Kamchatka

The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometre-long (777 mile) peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about 270,000 km2 (100,000 square milew). The Sea of Okhotsk bounds the peninsula’s western coastline, immediately offshore of the peninsula and below the Bering Sea runs the 9,600-metre-deep (31,496 ft) Kuril–Kamchatka Trench. Its eastern coastline is the Bering Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean.

The Kamchatka Peninsula, the Commander Islands, and Karaginsky Island constitute Kamchatka Krai of the Russian Federation. The krai has a population of about 322,000 people. Around two thirds of them live in the port city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the administrative capital (c.165,000 in 2021) and nearby Yelizovo (c.39,000). The Kamchatka Peninsula consists of the oblast of Kamchatka and the Autonomous Koryakia Okrug.

The Peninsula’s southern tip is called Cape Lopatka (Russian for spade.) The circular bay to the north of this on the Pacific side is Avacha Bay, home to the capital. 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, which features Karaginsky Island. Northeast of this 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 – snow occupies its peaks throughout the year. Along the southeast coast runs the Eastern Range (Vostochny). 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.

Tegil river and town used to be 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.

Koryaksky Volcano overlooking Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – ©kuhnmi CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the settlements in the central part of the peninsula are connected by highway to Ust-Kamchatsk. The road is asphalt in its southern part, but changes to gravel about halfway north where the population is sparser. 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.

The Kamchatka Peninsula contains the volcanoes of Kamchatka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that form part of the Ring of Fire and is a land of volcanoes and geysers. 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 on the peninsula.

Most of the region is occupied by light Erman’s birch and larch forests. Mountainsides are covered with cedar elfin woods and lichens. Here and there are high-grass meadows. The western part of peninsula is typical tundra.

Kamchatka gets up to 110 inches of precipitation per year. This is much higher than the rest of Eastern Russia. The increase in precipitation is due to prevailing westerly winds blowing over the Sea of Japan, which pick 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; however, the storms rarely produce lightning.

Kronotsky Volcano – ©Русский Игорь Шпиленок CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Although Kamchatka lies at latitudes similar to Scotland’s, cold arctic winds from Siberia combined with the cold Oyashio sea current keep the peninsula covered in snow from October to late May. It generally has a subarctic climate, but higher and more northerly areas have a polar climate. The peaks of the highest mountains have an ice cap climate. It is much wetter and milder than eastern Siberia. It is essentially transitional from the hyper-continental climate of Siberia and northeast China to the rain-drenched subpolar oceanic climate of the Aleutian Islands.

Birding Kamchatka

Kamchatka boasts abundant flora. The variable climate promotes different flora zones. Tundra and muskeg are dominant at higher elevations, with meadows and sparse forests with grasses, flowering shrubs, and forests of pine, birch, alder, and willow in the lowlands. Kamchatka Taiga of Yeddo spruce with Dahurian larch and Asian white birch grows in the Central Kamchatka Depression. 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.

Erman’s Birch forest – ©kuhnmi CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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 Seas; low human population density; and minimal development makes for diverse and abundant wildlife.  For example, it is famous for the abundance and size of its brown bears. In the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, there are estimated to be three to four bears per 100 square kilometres. Other fauna of note includes carnivores such as Tundra Wolf, Arctic & Anadyr Fox, East Siberian Lynx, Wolverine, Sable, Eurasian Otter, East Siberian stoat and Siberian Least Weasel.

Kamchatka Brown Bear  – ©Robert F Tobler CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

There are several large ungulates including the Kamchatka Snow Sheep, Reindeer and Chukotka Moose, one of the largest moose in the world and the largest in Eurasia. Rodents abound including Mountain Hare, Marmot and several species of lemming and squirrel. Kamchatka most likely contains the world’s greatest diversity of salmonid fish, including all six species of anadromous Pacific Salmon. In response to pressure from poaching and to worldwide decreases in salmon stocks, some 24,000 square kilometres (9,300 square miles) along nine of the more productive salmon rivers are in the process of being set aside as a nature preserve. Cetaceans, Walruses, Seals and Sea Otters inhabit many coastal areas.

Typical of the northern seas, the marine fauna is likewise rich, which in turn accounts for the abundance of marine associated bird species. The peninsula is famously the breeding ground for Steller’s Sea Eagle, one of the largest eagle species, along with the Golden Eagle and Gyrfalcon. Seabirds include Murrelets, Northern Fulmars, Thick-billed and Thin-billed Murres, Kittiwakes, Tufted and Horned Puffins, Red-faced, Pelagic, and other Cormorants, and many other species.

Kuthiny Baty – ©Igor Shpilenok CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Its sea-shore serves as a breeding site for birds, which adapt themselves to hard conditions, such as Pelagic Cormorant and Steller’s Sea Eagle. Rocky banks and numerous islands are rookeries, where it’s possible to find Ancient Auks, Puffins, Sooty Guillemots and other interesting species.

Land species are amazing too with Siberian Rubythroat, Kamchatka Leaf Warbler, Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler, and many others such as the Taiga Flycatchers, Oriental Cuckoos, and Eyebrowed Thrushes. In the tundra areas and woodlands, both Rock and Willow Ptarmigan are found, and there is a wide variety of buntings and pipits, including Buff-bellied Pipit and Asian Rosy Finch.