The foundation date of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is October 17, 1740. On this day, ships of the Second Kamchatka expedition headed by Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov moored to the shores of Avacha Bay. Originally, the city was named the Petropavlovsk jail by the names of the ships “Holy Apostle Peter” and “Holy Apostle Paul”. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky received its modern name in 1924.
Panoramic view of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky from the hillock Mishennaya
The city is in a picturesque place, on the one hand it is washed by Avacha Bay, by the way it is considered to be the largest in the world, on the other hand the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky “protects”. Home volcanoes: Koryakskaya Sopka, Avachinskaya Sopka, Kazel volcano. The architecture and buildings of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and its surroundings are mostly gray and monotonous. Faceless Stalins and Khrushchev neighbors with the same faceless new buildings. In the city there are museums: Local History Museum, the Museum of Military Glory, many historical monuments, among them: monuments to mariners Vitus Bering, Laperuz, Charles Clark, monument to the defenders of the city – Maksutov Battery.
Earthquakes
Along the whole eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula and alongside Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky there is the Pacific seismic belt, so small and medium-sized earthquakes happen quite often. Residents are used to living in anticipation of the earthquake.
Destructive earthquakes in the past 50 years have not been and are not expected. But due to the high seismic activity of the region, residential and administrative buildings are constantly seismically reinforced, which makes some buildings look menacingly ugly, as from films about the world apocalypse.
Climate Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Winters in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky are mild and snowy
The average temperature in winter is about -6 degrees Celsius. Snow blizzards (snowstorms are called snowstorms by locals) usually pass from November to early May. In the most snowy winters, snow reaches the windows of the 2nd floor of high-rise buildings. Due to snow winters and mountainous terrain in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 4WD four-wheel drive vehicles are popular. For the same reason, ski sports are very popular in Kamchatka: mountain skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing. Directly in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky there are many ski runs and there are ski schools. Winter tourism is very popular: Heli-skiing, downhill skiing, hot water swimming pool in Paratunka, this is a short list of tourist attractions in winter in Kamchatka.
Summer in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is cool and fleeting
The local populace is popular with an anecdote: “- You are so white? Summer that was not? “It was summer, but I was at work that day.” The average daily temperature of the warmest month, August, is +13 degrees. Climate summer (a period with average daily temperatures above 15 degrees) is not every year.
In summer, active types of tourism are popular in Kamchatka: climbing volcanoes, river rafting, fishing.
So, if you are not afraid of a long 8-hour flight to Kamchatka, if there is a desire for adventurous and romantic trips, collect a suitcase and welcome to Kamchatka! There is something to see and there is something to do on vacation!
