The eruption of Russia's Plosky Tolbachik volcano began in November after it was dormant for almost 40 years. Tolbachik is a volcanic complex on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East. It consists of two volcanoes -- Plosky Tolbachik (3,085 meters) and Ostry Tolbachik (3,682 meters). Its eruptive history stretches back thousands of years, but the most notable eruption occurred in 1975, commonly known as "The Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption." The eruption created several new cinder cones and in terms of volume of lava emitted was Kamchatka's largest basaltic eruption in recorded time. On November 27, 2012, an eruption started from two fissures. Plosky Tolbachik has emitted jets of hot lava up to 200 meters high. (12 PHOTOS)
Russian Volcano Reawakens
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An ash cloud rises from the Plosky Tolbachik volcano on December 3.
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A NASA image shows the Plosky Tolbachik volcano on December 4.
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Plosky Tolbachik in December
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Lava continues to flow from Tolbachik on December 27.
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Plosky Tolbachik erupts on October 1, 1975.