It is part of the Kamchatka-Kurile
volcanic arc, and volcanism in this arc is caused by the
subduction of the
Pacific Plate beneath the
Okhotsk Plate.[3] More specifically, volcanic activity at Taunshits relates to a local system of eastward-trending
faults, and some additional volcanoes are controlled by the same fault system,[4] such as
Uzon and
Kikhpinych[5] which lie both east of Taunshits.[6]
Taunshits is a
somma volcano and features
lava flows, and its summit is formed by a ridge.[7] The
stratovolcano contains a collapse crater formed during the
Holocene, as well as a
lava dome;[8] a viscous lava flow was erupted in the crater and extends down the western flank.[1] Erosion has formed gullies in the slopes of the volcano.[9] Two
satellite vents and several
cinder cones are found south of the edifice.[1]
Activity at Taunshits commenced late during the
Pleistocene,[13][12] less than 39,000 years before present considering that the
ignimbrites generated by the
Uzon eruption are found beneath
lava flows from the volcano.[14] The Pleistocene activity constructed the foot of the volcano, which has
tuya characteristics.[15]
Activity decreased during the
Holocene.[16] 7,700 years
before present, a major eruption ejected about 3 cubic kilometres (0.72 cu mi) of material;[17] it may have been preceded by the sector collapse.[15] 7,000 years
before present, a
sector collapse occurred, leaving a hummocky landscape around the volcano; no eruption occurred according to some sources,[18] while others believe that one took place.[15] The
landslide extends over a length of 17 kilometres (11 mi) and has a volume of less than 1 cubic kilometre (0.24 cu mi);[19] other sources assume a volume of 3 cubic kilometres (0.72 cu mi) and a length of 19 kilometres (12 mi). The landslide occurred on the western slope of the volcano;[15] Taunshits developed on the western slope of Uzon volcano and the resulting westward tilt of its basement may have predisposed the edifice towards collapsing westward.[20] The landslide is responsible for the formation of the collapse crater on the summit.[1]
Lava flows were extruded about 2,500 years before present,[21] and 2,400 years before present the lava dome in the crater was emplaced; this event was accompanied by
pyroclastic flows.[15] The last eruption occurred around 550
BCE;[1] As of 2012[update], no seismic station is located at Taunshits, which hampers the monitoring of activity at this volcano.[22]Solfataric activity occurs close to the edifice.[7]
^Kardanova, O.F.; Firstov, P.P. (1 April 2009). "Radioactive elements in sediments and altered rocks of the Kikhpinych long-lived volcanic center". Journal of Volcanology and Seismology. 3 (2): 90.
doi:
10.1134/S0742046309020031.
ISSN0742-0463.
S2CID128995732.
^Kugaenko, Yu A.; Saltykov, V. A.; Gorbatikov, A. V.; Stepanova, M. Yu (1 May 2015). "The model of the Uzon-Geizernaya volcano-tectonic depression and Kikhpinych volcano, Kamchatka, from the joint analysis of microseismic sounding data and local geodynamic activity". Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth. 51 (3): 404.
Bibcode:
2015IzPSE..51..403K.
doi:
10.1134/S106935131503009X.
ISSN1069-3513.
S2CID127818283.
^Melekestsev, I. V.; Braytseva, O. A.; Ponomareva, V. V.; Sulerzhitskiy, L. D. (May 1990). "Ages and Dynamics of Development of the Active Volcanoes of the Kurile-Kamchatka Region". International Geology Review. 32 (5): 437.
Bibcode:
1990IGRv...32..436M.
doi:
10.1080/00206819009465789.
^Volynets, O. N.; Ponomareva, V. V.; Tsyurupa, A. A. (1 November 1989). "Petrological and Tephrochronological Studies of Krasheninnikov Volcano, Kamchatka". International Geology Review. 31 (11): 1107–1122.
Bibcode:
1989IGRv...31.1107V.
doi:
10.1080/00206818909465964.
ISSN0020-6814.
^Melekestsev, I. V.; Braytseva, O. A.; Ponomareva, V. V.; Sulerzhitskiy, L. D. (May 1990). "Ages and Dynamics of Development of the Active Volcanoes of the Kurile-Kamchatka Region". International Geology Review. 32 (5): 446.
Bibcode:
1990IGRv...32..436M.
doi:
10.1080/00206819009465789.
^Bazanova, L. I.; Melekestsev, I. V.; Ponomareva, V. V.; Dirksen, O. V.; Dirksen, V. G. (1 May 2016). "Late Pleistocene and Holocene volcanic catastrophes in Kamchatka and in the Kuril Islands. Part 1. Types and classes of catastrophic eruptions as the leading components of volcanic catastrophism". Journal of Volcanology and Seismology. 10 (3): 154.
doi:
10.1134/S0742046316030027.
ISSN0742-0463.
S2CID133034011.
^Siebert, Lee (1 October 1984). "Large volcanic debris avalanches: Characteristics of source areas, deposits, and associated eruptions". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 22 (3): 178.
Bibcode:
1984JVGR...22..163S.
doi:
10.1016/0377-0273(84)90002-7.
^Solomina, Olga; Calkin, Parker E. (May 2003). "Lichenometry as Applied to Moraines in Alaska, U.S.A., and Kamchatka, Russia". Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. 35 (2): 134.
doi:
10.1657/1523-0430(2003)035[0129:laatmi]2.0.co;2.