Saturday, August 18, 2012

#948 Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

A place that I've always wanted to visit, but prohibitively expensive and quite inaccessible: Kamchatka Peninsula. People tell stories of only being able to visit the remote volcanoes by helicopter, and that the number of active volcanoes is unmatched anywhere in the world, but these are just rumors of a place so remote and unvisited that people will say anything about it. Unfortunately, I haven't yet had the pleasure to visit, so I can't dispute any rumors yet, but I wanted to share this amazing place with everyone, so that you can add it to your bucket list, too!
http://izismile.com/2012/06/29/2012s_most_spine_tingling_photos_so_far_49_pics-2.html
You may have seen this incredible photo of a lava flow cave inside a glacier in email forwards and circling the internet. What a place!
From telegraph.co.uk where they advertise Kamchatka as being an option for a 'Blackberry-free break'!
File:Akademia nauk.jpg
The Kamchatka peninsula would have a similar temperature range to southern Alaska, and with only around 300,000 people in an area similar to that of Japan, it is easy to see why it is off the beaten path despite being an UNESCO World Heritage site. The Eastern side catches the storms and remains covered in snow even in summer, but in winter it is girded with ice and even has oceanic ice bracketing the ports.

Part of the Pacific's Ring of Fire caused by the tectonic plates' collision, in addition to its many volcanoes there is the 10,000 meter Kuril-Kamchatka Trench just off the eastern coast. Of the 160 volcanoes, 29 of them active, and 19 included in UNESCO's list.

I want to visit this spectacular landscape and see the amazing semi-arctic wildlife and landscape.
File:Kamchatka Peninsula.jpgFile:Sea Ice Imitates the Shoreline along the Kamchatka Peninsula.jpg

Note: Photos are not mine -- many are from Wikipedia.

No comments:

Post a Comment