Kamchatka Peninsula
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Kamchatka is a land of volcanoes |
Kamchatka Peninsula (
Russian: полуо́стров Камча́тка) is a 1,250-kilometer long
peninsula in the
Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the
Pacific Ocean (to the east) and the
Sea of Okhotsk (to the west). Between the peninsula and the Pacific Ocean runs the
Kuril-Kamchatka Trench with a depth of 10,500 m.
The central valley and the
Kamchatka River are flanked by large volcanic ranges, containing around 160
volcanoes, 29 of them still active. Thus, the peninsula has the highest density of volcanos and associated volcanic phenomena in the world, 19 active volcanos being inscribed by the
UNESCO on the
World Heritage List.
The highest of these is
Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m or 15,584 ft), while the most striking is
Kronotsky, whose perfect cone (in the words of the celebrated volcanologists Robert and Barbara Decker) is one of the prime candidates for the world's most beautiful volcano. Somewhat more accessible are the 3 volcanoes visible from
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky:
Koryaksky,
Avachinsky, and
Kozelsky. In the center of Kamchatka is Eurasia's only
Geyser Valley.
Kamchatka's wildlife includes
brown bears,
snow ram,
sable,
wolverine,
Golden Eagle, and
Gyr Falcon. The peninsula is the breeding ground for
Steller's Sea Eagle, the largest eagle on Earth. The largest animals in the world,
blue whales, are abundant near the coastline.
The peninsula is thought to include the world's greatest diversity of
salmonid fish. Accordingly, the
Kurilsky Lake is recognized as the biggest spawning-ground for
salmon in Eurasia.
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Topography of the Kamchatka Peninsula |
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a part of the Russian
Kamchatka Oblast (along with a part of the continent, the
Komandorskiye Islands and
Karaginsky Island). The majority of the 402,500 inhabitants are
Russians, and the largest minority are the
Koryaks. The northern part of the peninsula is occupied by the
Koryakia Autonomous District, where around 13,000
Koryaks live.
During the
Cold War, the
Soviets tested the range and reliability of their missiles by launching them from standard sites, using Kamchatka Peninsula as the target area.
In early August
2005, the Priz class
AS-28 Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle of the
Russian Navy was disabled in a
submarine accident near Kamchatka and sunk to the seafloor, requiring an international effort to rescue the crew.
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Kamchatka earthquakesRussia also built their first
hydroelectric dam here.
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Commander Islands - Командорские острова*
Kamchatka Adventures - Travel With Professionals*
The Kamchatka Page*
www.kamchatka.org.ru*
www.kamchatkaexplorer.com*
www.travelkamchatka.com*
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