Look at the map of Mara. At the very edge of the map, in the Far East of Russia, the Kamchatka Peninsula is nestled. From the capital of our homeland, Moscow, to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the distance in a straight line is 6,776 km, and the flight on a modern passenger airplane takes about 8 hours. The passenger airport in Kamchatka is located in the city of Elizovo, which is about 20 minutes by car from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Kamchatka Peninsula on an interactive map from Yandex
Kamchatka Krai is located in the northeast of the country on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Karaginsky and Commander Islands. In the north and northwest, the region borders on the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and Magadan Oblast, in the south - on the Kuril Islands, from the east Kamchatka is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, from the northeast - the Bering Sea, and from the west - the Sea of Okhotsk.
The area of the Krai exceeds 464 thousand square kilometers (2.8% of the territory of the Russian Federation). The permanent population is 345 thousand people (0.2% of the population of Russia). The number of indigenous peoples of the North is 15,475 people.
The population density is 0.7 people per 1 square kilometers.
Kamchatka Krai includes 68 municipalities: 3 urban districts, 11 municipal districts, 5 urban settlements, 49 rural settlements.
Kamchatka has unique recreational resources for tourism development. Mild snowy winters, snow-covered volcano slopes even in summer provide an opportunity for year-round ski tourism and construction of ski resorts. Among the many ski resorts in Kamchatka, five have slopes whose characteristics meet international standards. Stable snow cover on the slopes forms in early November and remains until early May. From late May to late October, ski resorts operate on the slopes of Avachinsky and Kozelsky volcanoes. Thermal springs and natural parks are attractive to guests of the peninsula. The Kamchatka Valley of Geysers was recognized in 2008 as one of the 7 wonders of Russia.
The basis of the economy of the territory is the fishing industry. In the territorial structure of the Russian economy, the regional fishing industry complex extracts 20% of aquatic biological resources and produces 16% of commercial food fish products in Russia.
Since 2002, there has been a steady trend towards an increase in the standard of living of the population. Per capita cash income has more than doubled in six years, from 5915.6 rubles in 2002 to 15553.4 rubles in 2007. The poverty level indicator, characterized by the number of people with incomes below the subsistence minimum, has decreased. The proportion of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum in 2002 was 34.3%, in 2007 - 22.8% of the total population. The Government of Kamchatka Krai has defined a set of investment projects, the implementation of which will promote the socio-economic development of Kamchatka, ensure the proper growth of the population's well-being, stabilization of the demographic situation and the formation of conditions for the development of the region. The projects are focused not only on the needs of the domestic market, but also on the development of interregional and international cooperation. Among the projects already being implemented is the construction of a cascade of small hydroelectric power plants on the river. Tolmachevo, construction of two sections of the Milkovo-Klyuchi-Ust-Kamchatsk highway.
The implementation of the set tasks will contribute to the improvement of socio-economic development indicators and the increase in the standard of living of the population of Kamchatka Krai.
The climate of Kamchatka is characterized by extreme diversity and instability of weather, caused by its geographical location, the influence of the surrounding seas and the Pacific Ocean, the movement of air masses, and relief. The coasts of the peninsula have features of a maritime climate. In the central and northern regions, the climate is close to continental. In the eastern regions, in one day, the summer heat can be replaced by a cold drizzle, reminiscent of late autumn, or fog with a piercing wind, and in an instant, warmth can return. While in the twenties of June, snow lies everywhere on the isthmus, Parapolsky Dol. Karaginsky Bay is filled with ice fragments, and the rivers are flooded, bird cherry and meadow grasses are blooming in the Central Kamchatka Lowland, and in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky area many plants are already fading, and the beach of Avacha Bay and the bays of Bolshaya and Malaya Lagernaya are visited by swimmers and vacationers, although half of Avacha Sopka is still covered with snow.
The coldest part of the peninsula in winter is the Central Kamchatka Lowland, where the average temperature in January is -22 C. The lowest temperature was observed in the area of the village of Milkovo: -57 C. But the "pole of cold" is in the village of Verkhne-Penzhino, where the temperature was -64 C. Throughout the region, thaws are observed during the winter, and there are frequent cases of temperature increases to +5 C in January and February. The highest value is in the area of the village of Dolinovka +37 C.
The number of warm days with temperatures above 20 C in Kamchatka is small. On the coast, there are 1 to 6 of them throughout the summer, in the mainland up to 20-30, and in the Kamchatka River valley - from 35-55.
In the central Kamchatka Lowland, protected from the influence of cyclones by powerful ridges, frosty, relatively quiet, slightly cloudy weather of the continental type prevails.
Within the Kamchatka Region, precipitation falls more than in any other region of the country and unevenly by season. The greatest amount of precipitation - up to 2500 mm per year - falls on the eastern and windward slopes of the mountains in the south of the peninsula. In the Central Kamchatka Lowland, protected from the influence of cyclones by the Sredinny and Vostochny ridges, it averages 400 mm per year. On the northeastern coast, the amount of precipitation again increases to 500-600 mm per year. The least amount of precipitation falls in the extreme northwest of the region - up to 300 mm per year. Summer in Kamchatka is rainy. In winter, weather conditions are very changeable, which is expressed, for example, in sudden snowfalls, often accompanied by strong winds. Sometimes 100% or more of the monthly snowfall can fall in one day. In general, the amount of precipitation in the cold period is greater than in the warm period almost throughout the entire territory of the region. And only on the western coast is there more precipitation in the warm period than in the cold.
The temperature regime, the nature of precipitation and other climatic factors, as well as the geological structure, relief have determined modern glaciation. In total, there are 414 glaciers in the region with a total area of 871.1 km2. They are located mainly in high mountain ranges and on volcanoes. The longest glacier in Kamchatka is Bilchenok, located on the Ploskoy Dalniy volcano (Klyuchevskaya group), has a length of 17.7 km and covers an area of 21.8 km2. The glacial massif of Mount Otdelnaya on the Kronotsky Peninsula is of interest, where the glaciers are located at an altitude of only 600 m. The largest of them is Tyushevsky, 5 km long. The influence of glaciers on the climate of Kamchatka and its nature as a whole is insignificant.
Kamchatka today remains one of the least populated regions of our country. The average population density is very low.
Coastal villages with Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Kamchatka with the country are connected only by air. The poorly developed road network on the peninsula itself makes bus service possible with the villages of Ust Bolsheretsk, Milkovo, Esso. Cargo is delivered to the city of Klyuchi by winter road. Ust-Kamchatsk village.