PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's northernmost active volcano is churning out ash to a height of some 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) in the country's Far East, the local geophysics service said on Monday.

The service reported registering nearly 60 tremors within the area in the past 24 hours.

"Some of them were followed by powerful ash bursts and avalanches," a spokesman for the service said.

The volcanic activity poses no threat to inhabited areas of remote Kamchatka.

The 3,283-meter (10,771-foot) Shiveluch volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula last erupted in December 2006 and has been active ever since. Scientists expect the volcano to erupt in the near future.

Volcanic activity over the past two-three years has significantly altered the contour of the volcano, with the crater increasing in size by 50% and the slopes becoming far steeper.