S.Yu. Grishin, I.V. Melekestsev

Institute of Biology and Soil Science FEB RAS, Vladivostok
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, FEB RAS, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

This paper contains a first brief description for two lava flows from the 12-15 June, 2009 catastrophic eruption produced by Sarychev Peak, Matua Island, the Central Kuriles. Previously this eruption was considered to be explosive. The flows from the eruption are about 2.4 and 2.7 km long and 100 to 150 m wide, in some places they are as wide as 350 m. The flows occupy the territory of 0.8 km2 with lava volume of 10 million km3. They travelled along sector grabens simultaneously with pyroclastic flows burning elder woods and mountain meadows and were partially overlapped by pyroclastics.

Keywords: eruption, lava flows, ecosystems, Sarychev Peak, the Kuriles.