Milna

About Milna

Milna (or Mil'na) is the southernmost volcano on Simushir Island in the central Kuriles, and includes the Goriaschaia Sopka lava dome on the NW flank. The outer flanks of the steep-sided 1500-m-high volcano are dissected by deep gullies. A 3-km-wide caldera breached widely to the SE was formed during the Pleistocene and became a center of glaciation. A small central cone capped by an andesitic lava dome was constructed within the caldera during postglacial time and forms the highest point on Simushir Island. Lava flows from the cone descend 4-5 km to the sea. Goriaschaia Sopka, previously identified as a distinct volcano, is a historically active andesitic lava dome that grew just beyond what appears to be a NE-SW erosional scarp along the NW flank. Numerous fresh lava flows with prominent marginal levees extend from the dome, with some reaching the sea. It may have formed as recently as the late-19th century; dominantly mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions have occurred since 1842.