Kamchatka Krai

Kamchatka Krai is a federal subject of Russia (a krai). It was formed on July 1, 2007, as a result of the merger of Kamchatka Oblast and Koryak Autonomous Okrug, based on the voting in a referendum on the issue on October 23, 2005.

The krai's administrative center is the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The okrug retains the status of a special administrative division of the krai, under the name of Koryak Okrug. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the krai was 322,079.

Geography

Kamchatka Krai occupies the territory of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the adjacent part of the mainland, the island Karaginsky and Commander Islands. Washed in the east Bering Sea of Pacific Ocean (length of the coast more than 2,000 km), from the west – the Okhotsk Sea (the length of the coast about 2000 km).

Mountain ranges: Sredinny Range (the length of about 900 km), East, Vetveysky, Penzhinsky, Pahachinsky, Olyutorskij et al. Heights: Khuvkhoitun (2613 m), the Ice (2562 m), Acute (2552 m), Shishel (2531 m), Tylele volcano (2234 m).

Kamchatka belongs to the zone of volcanic activity, there are about 300 large and medium-sized volcanoes, 29 of them are active. The largest volcano in Eurasia – Kluchevskaya (altitude 4750 m). With the volcanic activity associated with the formation of many minerals, as well as a manifestation of hydro geo thermal activity: education fumaroles, geysers, hot springs, etc..

The climate is mostly subarctic, more continental in the hinterland and more maritime and prone to monsoons on the coast.

Nature

Most of the peninsula is covered with forests of stone birch, in the upper parts of the mountain slopes are common alder and cedar elfin. In the central part, especially in the valley of the Kamchatka River, widespread forests of larch and spruce Kuril Ajan. In floodplains, forests grow with fragrant poplar, alder, hairy, Chosenia, willow Sakhalin. In the second tier, and the undergrowth common hawthorn zelenomyakotny, Asian cherry, rowan Kamchatka, shrubs – Kamchatka elderberries, rosehips tupoushkovy, rowan buzinolistnaya, honeysuckle Kamchatka, meadowsweet, willow shrubs, and many other species. Kamchatka, especially coastal areas, characterized by tall – species such as shelamaynik Kamchatka, angelica bearish, sweet parsnip reach a height of 3–4 meters.

More than 14.5% of the territory of the Kamchatka Territory refers to the specially protected. There are six protected areas of federal significance (three state reserves, one federal reserve "South Kamchatka", two spa areas – "Resort Paratunka", "Malkinskie mineral waters"); four natural parks of regional significance ("Nalychevo", "Bystrinsky", "South Kamchatka", "Kluchevskoy"); 22 reserve of regional importance; 116 monuments of nature; four protected areas (landscape natural park "Blue Lake", Southwest and Tundra Sobolewski reserves).