“After more than a month of eruption, lava continues to flow from Tolbachik, one of many active volcanoes on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The current eruption at Tolbachik began on Nov. 27, 2012. Lava flowed up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) from a line of fissures on the volcano’s southern flank. Since then, some of the lava has cooled enough to allow snow to accumulate. Snow-covered lava flows appear gray in this natural-color satellite image. Fresher lava appears black. A faint orange glow at the head of the northern flow marks the location of an erupting fissure.”
That’s from NASA, addressing an image from late December. Today the volcano at Tolbachik continues to erupt and Russian scientists see no signs that it will soon stop. The volcano was dormant for nearly forty years, after erupting in the mid-70s for 18 straight months. Though it is located in remote and sparsely populated far eastern Russia, tourists have begun to make the trip to see burning lava spew 600 feet into the air.