On my hand two small pebbles: one is almost weightless, coal-colored, with whitish patches, the other heavier, dark-brown, round shape, born of solidified lava.
Both with the foot of an active volcano Avachinskaya Sopka.
I picked up these “Souvenirs” during the ascent to the pass at mount Camel, which has two peaks, humps rose between Koryaksky and Avachinsky volcanoes. Their slopes and foothills all covered with volcanic ash, which turned into a rocky slag sand. To go on it is difficult. Treacherous scree on the slopes, he does not keep step. One careless movement — and the leg immediately follows Osipa. We chaperone, the native of Petropavlovsk, Denis Vladimirov, a long time choosing the route, trying to avoid bulk. Rescued snow: though he slippery slope, but to go through it easier.
A land that nurtured the volcanoes, poor in flora and fauna. And the higher the peaks, bezzhiznennaja seem black slopes. Perhaps that is why so pleasing and so on rare vicharchika yellow flowers poppy small Yes clumps of a particular species of Artemisia. Only at the very foot of the volcano wakes up exhausted volcanic eruptions the earth. Rhododendrons, rose, globe flower, nezabudok show their flowering. There is the dwarf willow, alder and cedar elfin. In contrast with the black ground they look the Islands of life, snatched from the charred silent space…
To see the volcanoes of Kamchatka was my old overwhelming desire. At the time I had time to admire the Crimean and the Ural mountains, Altai, Carpathians, and even Tien Shan with the Pamir, but volcanoes have not seen.
Yes and no joke? To get to Kamchatka, you need to fly across Russia from edge to edge! Well, if you arrived at this land of volcanoes, you can not escape: be sure to see them, even from afar. And you’re lucky — will climb the volcano, say, or Avachinsky Mutnovsky. In a word, volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula will find you.
Kamchatka — the realm of volcanoes. They begin with this remote Russian region that stretches from the Pacific ocean. The presence of volcanoes is perceived by the local population routinely as their eruption.
— If there are volcanoes, they must from time to time to erupt, said that one of my good friend, a wonderful Russian artist, a resident of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Arthur V. Kovalev.
Already when approaching the capital of Kamchatka Krai, you see sharp peaks of the volcanoes rising city. Koryaksky, Avachinsky, Kozelsky impress with their power. Eat less, AAG and Arik. From Yelizovo good view of the volcano Viluchinsky — slim, massive and majestic, always dressed in white unmelted snow.
Five volcanoes, donated by mother nature surroundings of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky call home. Here a special relationship with them. They are even depicted on the emblem of the Kamchatka region and the coat of arms of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The citizens to their volcanoes are treated as dear neighbors, determine the weather. Say: “Koryak cap allotment — know the bad weather is coming”. Or: “Fog Koryak were adorned with knowing the rains would be shed.” And omens coming true. He made sure of that.
All of the volcanoes are absolutely not similar to each other as a human fingerprint. The difference in everything: in size, in the flatness of the peaks in the volumes of the crater and its location. The collar of the volcano is broad, consisting of numerous mountain passes and the foothills, or the gentle, similar to Alpine valley. The craters have smooth edges, and have teeth like crowns, stone crowns; some is moved from the cone, others are in the center. Kamchatka’s volcanoes have long counted. Their number crossed three hundred. Three dozen of them existing that a particularly “happy” by volcanologists. By the way, Kamchatka is part of the Pacific ring of fire. Here is Institute of Volcanology and seismology — the only in Russia and advanced in the world.
A volcanic eruption is always unpredictable. It is like a bolt from the blue. So it was with Koryaksky volcano in 2009, Kluchevskaya Sopka. And Karymsky does not give forget about yourself. At the time of my stay on Kamchatka the volcano “worked” so that the smoke was a pillar.
LIVE FOREVER.
When talking about the Kamchatka volcanoes, the first thing to recall active volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the largest on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Eurasian continent. After each massive eruption of the peak of the volcano rises. Its height varies from 4750 to 4850 meters and more above sea level. Age of giant — about 7 thousand years.
In April 2016, the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano began to erupt again, throwing a column of ash six kilometres. Its slope went the lava flow, the length of which was more than 500 meters. The eruption was preceded by volcanic earthquakes and multiple ash plumes.
When we followed to the foot of Avachinsky volcano on the bed of a dry river (flowing, raging it is only during snowmelt), we are at a distance of 25-30 miles away across huge boulders — the effects of the eruption. A powerful release swept them across the County. And volcanic ash, which when a good eruption of flying for hundreds of miles. Kamchatka writer Mikhail Y. Zhilin said that in 1963, the ash from the eruption of the Karymsky volcano has covered Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky dense layer of a few millimeters.
The earth is stuffed with Kamchatka volcanic rocks. Enough to go to the Pacific coast and look at galakticheskogo sandy shore of the beach: the sand there is black as soot. Deciding to walk the ocean shores to the distant rocks in a small rivulet, Mikhail Yakovlevich and my daughter Irina strongly risked. At three miles was difficult, and back along sandy mush had no strength. Fortunately, was rescued by a random car: a young man who was driving, refused to let us…
The tops of the volcanoes accompany you wherever you’re headed: up, to the village of Ust-Kamchatsk, or down to Cape Lopatka. The helicopter is one thing, but Hiking is another. During the last a sense of height, which is necessary to overcome yourself, without the help of technology, and does not leave a feeling of heaviness lift.
Volcanic peaks in all times attracted the conquerors of the heights. There were, of course, and tragedy. So, at the foot of the volcano Avachinsky are three memorial pyramid made of stones in memory of those who, having gone to the volcano, never came back. Let’s call their names: N. P. Yurchenko, A. Z. Granin, S. G. Kotlyar, N. With. Kotlyar, E. V. Panova. In fact, the Avachinsky volcano has become a monument to those whose young lives taken sometime in eternity.
The height of the volcano seems deceptive. “Nothing!” “you exclaim, thinking to climb to the peak of the volcano is not difficult, but… It’s an illusion, a Mirage! Vulkan stern is on the rise. While we were on the beat between the two volcanoes, and they were covered with a sudden cloud. She lightly wrapped the top, it completely hid it, then went down, putting on the volcano fluffy # clouds…
Around our feet poking agile long-tailed ground squirrels, begging for something to “tooth”. Accustomed to people, they shamelessly ran up to him at arm’s length, stood on its hind legs, funny drawing to the breast front, looked at me with her round black eyes and artfully begged. Of course, we spoiled them cracker cookies, straw sticks. The gophers clawed paws grabbing for his hand, it’s funny they ate proposed. Sometimes for a treat is a queue of two to three animals. Especially not timid were squirrels in “the age”. Then gave up and young, first hiding behind the rocks.
Returning from mount Camel, we sat on a huge boulder and looked at the passed. On the snowfields in the distance we saw a single moving point. Know someone coming home from the conquest of its peak…
