December 11 is International Mountain Day. As noted by the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, it is a fitting holiday for Kamchatka, reports RAI "KAMCHATKA-INFO". The peninsula's primary landscape feature is its mountains. Wherever you look, there is always something striking for the eye to catch. When they find themselves in regions dominated by plains, Kamchatka residents quickly start to miss their native scenery.

From every outpost of the Kronotsky Reserve or the Southern Kamchatka Sanctuary, beautiful views of hills, mountain ranges, or volcanoes open up. The mountainous section of the Koryak Reserve is the Govena Peninsula with its rocky coastline, indented by bays. And from the Asachny Range in the cluster-based Lazovsky section of the reserve, on a clear day, a stunning view unfolds of a group of fire-breathing giants located in the "Volcanoes of Kamchatka" Natural Park. Among them is Eurasia's tallest active volcano, Klyuchevskoy.

All this beauty is witnessed during patrols by state inspectors who protect the reserve's wilderness. The seemingly lifeless mountain and volcanic massifs are, in fact, full of life. Permanent inhabitants of these areas include snow sheep, black-capped marmots, Beringian ground squirrels, and pikas. Wild reindeer come to the mountains for winter, feeding on lichen in windblown areas. Even brown bears on Kamchatka sometimes demonstrate rock-climbing marvels. The dens of some bears are located at the foot of volcanoes and on hills. And the alpine vegetation amazes with its delicate beauty.

Photos: Dmitry Balakirev, Anna Eliseeva, Alexander Kashcheev, Alexey Maslov, Nina Kim, Igor Shpilenok, Alexey Perelygin / Kronotsky Nature Reserve.

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