlying brown rock and soil.

Sheveluch is one of the most active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia. It is a stratovolcano consisting of alternating layers of hardened ash, lava, and rock.

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