The Kronotskiy State Biosphere Reserve

The Kronotskiy State Biosphere Reserve is the largest protected are in Kamchatka. The first people who understood that the Kronotskiy area was a necessity were the native people. And in 1882, finally an area, now the core area of the reserve as set aside to protect the wildlife resources. During most of the next century, very few efforts concentrated on protecting the area further. It was only in 1986 that it became a biosphere reserve and in 1996, Kronotskiy was listed as a Natural Heritage Site under Unesco. Today the territory holds the highest protected status in Russia.

The reserve is located on the eastern portion of the Kamchatka Peninsula, occupying more than ten thousand kilometers. Volcanic activity played a major role in forming the topography of the area as well as the various habitat conditions and wildlife that are present in the reserve. Kronotskiy Volcano, Lake and River are all major parts of the Reserve. About three -quarters of the reserve is covered with mountains. The relief most typical is actually mountainous tundra with canyons and rivers flowing through it.

A small ravine tucked into the mountains of the preserve has drawn the interest form worldwide travelers the "Valley of the Geysers". This several miles long canyon on the Geyser River bubbles with about 200 geysers, making it the second largest geyser field on the planet, after Yellowstone.

Multiple tiers of geysers dress the steep slopes to about 600 feet above the river. Multicolored algae that flourish in the high temperatures of the geysers outflow paint an abstract mural. The valley's bottom is punctuated by boiling mud cauldrons, azure blue pools and steam vents, however still numerous flowers decorate the wooden walkways. No fish swim in the Geyser River, which has been recorded as warm as 27 degrees Celsius in winter. It has been estimated that hot spring activity has been taking place in the Valley of the Geysers for at least 100,000 years, but it was not until 1941 that the Valley came to the attention of its first visitor, Tatyana Ustinova, a geologist.

The Valley of the geysers may be the most dramatic geothermal show within the Kronotskiy Reserve, besides the 200 geysers, Kronotskiy Reserve contains twenty-two volcanoes, some of which have erupted within recent history. Just a few miles north of the Valley, Kikhpinytch Volcano was active during the 1890's. Kaminsky is the most active volcano on the peninsula, regularly showing signs of eruption. At the southern edge of the reserve, the summit of Kaminsky holds a distinctive crater, pool as blue as a summer sky. The Semlyachik Volcano also erupts frequently. The elegant cone of the Kronotskaya, on the shores of Krontoskoye Lake, can be seen when flying into the Valley of the Geysers. South of the Valley of the Geysers, the Uzone Caldera bubbles with multi colored pools, surrounded by extraordinary green grass.

Snow-cover depth also influences the composition of the reserve's vegetation. Snowfall is deepest in the eastern section, where up to 14m of snow can still exist in July. Only the presence of hot springs and streams prevent certain areas from freezing over. Most of the territory has shrub vegetation, which is adapted to wind and deep snow. There are many flowering plants, tall grasses, and trees near the hot springs, which aids to the diversity of an otherwise tundra-dominated landscape. Five species of salmon spawn in the reserve's 80 rivers, supporting the brown bear population. Wildlife is diverse, including reindeer, snow sheep, wolverines, bears and more. Marine mammals include sea lions and sea otters.

Twenty percent of he Kamchatka Peninsula is protected, with most of the protected areas located in the southern and eastern part of the peninsula. The reserve works with various organizations in cooperative research; for example, Japanese scientists in Steller's sea lion research and both American and Russian have researched the brown bears in the reserve.

Krechet, a local tourism company operates helicopter flights to the Valley of the Geysers in helicopters that seat twenty people. Local tourism companies can book into these flights. Flights are weather dependent and therefore most tourism companies cannot usually guarantee departure. Flights take about one hour over spectacular landscape, with a fou-hour stop in the Valley. An excellent lunch is served before returning to the helicopter base in Yelizovo. Some tour companies, such as the Lost World operate hiking tours into the Kornotskiy Reserve in the buffer zones. It is also possible to overnight in the Lodge in the Valley of the Geysers, but one has to be ready to spend in case of bad weather.

Valery Komarov, Director e-mail: zapoved@elrus.kamchatka.su.

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