Kronotsky (Кроноцкий) Nature Reserve (also: ''Kronotsky Biosphere Zapovednik'') is a Russian '

zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...

' (strict nature reserve) reserved for the study of natural sciences in the remote

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 admin ...

, on the coast of the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and w ...

. It was created in 1934 and its current boundary contains an area of . The largest lake in the reserve is Lake Kronotskoye, which covers an area of . It also has Russia's only geyser basin, plus several mountain ranges with numerous

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

es, both active and extinct. Due to its often harsh climate and its mix of volcanoes and geysers, it is frequently described as the Land of Fire and Ice.Quammen, David (2009
Fragile Russian Wilderness: The Kronotsky Nature Reserve Is Best Appreciated From Afar
National Geographic, p.62, January 2009, Vol. 215, No.1 Kronotsky is mainly accessible only to scientists, plus approximately 3,000 tourists annually who pay a fee equivalent to US$700 to travel by

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

for a single day's visit. It is part of

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 volcan ...

, a

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 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 ...

Ecoregion and climate

Kronotsky is in the Kamchatka-Kurile meadows and sparse forests ecoregion, which covers the coastal zones of Kamchatka and surrounding islands. The climate is '' Humid continental climate, cool summer'' (

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 ...

'' (Dwb)''). This climate is characterized by high variation in temperature, both daily and seasonally; with dry winters and cool summers.

Flora and fauna

Over 750 plant species grow in the reserve, which has volcanoes rising up to a height of over 3,510 m (11,500 feet). The nature reserve boasts over 800

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 ...

s, some of the largest in the world that can grow to over 540 kg (1,200 pounds). The 800-plus population make it Eurasia's largest protected brown bear population. Bears in the Kronotsky reserve often encounter each other at salmon streams in the park where they can socialize freely with each other. Some bears have been observed to sniff the kerosene and gasoline off of discarded fuel barrels the reserve uses to power generators and helicopters, apparently having formed an

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

. After inhaling for a few minutes, they dig a shallow hole in which to lie down. Bears have been seen waiting for helicopters to take off so that they can sniff any fuel that may have been dropped onto the ground.

Valley of Geysers

The Valley of Geysers (russian: Долина гейзеров) and the

Mutnovsky Mutnovsky (russian: Мутновский) is a complex volcano located in the southern part of Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It is one of the most active volcanoes of southern Kamchatka; the latest eruption was recorded in 2000. At the foot of the ...

geyser field are the only geyser fields in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

. The Valley of Geysers is the second largest concentration of geysers in the world. The 6 km long basin with approximately ninety geysers and many

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

s is situated on the

in the

, predominantly on the left bank of the ever-deepening Geysernaya River. Within the valley a volcanic cone collapsed approximately 40,000 years ago forming the Uzon Caldera, which continues to steam in places where

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

can heat groundwater to a near-boil. The area is less than eight miles wide and holds at least 500 geothermal hot springs, mud pots and other similar features. Among the geysers is the Velikan (giant) Geyser, which erupts with tons of water that shoot more than 25 metres into the air during a minute-long eruption approximately every six hours or so. At least 20 such geysers erupt on a stretch of the Geysernaya River Basin in the Valley of Geysers, along with dozens of smaller gushing vents and hundreds of hot springs. The largest of these geysers erupts with 60 tons of water once or twice a year.

References

External links

Official site of Kronotsky Biosphere Zapovednik

{{Russian Zapovedniks Nature reserves in Russia Geography of Kamchatka Krai Kamchatka Peninsula Protected areas of the Russian Far East Volcanic landforms Volcanism of Russia World Heritage Sites in Russia Zapovednik 1882 establishments in the Russian Empire Protected areas established in 1882

Ecoregion and climate

Flora and fauna

Valley of Geysers

See also

References

External links