Valley of Geysers
The Valley of Geysers, one of the largest geyser fields on our planet, has found its place in distant Kamchatka. This is a fairly rare phenomenon that can be found in nature. A collection of geysers lurks among the inaccessible gorges of the Kronotsky Reserve, which is on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Register.
No one knows the exact age of this wonderful valley, where the geysers are located, but they guess that it has existed for several thousand years. Nature, very diligently, hid this landmark, as it was discovered only in 1941, and no one knew about its existence until that time. Expeditions, travelers, and local residents have been nearby over the years, but the chaos of the ridges that are located near the geysers scared away from this area.
Back in 1934, the Kronotsky Nature Reserve was established on this territory, where the lands with the valley of geysers accidentally fell. And it was only in the middle of the spring of 1941 that he was discovered by the staff of the state park, Tatiana Ustinova, with the guide, businessman Anisifir Krupenin. Here they were exploring the sources of the Noisy River. Quite by chance, sitting down to rest on a snow-covered slope, the workers looked at the frozen part of the land on the opposite bank of the river, from which steam was rising. At first, not understanding the situation, they were terribly scared, as the hot jet quickly increased and began to beat just across the river. And when the water gushing out of the ground disappeared as quickly as it began, Ustinova immediately realized that she was the discoverer of a real geyser in Kamchatka, to which she gave the name Pervenets.
There are about 20 significant geysers in the Valley, from which about a fifth of all hot water flows. Each of them is unique, with an individual character and name. Among them are those that work in separate jets, simultaneously ejecting several pieces, cascade type or steam.
The most majestic is the geyser, which is so named because of its size – the Giant. The scope of the erupted plough is compared to the height of a nine-storey building, the steam of which rises 300 meters.
In addition to these geysers, there are various water sources, streams, lakes with cold or warm water, as well as areas of hot clay, from the temperature of which even a boot on the foot will not save. Wormwood is a plant that serves as an indicator of the area where it grows – you can be sure that it is a solid terrain, as there are plots where green grass grows, and once you step, you can plunge a meter into the hot muck.
This is the tourist wealth of Kamchatka, because of its location, only a few thousand people a year can afford to visit, since it is possible to get here only by air. In 2008, a popular vote was held, following which the Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka took its place of honor in the list of the seven Wonders of Russia. In 2007, it was seriously damaged by a landslide that destroyed many geysers and flooded the territory with an underground lake. But still, this attraction is located among the wild and still arouses interest among tourists and scientists.
