The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
in the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
, with an area of about . The
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and the
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively.
[
] Immediately offshore along the Pacific coast of the peninsula runs the
Kuril–Kamchatka Trench
The Kuril–Kamchatka Trench or Kuril Trench (russian: Курило-Камчатский жёлоб, ''Kurilo-Kamchatskii Zhyolob'') is an oceanic trench in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It lies off the southeast coast of Kamchatka and parallels ...
.
The Kamchatka Peninsula, the
Commander Islands
The Commander Islands, Komandorski Islands, or Komandorskie Islands (russian: Командо́рские острова́, ''Komandorskiye ostrova'') are a series of treeless, sparsely populated Russian islands in the Bering Sea located about ea ...
, and the
Karaginsky Island
Karaginsky Island or Karaginskiy Island (russian: Карагинский остров) is an island in the Karaginsky Gulf of the Bering Sea. The -wide strait between the Kamchatka Peninsula and this island is called Litke Strait. Karaginsky Isla ...
, constitute the
Kamchatka Krai
Kamchatka Krai ( rus, Камча́тский край, r=Kamchatsky kray, p=kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its ...
of the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. The vast majority of the 322,079 inhabitants are ethnic
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
, although about 13,000 are
Koryaks
Koryaks () are an indigenous people of the Russian Far East, who live immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea. The cultural borders of the Koryaks include Tigilsk in the sou ...
(2014).
More than half of the population lives in
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultur ...
(179,526 in 2010) and nearby
Yelizovo
Yelizovo (russian: Е́лизово) is a town in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, located on the Avacha River northwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Population:
History
Founded in 1848 as the '' selo'' of Stary Ostrog (), it was renamed Zavoyko () in 1 ...
(38,980). The Kamchatka peninsula contains the
volcanoes of Kamchatka
The volcanoes of Kamchatka are a large group of volcanoes situated on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in eastern Russia. The Kamchatka River and the surrounding central side valley are flanked by large volcanic belts containing around 160 volcano ...
, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
Geography
![kamchatka peninsula topo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Kamchatka_peninsula_topo.jpg)
Politically, the peninsula forms part of
Kamchatka Krai
Kamchatka Krai ( rus, Камча́тский край, r=Kamchatsky kray, p=kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its ...
. The southern tip is called
Cape Lopatka
Cape Lopatka ( ') is the southernmost point of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, with the rural locality of Semenovka at its southernmost point. Cape Lopatka lies about north of Shumshu, the northernmost island of the Kuril Islands. Cape Lopatka al ...
. (Lopatka is Russian for spade.) The circular bay to the north of this on the Pacific side is
Avacha Bay
Avacha Bay (russian: Авачинская губа, Авачинская бухта) is a Pacific Ocean bay on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is long and wide (at the mouth), with a maximum depth of .
The Avacha River fl ...
, home to the capital,
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultur ...
. Northward up the Pacific side, the four peninsulas are called Shipunsky Point, Kronotsky Point, Kamchatsky Point, and Ozernoy Point. North of Ozernoy Point is the large
Karaginsky Bay
Karaginsky Gulf (russian: Карагинский залив) is a large gulf in the Bering Sea off the northeastern coast of Kamchatka (Russia), which cuts deep inland. The depth of the gulf is between . The largest island in the gulf is the Kar ...
, which features
Karaginsky Island
Karaginsky Island or Karaginskiy Island (russian: Карагинский остров) is an island in the Karaginsky Gulf of the Bering Sea. The -wide strait between the Kamchatka Peninsula and this island is called Litke Strait. Karaginsky Isla ...
. Northeast of this (off the displayed map) lies
Korfa Bay
Korf Bay (russian: залив Корфа) is a bay on the Kamchatka Peninsula coast of the Bering Sea in Russia.
Geography
It is approximately triangular being about wide at the mouth and extending inland about .
On the west side, the Ilpin ...
with the town of
Tilichiki
Tilichiki (russian: Тили́чики) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Olyutorsky District of Koryak Okrug of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It is located on the Korfa Bay of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
History
Tilichik ...
. On the opposite side is the
Shelikhov Gulf
Shelikhov Gulf (russian: залив Шелихова) is a large gulf off the northwestern coast of Kamchatka, Russia. The gulf is named after Russian explorer Grigory Shelikhov.
It is located in the northeastern corner of the Sea of Okhotsk and i ...
.
The Kamchatka or Central (
Sredinny) Range forms the spine of the peninsula. Along the southeast coast runs the
Eastern Range
The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range (Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range ha ...
''(Vostochny)''. Between these lies the central valley. The
Kamchatka River
The Kamchatka (russian: Камча́тка) is the longest river in Kamchatka peninsula, located in Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East. It flows into the Pacific Ocean at the town Ust-Kamchatsk, on the east coast of Kamchatka. It is long, an ...
rises northwest of
Avacha and flows north down the central valley, turning east near
Klyuchi
Klyuchi (russian: Ключи; lit. ''springs'') is the name of several rural localities in Russia:
* Klyuchi, Kamchatka Krai, a former town in Kamchatka Oblast; since 2004 — a rural locality; since 2007 — in Kamchatka Krai
* Klyuchi, Biysky ...
to enter the Pacific south of Kamchatsky Point at
Ust-Kamchatsk
Ust-Kamchatsk (russian: Усть-Камча́тск) is a rural locality (a settlement) and the administrative center of Ust-Kamchatsky District of Kamchatka Krai, Russia, located on the eastern shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula at the mouth of th ...
.
In the 19th 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
Koryak Okrug (russian: Коря́кский о́круг, Korjakskij okrug; Koryak: , ''Cav’cәvaokrug''), or Koryakia (russian: Корякия, Korjakija), is an administrative division of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. . 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
Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (a urban-type settlement, work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mou ...
. South of the Bistraya flows the
.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the settlements in the central part of the peninsula are connected by highway leading to
Ust-Kamchatsk
Ust-Kamchatsk (russian: Усть-Камча́тск) is a rural locality (a settlement) and the administrative center of Ust-Kamchatsky District of Kamchatka Krai, Russia, located on the eastern shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula at the mouth of th ...
. The road is asphalt in its southern part and near habitations, but changes to gravel about halfway north. Another highway connects the local capital with Bolsheretsk. Bus service is available on both roads. Most other roads are gravel-covered or dirt roads, requiring off-road-capable vehicles. There is semi-regular passenger transportation with aircraft.
![ISS-38 Kliuchevskoi Volcano on Kamchatka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/ISS-38_Kliuchevskoi_Volcano_on_Kamchatka.jpg)
The obvious circular area in the central valley is the
Klyuchevskaya Sopka
Klyuchevskaya Sopka (russian: Ключевская сопка; also known as Klyuchevskoi, russian: Ключевской) is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain of Siberia and the highest active volcano of Eurasia. Its steep, symmetrical cone t ...
, an isolated volcanic group southeast of the curve of the Kamchatka River. West of Kronotsky Point is the
Kronotsky
Kronotsky (russian: Кроноцкая сопка, ''Kronotskaya Sopka'') is a major stratovolcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is located in Kronotsky Nature Reserve to the east of Lake Kronotskoye (the largest lake in Kamchatka). It h ...
Biosphere Reserve with the
Valley of Geysers
The Valley of Geysers (russian: Долина гейзеров) is a geyser field on Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, and has the second largest concentration of geysers in the world. This basin with approximately ninety geysers and many hot springs i ...
. At the southern tip is the Southern Kamchatka Wildlife Refuge with
Kurile Lake
Kurile Lake (russian: Кури́льское о́зеро, Kuríl'skoye Ózero) is a caldera and crater lake in Kamchatka, Russia. It is also known as Kurilskoye Lake or Kuril Lake. It is part of the Eastern Volcanic Zone of Kamchatka which, toge ...
. There are several other protected areas on the peninsula.
Climate
Kamchatka receives up to of precipitation per year. This is much higher than the rest of Eastern Russia, and is due to prevailing westerly winds blowing over the Sea of Japan and picking up moisture that rises as it hits the higher topography of the peninsula, and condenses into rain. The summers are moderately cool, and the winters are rather stormy, but the storms rarely produce
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
.
Although Kamchatka lies at similar latitudes to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, cold arctic winds from
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
combined with the cold
Oyashio sea current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, ...
keep the peninsula covered in snow from October to late May. Under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Kamchatka generally has a
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
(''Dfc''), but higher and more northerly areas have a polar climate (''ET''). Kamchatka is much wetter and milder than eastern Siberia. It is essentially transitional from the hypercontinental climate of Siberia and
northeast China
Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...
to the rain-drenched
subpolar oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
of the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
.
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
Kronotsky (russian: Кроноцкая сопка, ''Kronotskaya Sopka'') is a major stratovolcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is located in Kronotsky Nature Reserve to the east of Lake Kronotskoye (the largest lake in Kamchatka). It h ...
, where maritime influences are most pronounced, annual precipitation can reach as high as , whilst the southeast coast south of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky generally receives around of rainfall equivalent per year. Considerable local variations exist: southern parts of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky metropolitan area can receive as much as more than the northern part of the city. Temperatures here are very mild, with summer maxima around and winter lows around , whilst diurnal temperature ranges seldom exceed due to persistent
fog
Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
on exposed parts of the coast. South of
57˚N there is no
permafrost
Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...
due to the relatively mild winters and heavy snow cover, whilst northward
discontinuous permafrost
Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...
prevails. The west coastal plain has colder and drier climate with precipitation ranging from in the south to as little as in the north, where winter temperatures become considerably colder at around .
The interior valley of the
Kamchatka River
The Kamchatka (russian: Камча́тка) is the longest river in Kamchatka peninsula, located in Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East. It flows into the Pacific Ocean at the town Ust-Kamchatsk, on the east coast of Kamchatka. It is long, an ...
, represented by Klyuchi, has much lower precipitation (at around ) and significantly more continental temperatures, reaching on a typical summer day and during extreme cold winter spells falling as low as .
Sporadic permafrost
Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surfac ...
prevails over the lower part of this valley, but it becomes more widespread at higher altitudes and glaciers, and continuous permafrost prevails north of
55˚N.
The summer months, when maximum temperatures range from , are popular with tourists, but a growing trend in winter sports keeps tourism pulsing year-round. The volcanoes and glaciers play a role in forming Kamchatka's climate, and hot springs have kept alive dozens of species decimated during the
last ice age.
Geology, earthquakes and volcanoes
The
Kamchatka River
The Kamchatka (russian: Камча́тка) is the longest river in Kamchatka peninsula, located in Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East. It flows into the Pacific Ocean at the town Ust-Kamchatsk, on the east coast of Kamchatka. It is long, an ...
and the surrounding central side valley are flanked by large
volcanic belt
A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature () where magma is created by partial melting ...
s containing around 160
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
es, 29 of them still active. The peninsula has a high density of volcanoes and associated volcanic phenomena, with 19 active volcanoes included in the six
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
sites in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka group, most of them on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the most volcanic area of the Eurasian continent, with many active cones. The Kamchatka Peninsula is also known as the "land of fire and ice".
The highest volcano is
Klyuchevskaya Sopka
Klyuchevskaya Sopka (russian: Ключевская сопка; also known as Klyuchevskoi, russian: Ключевской) is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain of Siberia and the highest active volcano of Eurasia. Its steep, symmetrical cone t ...
(), the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere. Many have highly symmetrical cones and
Kronotsky
Kronotsky (russian: Кроноцкая сопка, ''Kronotskaya Sopka'') is a major stratovolcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is located in Kronotsky Nature Reserve to the east of Lake Kronotskoye (the largest lake in Kamchatka). It h ...
is viewed by volcanologists Robert and Barbara Decker as a prime candidate for the world's most beautiful volcano. Somewhat more accessible are the three volcanoes visible from
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultur ...
:
Koryaksky
Koryaksky or Koryakskaya Sopka (russian: Коря́кская со́пка) is an active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. It lies within sight of Kamchatka Krai's administrative center, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Togeth ...
,
Avachinsky
Avachinsky (also known as Avacha or Avacha Volcano or Avachinskaya Sopka) (russian: Авачинская сопка, Авача) is an active stratovolcano in Russia. It is situated on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. Avachinsky l ...
, and
Kozelsky. In the center of Kamchatka is the
Valley of Geysers
The Valley of Geysers (russian: Долина гейзеров) is a geyser field on Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, and has the second largest concentration of geysers in the world. This basin with approximately ninety geysers and many hot springs i ...
, which was partly destroyed by a massive mudslide in June 2007.
These volcanic features are the site of occurrence of certain
extremophile
An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...
micro-organisms that can survive in extremely hot environments.
Owing to the
Kuril–Kamchatka Trench
The Kuril–Kamchatka Trench or Kuril Trench (russian: Курило-Камчатский жёлоб, ''Kurilo-Kamchatskii Zhyolob'') is an oceanic trench in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It lies off the southeast coast of Kamchatka and parallels ...
, deep-focus seismic events and tsunamis occur fairly commonly. A pair of
megathrust earthquake
Megathrust earthquakes occur at convergent plate boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the thrust fault that forms the contact between the two plates. These interplate earthqua ...
s
occurred off the coast on October 16, 1737, and on November 4, 1952, with magnitudes of ≈9.3 and 8.2 respectively.
A chain of more shallow earthquakes were recorded as recently as April 2006. A significant 7.7-magnitude earthquake with a shallow depth of occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east-southeast of
Nikolskoye, on July 18, 2017.
File:OPALA.jpg, Opala volcano in the southern part of Kamchatka.
File:Akademia nauk.jpg, The lake-filled Akademia Nauk
Akademia Nauk (russian: Академия Наук - ''Academy of Sciences'') is a volcano located in the southern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. The volcano is filled with a few calderas, and the most notable one is known as Karymsky Lake ( ...
caldera, seen here from the north with Karymsky volcano in the foreground.
File:Kamchatka Volcano Koryaksky (24231533812).jpg, Koryaksky
Koryaksky or Koryakskaya Sopka (russian: Коря́кская со́пка) is an active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. It lies within sight of Kamchatka Krai's administrative center, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Togeth ...
volcano towering over Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultur ...
File:Kronotsky volcano.jpg , One of the most elegant Kamchatka volcanoes – Kronotsky
Kronotsky (russian: Кроноцкая сопка, ''Kronotskaya Sopka'') is a major stratovolcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is located in Kronotsky Nature Reserve to the east of Lake Kronotskoye (the largest lake in Kamchatka). It h ...
History and exploration
![Weitsch Adam Johann von Krusenstern in Avacha Bay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Weitsch_Adam_Johann_von_Krusenstern_in_Avacha_Bay.jpg)
Prior to Russian discovery, the peninsula was inhabited by various
Chukotko-Kamchatkan
The Chukotko-Kamchatkan or Chukchi–Kamchatkan languages are a language family of extreme northeastern Siberia. Its speakers traditionally were indigenous hunter-gatherers and reindeer-herders. Chukotko-Kamchatkan is endangered. The Kamchatkan ...
peoples (specifically the
Itelmen
The Itelmens (Itelmen: Итәнмән, russian: Ительмены) are an indigenous ethnic group of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The Itelmen language is distantly related to Chukchi and Koryak, forming the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language ...
,
Koryak, and
Alyutor
The Alyutors (russian: Алюторцы; self designation: Алутальу, or Alutal'u) are an ethnic group (formerly classified as a subgroup of Koryaks) who lived on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East. Today ...
). The southern tip of the peninsula was also the northernmost extent of
Ainu
Ainu or Aynu may refer to:
*Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East
*Ainu languages, a family of languages
**Ainu language of Hokkaido
**Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands
**Sakhalin Ainu la ...
settlement.
When the Russian explorer
Ivan Moskvitin
Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin (russian: Иван Юрьевич Москвитин) (? - after 1647) was a Russian explorer, presumably a native of Moscow, who led a Russian reconnaissance party to the Sea of Okhotsk, becoming the first Russian to reac ...
reached the
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
in 1639, further exploration was impeded by the lack of skills and equipment to build seagoing ships and by the harsh land to the northeast inhabited by the warlike
Koryak people. Consequently, Russians entered Kamchatka from the north. In 1651, after having assisted in the foundation of the
Anadyrsk
Anadyrsk was an important Russian ostrog (fortified settlement) in far northeastern Siberia from 1649 to 1764. It was on the Anadyr River, near the head of small-boat navigation, about 300 miles upstream, 12 miles northeast of the present Marko ...
''ostrog'', the explorer
Mikhail Stadukhin
Mikhail Vasilyevich Stadukhin (russian: Михаил Васильевич Стадухин) (died 1666) was a Russian explorer of far northeast Siberia, one of the first to reach the Kolyma, Anadyr, Penzhina and Gizhiga Rivers and the northern Se ...
went south and followed the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk from
Penzhina Bay
Penzhina Bay (russian: Пе́нжинская губа́, ''Penzhinskaya guba'') is a long and narrow bay off the northwestern coast of Kamchatka, Russia.
Geography
Penzhina Bay is the upper right arm of Shelikhov Bay in the northeastern corner o ...
to
Okhotsk
Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (a urban-type settlement, work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mou ...
. From about 1667 there were reports of a Kamchatka River to the south. Some time before 1700
a group of Russians were stranded and died on Kamchatka.
In 1695 explorer
Vladimir Atlasov
Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov or Otlasov ( or Отла́сов; between 1661 and 1664 – 1711) was a Siberian Cossack who was the first Russian to organize systematic exploration of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Atlasov Island, an uninhabited volcanic ...
became commander of Anadyrsk. In 1696 he sent the Cossack
Luka Morozko
Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov or Otlasov ( or Отла́сов; between 1661 and 1664 – 1711) was a Siberian Cossack who was the first Russian to organize systematic exploration of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Atlasov Island, an uninhabited volcan ...
south. Morozko got as far as the
Tigil River
The Tigil (russian: Тигиль) is a river on the western side of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It flows into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The Cossack Luka Morozko was the first European to reach it in 1696. The villa ...
and returned with reports and some mysterious writings, probably Japanese. In 1697–1699 Atlasov explored nearly the whole of the peninsula. He built an ''ostrog'' at Verkhny-Kamchatsk, rescued or captured
a Japanese castaway, and went to Moscow to report. In 1699 the Russians at Verkhny-Kamchatsk were killed on their way back to Anadyrsk by the Koryaks. In 1700 a punitive expedition destroyed a Koryak village and founded Nizhne-Kamchatsk on the lower river. Bolskeretsk was founded in 1703. From about 1705 there was a breakdown of order. There were numerous mutinies and native wars all over the peninsula and north to the Koryak country of the
Penzhina River
The Penzhina (russian: Пенжина; Koryak: Мыгыкивэем) is a river in Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
The name "Penzhina" originated the Chukchi word ''"Pennyn"'', meaning "place of attack". In ...
and
Olyutor Gulf
The Olyutor Bay (russian: Олюторский залив) is a gulf or bay of the Bering Sea in Olyutorsky District, northern part of Kamchatka Krai, Russia.
Geography
It is bounded on the west by the Govena Peninsula which separates it from Ko ...
. Several people were sent out to restore order, including Atlasov, who was murdered in 1711. Vasily Merlin restored some degree of order between 1733 and 1739. There was no significant resistance after 1756. A major smallpox epidemic that hit in 1768–1769 quickly decimated the native population; the roughly 2,500
Itelmens
The Itelmens (Itelmen: Итәнмән, russian: Ительмены) are an indigenous ethnic group of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The Itelmen language is distantly related to Chukchi and Koryak, forming the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language ...
present in 1773 were reduced to 1,900 in 1820, from an original population of 12,000–25,000. Those who survived adopted Russian customs, and there was a great deal of intermarriage, such that "Kamchadal" (the original Russian name for the Itelmens) came to mean any Russian or part-Russian born on the peninsula.
In 1713 Peter the Great sent shipbuilders to Okhotsk. A fifty-four-foot boat was built and sailed to the Tegil River in June 1716. This one-week journey, later redirected to Okhotsk-Bolseretsk, became the standard route to Kamchatka. In 1720
Ivan Yevreinov Ivan Mikhaylovich Yevreinov (russian: Ива́н Миха́йлович Евре́инов) (1694 – 3 February Old Style, O.S. 1724) was a Russian geodesist and explorer.
Ivan Yevreinov was born in Poland, then brought to Russia a ...
mapped Kamchatka and the Kurils. The Danish-born explorer
Vitus Bering
Vitus Jonassen Bering (baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741),All dates are here given in the Julian calendar, which was in use throughout Russia at the time. also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Danish cartographer and explorer in ...
left Nezhe-Kamchatsk for his first voyage in 1728 and, as part of his second voyage, founded
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( rus, Петропавловск-Камчатский, a=Петропавловск-Камчатский.ogg, p=pʲɪtrɐˈpavləfsk kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj) is a city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultur ...
in 1740.
Vitus Bering's
Second Kamchatka Expedition
The Great Northern Expedition (russian: Великая Северная экспедиция) or Second Kamchatka Expedition (russian: Вторая Камчатская экспедиция) was one of the largest exploration enterprises in hi ...
(ca 1733–1743), in the service of the
Russian Navy, began the final "opening" of Kamchatka, helped by the fact that the government began to use the area to exile people, famously the Hungarian nobleman and explorer the
Count de Benyovszky in 1770. In 1755
Stepan Krasheninnikov
Stepan Petrovich Krasheninnikov (russian: Степа́н Петро́вич Крашени́нников; – ) was a Russian explorer of Siberia, naturalist and geographer who gave the first full description of Kamchatka in the early 18th cent ...
published the first detailed description of the peninsula, ''An Account of the Land of Kamchatka''. The Russian government encouraged the commercial activities of the
Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty (russian: Под высочайшим Его Императорского Величества покровительством Российская-Американс ...
by granting land to newcomers on the peninsula. By 1812 the
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
population had fallen to less than 3,200 while the Russian population had risen to 2,500.
In 1854 the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, who were battling Russian forces in the course of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, attacked
Petropavlovsk. During the
Siege of Petropavlovsk
The siege of Petropavlovsk was a military operation in the Pacific theatre of the Crimean War. The Russian casualties are estimated at 115 soldiers and sailors killed and seriously wounded, whilst the British suffered 105 casualties and th ...
, 988 men with a mere 68 guns managed to defend the outpost against 6 ships with 206 guns and 2,540 French and British soldiers. Despite the successful defense, the Russians abandoned Petropavlovsk as a strategic liability after the French and British forces withdrew. The next year, when a second enemy force came to attack the port, they found it deserted. Frustrated, the ships bombarded the city and withdrew.
On 24 May 1861, the ship ''Polar Star'' (475 tons), of
New Bedford
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
, wrecked on the west coast of Kamchatka during a dense
fog
Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
and
gale
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).[barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...]
''Alice'', of
Cold Spring, and the ship ''Oliver Crocker'', also from New Bedford.
On 21 May 1865, the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
came to the area: the
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...
steamer
''Shenandoah'' sailed past the southern end of the Kamchatka Peninsula on its way to hunt United States whaling ships in the Sea of Okhotsk. As a
commerce raider
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...
, the CSS ''Shenandoah'' aimed to destroy Union merchant shipping and thus draw off United States Navy ships in pursuit, thereby loosening the US Navy blockade of Confederate coasts. The ship spent almost three weeks in the Sea, destroying only one ship due to the dangerous ice, before moving on to the North Pacific, where it virtually captured or bonded 24 whalers, sinking most of them.
The next fifty years were lean for Kamchatka. The naval port moved to Ust-Amur, and in 1867 Russia
sold
Sold may refer to:
* ''Sold'' (Boy George album), 1987
* ''Sold'' (Died Pretty album), 1996
* ''Sold'' (TV series), a British comedy drama television series
* ''Sold'' (McCormick novel), a 2006 novel by Patricia McCormick and Illustrated by Br ...
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
to the United States, making Petropavlovsk obsolete as a transit point for traders and explorers on their way to the American territories. In 1860, a ''Primorsky'' (Maritime) ''Region'' was established and Kamchatka was placed under its jurisdiction. In 1875 Russia ceded the
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
to Japan in return for Russian sovereignty over
Sakhalin
Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
island. The Russian population of Kamchatka stayed at around 2,500 until the turn of the century, while the native population increased to 5,000. During the 19th century, scientific exploration of the peninsula continued.
Karl von Ditmar
Karl Bernhard Woldemar Ferdinand von Ditmar (sometimes ''Carl von Ditmar'') ( in Vändra – in Tartu) was a Baltic German geologist and explorer, who travelled in and contributed to the scientific understanding of Kamchatka.
Life and work
Kar ...
made an important journey to the peninsula in 1851–1854.
In 1920, Russian leader
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
offered a 60-year lease of the peninsula to the United States.
World War II (1939–1945) hardly affected Kamchatka except for its role as a launch site for the
invasion of Manchuria in August 1945. After the war, the Soviet authorities declared Kamchatka a military zone: it remained
closed
Closed may refer to:
Mathematics
* Closure (mathematics), a set, along with operations, for which applying those operations on members always results in a member of the set
* Closed set, a set which contains all its limit points
* Closed interval, ...
to Soviet citizens until 1989 and to foreigners until 1990.
Avacha Bay
Avacha Bay (russian: Авачинская губа, Авачинская бухта) is a Pacific Ocean bay on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is long and wide (at the mouth), with a maximum depth of .
The Avacha River fl ...
has been the scene of massive die-off of
benthic
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...
marine organisms in September-October 2020.
Fauna and flora
![Brown-bear-in-spring](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Brown-bear-in-spring.jpg)
Kamchatka boasts abundant flora. The variable climate promotes different flora zones where
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
and
muskeg
Muskeg (Ojibwe: mashkiig; cr, maskīk; french: fondrière de mousse, lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or ...
are dominant, succeeded by grasses, flowering shrubs, and forests of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
,
alder
Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
and
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
. The wide variety of plant forms spread throughout the Peninsula promotes a similar diversity in animal species that feed off the flora. Although Kamchatka is mostly tundra, deciduous and coniferous trees are abundant, and forests can be found throughout the peninsula.
Kamchatka boasts diverse and abundant wildlife. This is due to many factors, including a wide range of climates; diverse topography and geography; many free-flowing rivers; proximity to the highly productive waters of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, the
Bering, and the
Okhotsk Sea
The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
s; low human population density; and minimal development. The peninsula also boasts the southernmost expanse of Arctic
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
in the world. However, commercial exploitation of marine resources and a history of fur trapping has taken its toll on several species.
Kamchatka is famous for the abundance and size of its
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
s. In the
Kronotsky Nature Reserve
Kronotsky (Кроноцкий) Nature Reserve (also: ''Kronotsky Biosphere Zapovednik'') is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) reserved for the study of natural sciences in the remote Russian Far East, on the coast of the Kamchatka Peni ...
, there are estimated to be three to four bears per 100 square kilometres. Other fauna of note include carnivores such as
tundra wolf
The tundra wolf (''Canis lupus albus''), also known as the Turukhan wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species', University of Minnesota Press, p. 353, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Eurasia ...
(''Canis lupus albus''),
Arctic fox
The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...
(''Vulpes lagopus'')
Anadyr fox (''Vulpes vulpes beringiana''),
East Siberian lynx (''Lynx lynx wrangeli''),
wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
(''Gulo gulo''),
sable
The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...
(''Martes zibellina''),
Eurasian otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of ...
(''Lutra lutra''),
East Siberian stoat (''Mustela ermine kaneii'') and
Siberian least weasel (''Mustela nivalis pygmaea''). The peninsula hosts habitat for several large ungulates including the
Kamchatka snow sheep,
reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
(''Rangifer tarandus''), and
Chukotka moose (''Alces alces buturlini'') one of the largest moose in the world and the largest in Eurasia; and
rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are nat ...
/
leporids
Leporidae is the family of rabbits and hares, containing over 60 species of extant mammals in all. The Latin word ''Leporidae'' means "those that resemble ''lepus''" (hare). Together with the pikas, the Leporidae constitute the mammalian order ...
, including
mountain hare
The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats.
Evolution
The mountai ...
(''Lepus timidus''),
marmot
Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...
, and several species of
lemming
A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...
and
squirrel
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
. The peninsula is the breeding ground for
Steller's sea eagle
Steller's sea eagle (''Haliaeetus pelagicus''), also known as Pacific sea eagle or white-shouldered eagle, is a very large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was described first by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. No subspecies are r ...
, one of the largest eagle species, along with the
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
and
gyr falcon
The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a reside ...
.
Kamchatka most likely contains the world's greatest diversity of
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
id fish, including all six species of anadromous
Pacific salmon
''Oncorhynchus'' is a genus of fish in the family Salmonidae; it contains the Pacific salmon and Pacific trout. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek ὄγκος (ónkos, “lump, bend”) + ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos, “snout”), in r ...
(
chinook,
chum
Chum may refer to:
Broadcasting
* CHUM Limited, a defunct Canadian media company
* CHUM Radio, now Bell Media Radio, a Canadian radio broadcasting company
* CHUM (AM), a Toronto radio station
* CHUM-FM, a Toronto radio station
* CHUM Chart, a C ...
,
coho
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...
,
seema,
pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
, and
sockeye
The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...
). Due to its uniquely suitable environment, biologists estimate that a fifth of all Pacific salmon originates in Kamchatka.
Kuril Lake
Kurile Lake (russian: Кури́льское о́зеро, Kuríl'skoye Ózero) is a caldera and crater lake in Kamchatka, Russia. It is also known as Kurilskoye Lake or Kuril Lake. It is part of the Eastern Volcanic Zone of Kamchatka which, toge ...
is recognized as the biggest spawning-ground for
sockeye
The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...
in Eurasia. In response to pressure from poaching and to worldwide decreases in salmon stocks, some along nine of the more productive salmon rivers are in the process of being set aside as a nature preserve. Stickleback species, particularly ''
Gasterosteus aculeatus
The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...
'' and ''
Pungitius pungitius
The ninespine stickleback (''Pungitius pungitius''), also called the ten-spined stickleback, is a freshwater species of fish in the family Gasterosteidae that inhabits temperate waters. It is widely but locally distributed throughout Eurasia and ...
'', also occur in many coastal drainages, and are likely present in freshwater as well.
Cetaceans that frequent the highly productive waters of the northwestern Pacific and the
Okhotsk Sea
The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
include:
orca
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...
s,
Dall's and
harbour porpoise
The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...
s,
humpback whales
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...
,
sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
s and
fin whale
The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of cet ...
s. Less frequently,
grey whale
The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and bree ...
s (from the eastern population), the critically endangered
North Pacific right whale
The North Pacific right whale (''Eubalaena japonica'') is a very large, thickset baleen whale species that is extremely rare and endangered.
The Northeast Pacific population, which summers in the southeastern Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, may ...
and
bowhead whale
The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...
,
beaked whale
Beaked whales (systematic name Ziphiidae) are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 species are reasonably well-k ...
s and
minke whale
The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish n ...
s are encountered.
Blue whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...
are known to feed off of the southeastern shelf in summer. Among
pinniped
Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walru ...
s,
Steller's sea lion
The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as the Steller's sea lion and northern sea lion, is a near-threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus ''Eumetopias'' and the largest of t ...
s,
northern fur seal
The northern fur seal (''Callorhinus ursinus'') is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest member of the fur seal subfamily (Arctocephalinae) and the only living species in the ...
s,
spotted seal
The spotted seal (''Phoca largha''), also known as the larga seal or largha seal, is a member of the family Phocidae, and is considered a "true seal". It inhabits ice floes and waters of the north Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. It is primarily ...
s and
harbor seal
The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared sea ...
s are abundant along much of the peninsula. Further north,
walrus
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...
es and
bearded seal
The bearded seal (''Erignathus barbatus''), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (''eri'' and ''gnathos'') that refer to its h ...
s can be encountered on the Pacific side, and
ribbon seal
The ribbon seal (''Histriophoca fasciata'') is a medium-sized pinniped from the true seal family (Phocidae). A seasonally ice-bound species, it is found in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of the North Pacific Ocean, notably in the Bering Sea and ...
s reproduce on the ice of
Karaginsky Bay
Karaginsky Gulf (russian: Карагинский залив) is a large gulf in the Bering Sea off the northeastern coast of Kamchatka (Russia), which cuts deep inland. The depth of the gulf is between . The largest island in the gulf is the Kar ...
.
Sea otters
The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smalle ...
are concentrated primarily on the southern end of the peninsula.
Seabirds include
murrelets,
northern fulmar
The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is a highly abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemis ...
s, thick and thin-billed
murre
''Uria'' is a genus of seabirds in the auk family known in Britain as guillemots, in most of North America as murres, and in Newfoundland and Labrador as turr. These are medium-sized birds with mainly brown or black plumage in the breeding sea ...
s,
kittiwakes
The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red- ...
, tufted and horned
puffins
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
, red-faced, pelagic and other
cormorants
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...
, and many other species. Typical of the northern seas, the marine fauna is likewise rich. Of commercial importance are
Kamchatka crab
The red king crab (''Paralithodes camtschaticus''), also called Kamchatka crab or Alaskan king crab, is a species of king crab native to the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. It was Introduced species, introduced to the Barents Sea. It grows to a le ...
(king crab),
scallop
Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...
,
squid
True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...
,
pollock
Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...
,
cod
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
,
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
,
halibut
Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and ''Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish.
The word is derived from ''h ...
and several species of
flatfish
A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish order (biology), order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the ...
.
Tourism
Points of interest on the Kamchatka Peninsula include thermal and mineral springs, volcanoes, glaciers, a diversity of plants and animals, and other natural features largely untouched by civilization. Activities include
sport fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...
, alpine tourism,
heliskiing
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift.
History
In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. The i ...
,
snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
,
dog sledding
Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most commonly ...
and
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
.
See also
*
Maritime fur trade
The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in ex ...
References
Notes
References
Further reading
* .
*
External links
UNESCO World Heritage Site profileInformation about Kamchatka peninsula and traveling there
{{Regions of Asia
Geography of Northeast Asia
Landforms of Kamchatka Krai
Landforms of the Russian Far East
Landforms of the Sea of Okhotsk
Pacific Coast of Russia
Peninsulas of Asia
Peninsulas of Russia
World Heritage Sites in Russia
Beringia