English: Two of Kamchatka’s most active volcanoes, Shiveluch and Kliuchevsko were both sending ash plumes high into the atmosphere in the opening days of November 2016. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of the activity on November 1 as it passed over far eastern Russia.

In the north, a broad light gray plume rises from the massive Shiveluch Volcano. Rising to 3,283 meters (10,771 feet) above sea level, Shiveluch is a stratovolcano composed of alternating layers of hardened lava, compacted ash, and rocks ejected by previous eruptions. The typical eruptive style of the volcano is highly explosive, often forming domes of lava and shooting lava and ash high into the air. It has been in near-constant eruption since early September of this year, shooting ash into the sky and potentially disrupting air traffic. Explosive events have occurred as well, such as a major partial dome collapse with a large lava flow that occurred on September 19.

To the south, a more compact plume of lighter-colored ash rises upward from Kliuchevsko before blowing slightly eastward. Also known as Klyuchevskoy or Klyuchevsky, it is Kamchatka’s tallest volcano, rising to 4,835 meters (15,863 feet). It is also one of the world’s most active volcanoes, with frequent effusive and explosive eruptions with only short quiescence periods. The low angle of the sun at the time this image was captured has created shadows from the ash plume to fall on the north side of the mountain.