Lava and Snow on Klyuchevskaya Volcano

Lava and Snow on Klyuchevskaya Volcano

A small plume of steam and ash rises from Klyuchevskaya in this detailed, false-color image taken by the ASTER instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite on December 23, 2010. A dark streak of lava also runs down the southeast side of the summit.

Klyuchevskaya is the highest and most active volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula. The volcano has been active throughout 2010, as shown in this series of photographs taken from the ground.

NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using data from the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Holli Riebeek.