Journey to Kamchatka | A glimpse of our 14 days adventure in Kamchatka
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The
Kamchatka Peninsula (
Russian: полуо́стров Камча́тка,
Poluostrov Kamchatka) is a 1,250-kilometre-long (780 mi) peninsula in the
Russian Far East, with an area of about 270,
000 km2 (
100,000 sq mi).[1] It lies between the
Pacific Ocean to the east and the
Sea of Okhotsk to the west.[2] Immediately offshore along the
Pacific coast of the peninsula runs the 10,500-metre (34,400-ft) deep
Kuril–Kamchatka Trench.
The Kamchatka Peninsula, the
Commander Islands, and
Karaginsky Island constitute the
Kamchatka Krai of the
Russian Federation. The vast majority of the 322,079 inhabitants are ethnic
Russians, but there are also about 13,000
Koryaks (2014).[3] More than half of the population lives in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (
179,526 people in
2010) and nearby
Yelizovo (38,980).
The
Kamchatka peninsula contains the volcanoes of Kamchatka, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kamchatka receives up to 2,700 mm (
110 in) of precipitation per year. The summers are moderately cool, and the winters tend to be rather stormy though rarely producing lightning.
Politically, the peninsula forms part of Kamchatka Krai. The southern tip is called
Cape Lopatka. The circular bay to the north of this on the
Pacific side is
Avacha Bay with the capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
North up the Pacific side, the four peninsulas are called Shipunsky
Point, Kronotsky Point,
Kamchatsky Point and Ozernoy Point. North of Ozernoy is the large
Karaginsky Bay, which features Karaginsky Island.
Northeast of this (off the displayed map) lies
Korfa Bay with the town of
Tilichiki. On the opposite side is the
Shelikhov Gulf.
The Kamchatka or
Central (
Sredinny) Range forms the spine of the peninsula. Along the southeast coast runs the
Vostochny or
Eastern Range. Between these lies the central valley.
The Kamchatka River rises northwest of Avacha and flows north down the central valley, turning east near Klyuchi to enter the Pacific south of Kamchatsky Point at Ust-Kamchatsk
. In the nineteenth century a trail led west from near Klychi over the mountains to the Tegil river and town which was the main trading post on the west coast. North of Tegil is
Koryak Okrug.
South of the Tegil is the Icha
River. Just south of the headwaters of the Kamchatka, the Bistraya River curves southwest to enter the Sea of Okhotsk at
Bolsheretsk, which once served as a port connecting the peninsula to
Okhotsk. South of the Bistraya flows the
Golygina River.
There is a road from Bolsheretsk to
Petropavlovsk and another from this road up the central valley (with a bus service) to Ust-Kamchatsk. The northern end of the road is of poorer quality.
Apart from the two roads, transport is by small plane, helicopter, four-wheel drive truck and army truck.
The obvious circular area in the central valley is the
Klyuchevskaya Sopka, an isolated volcanic group southeast of the curve of the
Kamchatka River.
West of Kronotsky Point is the Kronotsky
Biosphere Reserve with the
Valley of Geysers. At the southern tip is the
Southern Kamchatka
Wildlife Refuge with
Kurile Lake. There are several other protected areas:
Palana is located in the Koryak area on the northwest coast.
Climate
Although Kamchatka lies at similar latitudes to
Great Britain, cold arctic winds from
Siberia combined with the cold Oyashio sea current see the peninsula covered in snow from October to late May. Under the
Köppen climate classification Kamchatka generally has a subarctic climate (Dfc) but higher and more northerly areas have a polar climate (ET). Kamchatka is much wetter and milder than eastern Siberia, and is essentially transitional from the hypercontinental climate of Siberia and northeast
China to the rain-drenched subpolar oceanic climate of the
Aleutian Islands.
Opala volcano in the southern part of Kamchatka.
There is considerable variation, however, between the rain-drenched and heavily glaciated east coast and the drier and more continental interior valley. In the heavily glaciated Kronotsky Peninsula, where maritime influences are most pronounced, annual precipitation can reach as high as 2,
500 millimetres (98 in), whilst the southeast coast south of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky generally receives around 1,350 millimetres (53 in) of rainfall equivalent per year. Considerable local variations exist: southern parts of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky metropolitan area can receive as much as 430 millimetres (17 in) more than the northern part of the city. Temperatures here are very mild, with summer maxima no higher than 15 °
C (59 °F) and winter lows around −8 °
C (18 °F), whilst diurnal temperature ranges seldom exceed 5˚
C (9˚F) due to persistent fog on exposed parts of the coast. South of 57˚N there is no permafrost due to the relatively mild winters and heavy snow cover, whilst northward discontinuous permafrost prevails.