54o45’N, 157o23’E, summit elevation 2000 m; Last Eruption 400 BP
Khangar volcano is located in Sredinny Range. Earlier this volcano was regarded as extinct and was not included into catalogues of active volcanoes. Khangar is a Late Pleistocene stratovolcano nested in a large caldera and dotted with extrusive domes. Its summit crater is 2.1 x 2.8 km large and is filled with the lake 150 m deep; the upper part of an inter-crater extrusive dome(s) forms three small islands in the lake.
Khangar is noted for a large explosive eruption (KHG), which took place about 6900 14C yrs BP and was the largest event in the Holocene history of the volcano. This eruption produced 12-15 km3 of tephra, which formed fall, flow and surge deposits. Distribution of flow deposits was restricted by a rim of a large caldera enclosing Khangar volcano. Air-fall was dispersed mainly northeast of the volcano and is one of the most important markers for the Holocene stratigraphy.
At least nine more Holocene tephras from Khangar have been identified around the volcano (Bazanova and Pevzner, 2001). The most recent eruption took place only about 400 years ago. These data suggest that Khangar repetitively resumed its activity during the Holocene, and should be regarded as currently dormant, but potentially active and thus, potentially hazardous volcano.
Holocene erupted products are mid- to high-potassic hornblende- and biotite-bearing dacite-rhyodacite.
Next eruption is likely to have phreato-magmatic character and can cause serious environmental impact. Ash-falls will damage pastures and hunting areas located at the foot of the volcano. Even a small eruption can cause catastrophic lahars resulting from the draining of the crater lake with the total volume of water of about 0.4 km3 through the weakened western crater wall, and then out of the large caldera down Heivan river.