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Kunlun Volcano - John Seach
Tibet, China
35.510 N, 80.185 E
summit elevation 5800 m
pyroclastic cones
Kunlun Volcano is located in Tibet. The volcanic group contains 70 pyroclastic cones and basaltic lava flows. Ashi Shan volcano in the western end of the group is the youngest volcano in China (also known as Ka-er-daxi or Vulkan). It is the highest volcano in the northern hemisphere, and the highest volcano in Asia. Kunlun volcano is 130 m higher than Mt Damavand in Iran.
Eruption of Kunlun Volcano in 1951
The eruption of Kunlun in 1951 was the most recent eruption in China. It was a central vent explosive eruption witnessed by road building workers.
The Kunlun Fault is one of the gigantic strike-slip faults that bound the north side of Tibet. Left-lateral motion along the 1500 km length of the Kunlun has occurred uniformly for the last 40,000 years at a rate of 1.1 cm/yr, giving a cumulative offset of more than 400 m. The northern fault juxtaposes sedimentary rocks of the mountains against alluvial fans. A major earthquake hit the Kunlun Fault on November 14, 2001. At a magnitude of 8.1, it produced a surface break over 350 kilometers (217 miles) long. Preliminary reports indicate a maximum offset of 7 meters (23 feet) in the central section of the break. This five-kilometer- (three-mile-) high area is uninhabited by humans, so there was little damage reported, despite the large magnitude.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit the area on 21st March 2008.
The Kunlun Shan is a major mountain system of Asia, situated in China about halfway between the Himalayas and Tian Shan. It stretches one thousand miles, its snow-and-glacier-clad peaks rising abruptly along the north edge of the vast dry Tibetan plains. The Kunlun Shan becomes progressively more narrow from east to west, and the narrow western section, just east of the Pamirs, is where the highest peaks are found, towering seventy five miles south of Kashi, the largest city in western Xinjiang Province, China. Near the center of the Kunlun Shan, a 500-mile northern branch called the Altun Tagh splits from the main range and extends northeast.
Kunlun Volcano Eruptions
Eruption of Kunlun Volcano in 1951 produced emission of ash and bombs.