The present volume seems to me to be a particularly im­ portant one for several reasons. Not least among these is the fact that it summarizes the work of two decades by G. S. Gorshkov, one of the world's leading volcanologists. In addition, it is the first general work of this length on the volcanism of what might be called a "narrow" island arc, a relatively simple megastructure as com­ pared with the "wide" arcs such as Japan and Indonesia. Finally, in this volume Gorshkov has summarized and cited extensive evi­ dence for his general ideas on the relation between volcanism and the earth's crust and mantle. A few potentially troublesome items should be noted here. In the translation the Russian terms "suite" and "series" have been retained, though for American readers these might better have been translated as "formation" and "group. " In almost all cases Russian place names have simply been transliterated rather than translated (e. g. , "Yuzhnyi Isthmus" rather than "South Isthmus"); in a few cases the English equivalent has been given in brackets where this is essential to the understanding of the author's com­ ments. The adjectives have retained their Russian case endings in the process (masculine -yi or -ii, feminine -aya or -'ya, neuter -oe) and this may occasionally lead to some slight confusion, for example, when the author calls a given feature Severnyi Volcano at one point and Severnaya Mountain at another.

Inhalt

I Structure of the Kurile Arc.- II History of Investigation of the Volcanoes.- III Structure of the Earth's Crust and Geophysical Fields.- Seismicity.- Structure of the Crust from Deep-Seismic Sounding Data (DSS).- Gravitational and Magnetic Field.- IV Geology of the Basement.- Stratigraphy.- Tectonics.- Some Problems of Quaternary Geology.- V Volcanoes of the Kurile Islands.- Submarine Volcanoes.- Terrestrial Volcanoes.- Volcanoes of the Western Zone.- Alaid Island.- Shirinki Island.- Makanru Island.- Avos' Rocks.- Ekarma Island.- Chirinkotan Island.- Volcanoes of the Main Volcanic Zone.- North Kurile Islands.- Paramushir Island.- Onekotan Island.- Kharimkotan Island.- Shiashkotan Island.- Lovushki Rocks.- Central Kurile Islands.- Raikoke Island.- Matua Island.- Rasshua Island.- Ushishir Islands.- Ketoi Island.- Simushir Island.- South Kurile Islands.- Brouton Island.- Chernye Brat'ya Islands.- Urup Island.- Iturup Island.- Kunashir Island.- General Comments on the Volcanoes.- VI Petrography and Petrochemistry of the Volcanic Rocks.- Petrography of the Volcanic Rocks.- Basalts.- Andesite-Basalts.- Andesites.- Dacites.- Petrochemistry of the Volcanic Rocks.- North Kurile Islands.- Western Zone.- Central Kurile Islands.- South Kurile Islands.- General Observations.- VII Characteristic Petrochemical Features of the Lavas of the Other Island Arcs and of Intracontinental and Oceanic Volcanoes.- Island and Volcanic Arcs.- Kamchatka.- Japan.- North Honshu Arc.- Southwestern Japan.- Island Arcs of the Southwest Pacific.- Tonga Islands and New Zealand.- Aleutian Islands.- Eastern Part of the "Pacific Ring".- Volcanoes of the USA.- Volcanoes of Mexico.- Volcanoes of Central America.- Indonesian Volcanoes.- Intracontinental Volcanoes.- Intraoceanic Volcanoes.- Hawaiian Islands.- Polynesia.- East Caroline Islands.- Islands of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.- VIII Evolution of Volcanism as a Reflection of the Evolution of the Upper Mantle.- Two Classes of Volcanic Rocks.- Volcanism and the Earth's Upper Mantle.- Sketch of the Evolution of Volcanism and Development of the Crust.- References.- Index to Geographic Terms.- General Index.