Russia

Volcanoes of Kamchatka

WHS Score 4.31
rate
Votes 10 Average 4.95
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Votes for Volcanoes of Kamchatka

4.5

  • Harry Mitsidis

5.0

  • Alexander Barabanov
  • disnsam
  • Ivan Rucek
  • Jeffrey Chai Ran
  • Lesoruble
  • Marcobrey
  • Martina Rúčková
  • Michal Marciniak
  • Vlad Lesnikov

The Volcanoes of Kamchatka represent one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world.

The Kamchatka Peninsula was shaped by tectonic and volcanic activity. It is the globally most active volcanic region, with a display of features such geysers, mudholes, and hot springs. The coastal landscapes and seascape are also notable and are home to salmon spawning areas and major seabird colonies.

Community Perspective: This covers a large area and requires at least a week of your time. Martina visited in 2016 and enjoyed the hikes and the helicopter tour of the Valley of Geysirs. Alexander did so in 2020 and added some rafting to the activities. The helicopter tours are highly recommended to see the best places of Kamchatka and to appreciate the wilderness of this place.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Volcanoes of Kamchatka (ID: 765)
Country
Russia
Status
Inscribed 1996 Site history
History of Volcanoes of Kamchatka
1996: Inscribed
Inscribed
2001: Extended
To include Kluchevskoy Nature Park
2001: Criteria
Crit X (natural crit iv) added at extension.
2021: Advisory Body overruled
IUCN proposed in Danger listing. Overruled by amendment, sending a reactive monitoring mission.
WHS Type
Natural
Criteria
  • vii
  • viii
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • Sept. 5, 2022 bbc.com — Klyuchevskaya Sopka: Climbers killed during a fall on Russian volcano
  • Oct. 8, 2020 edition.cnn.com — A suspected toxic spill in Russia's Far East has killed 95% of marine life on the seabed
  • Dec. 17, 2009 itar-tass.com — Bezymyanny volcano eruption starts on Kamchatka
  • June 8, 2007 uk.news.yahoo.com — A powerful landslide Sunday devastated a spectacular geyser valley in Russia's far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka.

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Volcanic
Recent Connections
View all (37) .
Connections of Volcanoes of Kamchatka
Individual People
  • Captain James Cook
    One of Cook's objectives on his 3rd voyage was to investigate the NW passage from the Pacific. He had tried in 1778 but, having entered the Bering Sea, was forced back by ice to winter in Hawaii - where he was killed. The new commander, Charles Clerke,(who had been on all 3 of Cook's voyages)continued the exploration and the journals of "Captain Cook's Third Voyage" record the viewing of a major eruption of Avachinsky Volcano on 15 June 1779

    See www.captaincooksociety.com

  • Visited by Nicolas Hulot
    Émission 4 : Des origines aux mondes perdus (Kamtchatka, 1999)
Geography
  • Glaciers
    AB review "Other distinguishing land-form features of the area include its many lakes and rivers and the large number of glaciers that occur on the volcanoes and the important role they have in studies of climate change"
  • Recently Active Volcanoes
    According to the original AB 1996 evaluation "Kamchatka has 29 Active volcanoes of which 19 are within the nominated area". The 2001 extension is said to have added another cluster of 12 (No it doesn't add up!). Avachinsky is one of the most active - It has erupted at least 17 times in the recorded history of Kamchatka. There was a major eruption in 1945. The last one was 2001. Together with nearby Koryaksky it is a "Decade Volcano"
  • Pacific Ring of Fire
  • Hot Springs
    Valley of Geysers
  • Crater Lakes
    Kurile Lake
  • World's most prominent mountains
    Klyuchevskaya Sopka 13th most prominent (4649 m)
  • Isolated WHS
    1400 Kms from Shiretoko
  • Cape
    Southern Kamchatka Nature Park
  • Caldera
  • Geysers
    Valley of Geysers
  • Maars
    Kinenin Lake
  • Pacific Ocean
    Kronotsky Nature Reserve
Trivia
Ecology
Damaged
  • Damaged by Landslide
    Valley of Geysers: On June 3, 2007, a massive mudflow inundated two thirds of the valley (wiki)
World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
  • Sacred Mountains
    Klyuchevskaya Sopka: "considered sacred by some indigenous peoples, being viewed by them as the location at which the world was created" (wiki without a citation)
Human Activity
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
News
bbc.com 09/05/2022
Klyuchevskaya Sopka: Climbers kill…
edition.cnn.com 10/08/2020
A suspected toxic spill in Russia'…
itar-tass.com 12/17/2009
Bezymyanny volcano eruption starts…

Community Reviews

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First published: 18/08/20.

Alexander Barabanov

Volcanoes Of Kamchatka

Volcanoes of Kamchatka (Inscribed)

Volcanoes of Kamchatka by Alexander Barabanov

Visited this amazing site in July 2020. We were part of probably the first organized tourist groups after removing regional Covid restrictions. Kamchatka is considered one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world and is also part of iconic highlights of Russia. It is still not possible to determine exact number of volcanoes on the peninsula; usually the sources indicate 29 active volcanos and approximately 300 dormant volcanos. From time to time devastating eruptions take place; the latest was in 1975-1976. However many active volcanos continue to eject ash with various level of density and are closely monitored scientifically. On average, there are 3-7 eruptions each year in Kamchatka.  

Kamchatka is larger than Germany and Benelux together, while its population is only 313 thousand people, including 180 thousand in Petropavlovsk and 20 thousand in closed city Viluchinsk, naval base of nuclear submarines. This results in extreme wilderness and remoteness of the region with very limited access to mobile network, internet, hotels and comfort in general. At least I finally learned how to set up tents. 

Our trip started with a two-day rafting down the River Bystraya. There is high probability to encounter bears on the shores and (which is much less funny) during night stays in tent camp, however this is largely unpredictable and depends on the season, last year a similar group spotted 92 bears in two days; while we noticed only one. Our guide luckily had Kamchatka husky dog called Sever, and it is …

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First published: 05/12/16.

Martina Rúčková

Volcanoes Of Kamchatka

Volcanoes of Kamchatka (Inscribed)

Volcanoes of Kamchatka by Martina Rúčková

This is one of those WHS that truly deserve a trip of their own and contain so many parts and places that even with a week at your disposal, you'll be able to just cover couple of those places. I visited the Kamchatka peninsula this August with my husband Ivan. It consists of numerous nature parks/reserves and places. We started with the ascend to Avachinskiy volcano (2000m altitude hike over 8 km track), hiked around Dachniye springs (by the Mutnovskiy geothermal station), did a helicopter tour of the Valley of Geysirs and hiked the Gorelyi volcano. The nature is marvellous and out of the three "top" mainland Russia natural UNESCO WHSs, Altai, Lake Baikal, and Kamchatka, I have to hand it to Kamchatka as the most wonderful of the three. It's a beautiful place that will leave even seasoned nature lovers amazed.

As for the technical part of all of the tours, you get your plane ticket, if it's from Moscow, check a stopover in Yakutsk as an option, it will reduce the price of the overall ticket significantly. The return way is cheaper as it's subsidised. The accomodation and trip is arranged by one of the local travel agencies, we chose Kamchatintour. The service is quite mediocre, not very well organised, pickups don't arrive on time and the length of the ride with Kamaz (which is required for most of the destinations) depends on the driver on duty that day. What we covered in mere three hours one day …

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