Water resources of Kamchatka. Tourist topographic map of Kamchatka Location of the Kamchatka Peninsula, description
It is washed from the west by the Sea of Okhotsk, from the east by the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and the indented shores of the peninsula form large bays: Avachinsky, Kronotsky, Kamchatsky, Ozernoy, Karaginsky, Korfa, as well as bays: Avachinskaya, Karaga, Ossora, etc. In the central part The peninsula has two parallel ranges - the Sredinny Ridge and the Vostochny Ridge, and between them is the Central Kamchatka Lowland, where the largest river of the peninsula, the Kamchatka, flows.
The main watershed is the Sredinny Ridge, from where the rivers originate. From the western slopes of the Sredinny Range flow rivers belonging to the Sea of Okhotsk basin, and from the eastern slopes of the ridge - the rivers of the Bering Sea basin or flowing into Pacific Ocean. The rivers of the peninsula are divided into: ridge, key and tundra. The ridge rivers are mountainous in nature, they are fed by the melting of snow and glaciers, they are distinguished by a very high water content. Key rivers have low water flow and in winter they do not freeze. Tundra rivers flow through swampy lowlands. Kamchatka rivers have slow self-cleaning processes, so the discharge of uncleaned Wastewater containing organic contaminants should be prohibited.
The river is located within the Kamchatka Territory.
In Itelmen language - "Uykoal" ("big river"). There are more than 20 versions of the origin of the toponym "Kamchatka". According to one of them, the name of the peninsula comes from the Kamchatka River, which, in turn, was named after a Cossack who crossed the peninsula with his detachment in 1658–1660.
The length of the river is 758 km, the area of the basin is 55.9 thousand km 2, the average height of the basin is 560 m, the total fall of the river is 1200 m, the average slope is 1.58‰. In terms of basin area, Kamchatka ranks second among the rivers of the Kamchatka Territory (after Penzhina) and 33rd in Russia. The Kamchatka River is formed from the melting of snowfields at the bottom of a deep bowl-shaped gorge in the southern part of the Sredinny Range. Most of the river is located within the Central Kamchatka depression, which is bounded by the Sredinny Ridge on the left side, and the Vostochny Ridge on the right side. In the middle reaches, the river bends around the Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes, and in the lower reaches it breaks through a narrow gorge (Bolshiye Shcheki) through the Kumroch ridge, enters the coastal lowland and flows into the Kamchatka Bay of the Pacific Ocean. When entering the sea, the mouth of the river is blocked by a mouth bar. At the mouth, the river is connected by a wide channel with the largest lake on the peninsula Nerpichy.
There are 7,707 rivers in the Kamchatka basin with a total length of 30,352 km, the average density coefficient of the river network is 0.54 km / km 2. Most of the rivers (7105) are less than 10 km long. Main tributaries: Right Kamchatka (30 km), Kavycha (108), Vakhvina Left (94 km), Kitilgina (140 km), Shchapina (172 km), Tolbachik (148 km), Bolshaya Khapitsa (111 km) (right); Andrianovka (92 km), Kirganik (121 km), Bolshaya Kimitina (105), Kozyrevka (222 km), Elovka (244 km), Raduga (84 km) (left).
The climate in the basin is close to temperate continental. In the distribution of annual precipitation over the territory, there is a large heterogeneity, due, in addition to the general circulation air masses as well as varied terrain. The average annual precipitation varies from 440 mm in the middle reaches of the river (Kozyrevsk) to 600–800 mm in its upper reaches (Milkovo and Pushchino, respectively) and 710 mm in the lower part of the basin (Ust-Kamchatsk). Modern glaciation in the river basin is developed mainly on the tops and slopes of high volcanic mountains, especially in the Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes.
In the river basin is well expressed altitudinal zonality. In the lower reaches, the river flows through a swampy lowland, composed of light brown loams and sandy loams, peat-gley and peat soils. Vegetation cover within its limits is represented by alder-willow forest and shrubs. In the middle reaches of the river, larch forests are common with an admixture of spruce and white birch. IN upstream sparse groves of white and stone birch predominate with upland meadows on weakly podzolic soils. In the upper reaches of the tributaries Kamchatka has mountain tundra.
The Kamchatka River is fed mainly by underground (50–60% of the annual volume) and snow. The main phase of its water regime is the spring-summer flood, during which 50–75% of the annual runoff passes. The flood usually comes in two waves. The first is due to the melting of snow in the valley, and the second is due to the melting of snowfields in the mountains. After the high water, a relatively high-water stable low water occurs (September–October). The increased water content of this period was caused by abundant ground supply and the ongoing melting of glaciers and snowfields. Winter low water starts at late October, ends in late April - early May; her average duration 170-180 days.
In the upper reaches of the river, the modules of the annual runoff are quite large and amount to about 20–26 l/(sqm2). In the middle and lower reaches of the river, the runoff modules are noticeably smaller, about 16 l/(sqm2). The average long-term volume of water runoff at the mouth of Kamchatka is 30.4 km 3 , in the area of Bolshiye Shcheki - 28.1 km 3 . Approximately half is the underground component.
The long-term average turbidity of water in Kamchatka is 50 g/m 3 in the upper reaches, 130–170 g/m 3 in the middle reaches, and 85–90 g/m 3 in the lower reaches. The average long-term module of sediment runoff of the river is about 99.4 t/km 2 ∙year. A significant amount of suspended material comes with the waters of the right-bank tributaries flowing down the slopes. active volcanoes. Therefore, after the activation of volcanoes, the water turbidity and sediment runoff in the Kamchatka River usually increase markedly (as was the case after the largest eruptions of the Bezymyanny and Shiveluch volcanoes in the 20th century in 1956 and 1964, respectively). In the Kamchatka basin, cases of mudflows are not uncommon. The most significant was the mud-stone flow that descended along the bed of Bolshaya Khapitsa after the catastrophic eruption of the Bezymyanny volcano in March 1956.
The mineralization of river water varies from 35–100 mg/l in high water to 200 mg/l in low water. The water in the river belongs to the hydrocarbonate class, during the flood period it has a slightly pronounced sulfate character. The population and production facilities in the Kamchatka basin are supplied with water mainly from underground sources.
On the river there are large settlements of Milkovo, Kozyrevsk, Klyuchi and Ust-Kamchatsk. In the middle of the XX century. shipping in Kamchatka was carried out until the village. Milkovo (576 km from the mouth). It usually lasted from May to October. To date, after the completion of construction highway, which connected Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with all the villages on the Kamchatka River, river navigation actually stopped. In with. Ust-Kamchatsk has a port that accepts sea vessels with a small draft. There is one hydroelectric power station operating in the river basin - the derivative Bystrinskaya. The Kamchatka River with its tributaries is the most important center for the reproduction of salmon fish (chum salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon and pink salmon) in the region.
Kamchatka is a river on the territory of the peninsula with the same name. It is located in the northeast of Eurasia.
Kamchatka River (description)
The river is the largest on the peninsula of the same name, located on Far East Russian Federation. At the Kamchatka River, the source and mouth are 758 kilometers apart. The area of the river basin is 55,900 square kilometers. The source of Kamchatka is located in the mountainous central part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, namely, in the southern part of the Sredinny Range. Before joining the tributary of the Right Kamchatka, the river is called Ozernaya. After the confluence with the Right, along the river bank to its confluence with the bay of the same name, there is an automobile route connecting Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with Ust-Kamchatsky.
Different sections of the river
The upper course of Kamchatka is characteristic of a mountain river: green waters flow in a stormy stream from the Ganalsky and Sredinny ridges. The current is so violent that it carries large stones over great distances. These boulders form rapids and rifts on the river. Passing by the village of Pushchina, leaving the Central Kamchatka lowland, the river calms down and becomes a flat stream. 80 percent of the length of Kamchatka passes through the plain. The width also becomes more impressive - from 100 to 150 meters near the village of Milkovo. The further downstream, the wider and fuller the river. The channel is winding, has many branches and oxbows, forms meanders. The floodplain of the river is occupied by green meadows, fields, forests.
Sometimes the forest comes very close to the river, forming a "green hedge". In the lower reaches, the latitude of Kamchatka reaches 600 meters, and the depth is up to 6 meters. In some places, navigation is possible, but due to floods, these areas change their position, which is very inconvenient. The delta of the Kamchatka River consists of many channels, which are separated by spits of sand and pebbles. IN different times of the year general form delta is changing. Where the river flows into the bay, it is joined by a channel flowing from the largest lake of the peninsula called Nerpichye.
Mountains on the path of the river
As already mentioned, Kamchatka (river) begins in the southern part of the Sredinny Range. It is formed, thanks to the waters of melted snowfields, in a deep, bowl-shaped gorge. Further, it flows between two ridges - Sredinny and Vostochny. The average height of the Middle Range is from 1400 to 1800 meters, maximum height- 3621 meters. The average height of the Eastern Range is from 1200 to 1600 meters, and highest point- 2412 meters. The huge volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka blocks the waterway. Going around it, then the Kamchatka River flows to the east. Where Klyuchevskaya Sopka is located can be understood from afar, thanks to the sparkling glaciers on top of the volcanic mountain. Then, cutting through the Kumroch ridge, it flows through a narrow valley (Cheki gorge) and goes to the Pacific Ocean on the coastal lowland, where it flows into the Kamchatka Bay, which belongs to the Bering Sea.
Gorge Big Cheeks
The flat channel of Kamchatka cuts through the mountains of Kumroch, passing through the gorge Big Cheki. Its length is 23 kilometers and it ends 4 kilometers from the former Nizhnekamchatsk. The river in this place is collected in one narrow channel, the speed of the flow increases. Earlier, back in the 19th century, there was a prison here, where the Itelmens lived - the indigenous people of the Kamchatka Peninsula. And already in the next century, a fishing industry was formed here from the collective farm "Lenin's Way". The catch was delivered to the fish cannery in Ust-Kamchatsk.
Hydrological regime
Kamchatka is one of the most full-flowing rivers. The average water flow per year is 950 cubic meters per second. The river is fed mainly underground (35 percent), so rain moisture easily passes through volcanic rocks and feeds groundwater. Snow supply is 34 percent and is in second place. Then comes the glacial and a very small proportion (3 percent) is rain. The hydrological regime is characterized by a significant flood in spring and summer, it occurs due to the melting of snow and glaciers in the mountains.
It is at this time that 50 to 70 percent of the total annual flow passes. The flood consists of two waves. The first wave comes from the melting of snow in the valley, and the second comes from the melting of mountain snowfields. After the flood period comes the low water period, which includes September and October. During this period, the river is very full-flowing due to the incoming groundwater and glacial waters. Then comes the winter low water, which lasts approximately 180 days. The ice on the river rises in November, and the river opens in April or May.
Altitudinal zonality
Since the river basin is located partly in the mountains, altitudinal zonation is developed in it. In the upper reaches of the rivers that flow into Kamchatka, mountain tundras are widespread.
In the upper reaches of Kamchatka itself, mainly white and stone birch grows, and upland meadows are common. In the middle reaches there are larch forests with an admixture of spruce (Ayan spruce and Okhotsk larch). In the lower reaches, alder-willow forests and shrubs are represented, the area is swampy.
tributaries
There are 7,707 tributaries in the Kamchatka River basin, the total length of which is 30,352 kilometers. But at the same time, 7105 of them have a length of less than 10 kilometers. The longest tributary is the Elovka River (242 kilometers).
It is followed by Kozyrevka (222 km), Shchapina (172 km), Tolbachik (148 km), Kitilgina (140 km), Kirganik (121 km), Bolshaya Khapitsa (111 km), Kavycha (108 km), Vakhvina Levaya, Andrianovka , Rainbow, Right Kamchatka.
Effect of volcanic activity on the river
The valley of the Kamchatka River is located in a zone of increased seismic activity and volcanic activity. During the eruptions of nearby volcanoes, such natural phenomena, as they sat down, due to the sharp melting of glaciers.
In 1956 there was a catastrophic eruption of Bezymyanny volcano, a powerful stream of mud and stones merged with the Bolshaya Khapitsa tributary, which fed the Kamchatka River. The photo of that eruption shows how massive it was, the explosion blew half the cone. Therefore, after the awakening of volcanoes, the river becomes the most muddy. Another phenomenon is that in some sections the river does not freeze in winter due to thermal waters.
Animal world
There are a lot of fish in the river, valuable species of salmon spawn. Here you can meet the following species from the salmon family: pink salmon, chum salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon, kunja. Also found: char, mykizha, grayling, Dolly Varden. developed fishing. The following species are found in the river basin: Siberian baleen char, Amur carp, silver carp. Water tourists from Ust-Kamchatsk often float along the river.
Rivers of Kamchatka
More than six thousand large and small rivers flow through the territory of the region, but only a few of them have a length of more than 200 km and only 7 - more than 300.
The largest rivers are: Kamchatka, Penzhina, Talovka, Vyvenka, Oklan River Penzhina, Tigil, Bolshaya (with Bystraya), Avacha.
Minor length Kamchatka rivers due to the proximity of the main river watersheds from the sea coast.
There are two main ridges on the peninsula - Sredinny and Vostochny, which stretch in the meridional direction. From the outer (western) slope of the Sredinny Ridge, the rivers flow into the Sea of Okhotsk, from outer slope East - to the Pacific Ocean. And those that arise on the inner slopes of these ridges flow into the central valley, along the bottom of which flows the largest river of the peninsula - Kamchatka.
The rivers of our region, although shorter, full-flowing rivers The European part of the USSR: from each square kilometer of the catchment area, they receive 15-25 liters of water per second - almost twice as much as in Europe.
River types.
According to the nature of the flow of the river, the regions are divided into several groups. The most common are mountainous ones, the sources of which lie near the main watersheds. They are the largest on the peninsula and are formed from melting snow. However, they get most of their food from groundwater. Some of these rivers flow throughout the mountains, the other part - only in the upper reaches.
In the mountainous regions, the rivers flow in narrow valleys with steep slopes. They, as a rule, have a fast rapid current, and when they enter the plains, they are calm: they break into numerous channels and branches, strongly meander (wind through), forming many oxbow lakes. Near the sea, the flow of rivers is slowed down by tidal waters. Their mouths often turn into long estuaries, which is especially characteristic of the western coast. When they flow into the sea, they usually form "cats" and "spits", bars are observed in the mouths (bars are shallows created by a tidal sea wave, making it difficult for ships to enter the mouths).
The upper reaches of Kamchatka, Avacha, Bystraya, Tigil, Penzhina and others are very typical for mountain rivers. TO lowland rivers include Kamchatka, Penzhina and others in their middle and lower reaches.
The third group is dry rivers. They cut through the slopes of volcanoes and carry their waters to the receiving basins only in summer, during the melting of snow. During the rest of the year, water seeps into loose volcanic rocks and rivers disappear from the surface of the earth. Elizovskaya and Khalaktyrskaya can serve as an example.
The feeding of the rivers is mixed. Most constitute groundwater and water obtained from the melting of snow in the mountains and valleys. The role of groundwater nutrition increases in dry years, and snow, on the contrary, in high-water years. rain food is significant for the rivers of the west coast, where its share in some years can be 20-30 percent. There are rain floods here in autumn, sometimes exceeding spring floods in height.
Freezing and opening. Due to the abundant ground supply, the freeze-up is unstable on many rivers, there are large non-freezing areas and polynyas. In winter, ice often appears only along the coast, places with fast current and the middle of the river are usually free of ice. Freeze-up begins in November or even in December, and only in the north of the region a little earlier. In the north and northwest where climatic conditions more severe, medium and small rivers freeze to the bottom on riffles, forming ice.
The opening of the rivers occurs in April - early May, in the north of the peninsula - a little later (in the middle and end of May). The opening is accompanied by spring ice drift, which is especially typical for the rivers of the northwestern region.
Water content.
Its main indicator for rivers is the flow of water. It increases downstream as the basin grows. Thus, the average annual water flow in the upper reaches of the Kamchatka River is 91 cubic meters per second, in the lower reaches ten times more. Water content also depends on precipitation and the nature of the underlying surface. For example, the Penzhina River has a catchment area much larger than the Kamchatka River, but its average annual discharge is smaller.
The Kamchatka River flows through a lowland located between the Sredinny and Vostochny ranges. Having cut through the Kumroch ridge with a narrow valley - a site called "Cheeks" - it flows into the Kamchatka Bay of the Pacific Ocean.
In the upper reaches, the river has a mountainous character. Fast, greenish-muddy waters are rapidly rushing from the Ganalsky and Sredinny ridges. Swift streams rush between the stone banks, tear off the stones and carry them far downstream. Stones piled up in the channel itself form rifts and rapids.
Below the village of Pushchino, the current becomes smooth. The river becomes flat and begins to meander strongly. Its width near the village of Milkovo is 100-150 meters.
The further down, the wider and fuller it is. The wide floodplain, along which the river has laid its winding course with many branches, oxbow lakes, is covered with a green carpet of meadows interspersed with fields and forests. In many places the forest comes close to the river and forms a dense wall of green hedges. In the lower reaches, the Kamchatka River expands to 500-600 meters, and its depths range from 1 to 6 meters. Numerous rifts make the fairway of the river unstable. After big floods, it changes its position. This greatly complicates navigation.
The river freezes in November, and opens in late April - early May. Among the numerous tributaries, the largest are the Elovka, Tolbachik, Shchapina.
The settlements of Milkovo, Dolinovka, Shchapino, Kozyrevsk, Klyuchi, Ust-Kamchatsk and others are located along the banks of the river.
Kamchatka is the most important transport route of the peninsula. Passenger trams, boats, barges run along it. Shipping is carried out almost to Milkovo. Wood is rafted in large quantities. Salmon fish enter the river and its tributaries for spawning. The mighty northern beauty river is an interesting tourist route for summer hikes.
Lakes of Kamchatka
There are more than 100 thousand Kamchatka lakes, but their water surface area is only 2 percent of the entire area of the region. Only four lakes have an area of more than 50 square kilometers, and two - more than 100.
The lakes are varied and attractive. Often they represent a unique and amazing panorama.
Not far from the village of Semlyachiki there are the remains of the old volcano Uzon. Its top was demolished by a colossal volcanic explosion, and at an altitude of more than 500 meters a huge caldera (bowl) with an area of about 100 square kilometers was formed. On this area there are a lot of springs, rivers and small lakes. Many of them are filled with boiling water and are constantly bubbling, testifying to the violent activity of the volcano. In particular, one of them is remarkable - Fumarole. Its area is about 40 hectares. The water in it is always hot. Ducks and swans winter here.
There are many lakes like it. One of the most beautiful is Khangar. A huge stone bowl of the volcano of the same name rises to a height of 2000 meters. Climbing to its top is very difficult. It is even more difficult to go down to the lake along the steep walls of the crater. Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences A.E. Svyatlovsky, who overcame all these difficulties, traveled around the lake in a rubber inflatable boat and decided to measure the depth. However, the hundred-meter rope did not reach the bottom.
Tectonic processes - the ups and downs of individual sections of the earth's surface - led to the formation of a number of lakes. Tectonic origin lakes Far and Near near the village of Paratunka and one of the deepest and most beautiful lakes of Kamchatka - Kurilskoye.
The largest lakes:
Name Location Mirror area (in sq. km)
Nerpichye(with Kultuchn) In the mouth part of the Kamchatka River 552
Kronotsky West of the Kronotsky Peninsula 245
Kuril In the south of the Kamchatka Peninsula 77.1
Azhabachye Near the village of Nizhnekamchatsk 63.9
big South of the village of Oktyabrsky 53.5
Thanks to the invaluable work of S.P. Krasheninnikov, an ancient, fanned with poetry, legend about the Alaid volcano has come down to us:
"... The aforementioned mountain (Alaid) used to stand at the declared lake (Kuril); and since it took away the light from all other mountains with its height, they were incessantly indignant at Alaid and quarreled with her, so that Alaid was forced to retire from anxiety and to become secluded at sea; however, in memory of her stay on the lake, she left her heart, which in Kuril is Uchichi, also Nukhguni, that is, Navel, and in Russian the Heart-stone is called, which stands in the middle of Kuril Lake and has a conical shape. Her path was the place where the Ozernaya River flows, which was caused by the occasion of this journey: for as the mountain rose from its place, the water from the lake rushed after it and paved its way to the sea.
Kurile Lake is surrounded by volcanoes. Its banks are steep and steep. Numerous mountain streams and hot springs flow here, and only the Ozernaya River flows out, which freezes for a short time in winter. Kurile Lake is the deepest on the peninsula (306 meters). Its bottom is below the ocean level.
A similar legend was recorded by Krasheninnikov about the origin of another lake - Kronotsky. It is the largest freshwater lake in the region. By area it exceeds Avacha Bay. Greatest depth- 128 meters. It arose due to the fact that the colossal masses of lava, poured out from the nearest volcano, blocked the valley through which the rapids of the noisy river Kronotskaya runs, and formed a dam. According to legend, the lake was formed because the Shiveluch volcano moved to a new place of residence and on the way carelessly broke the tops of two hills. "Traces" of his feet, filled with water, turned into lakes. In particular, Kharchinskoye and Kurazhechnoye lakes, well-known to the inhabitants of the village of Klyuchi, belong to them.
In the lower reaches of the Kamchatka River lies the largest of the brackish lakes - Nerpichye, the remnant of the bay, which separated from the sea after the slow rise of the coast of the peninsula. Its depth is 12 meters. It consists of two lakes connected with each other, one of them is called Nerpichye, and the other - Kultuchnoye. The sea surf and the river took part in its origin. The name of the lake indicates that a sea animal, a seal (a type of seal), is found here. Kultuchnoe comes from the Turkic word kultuk - lagoon.
Lagoon-type lakes are common on the western coast of the peninsula. They are formed at the mouths of almost all major rivers of the West Kamchatka Lowland. Lagoon lakes have an elongated shape.
The most numerous group of lakes are peat ones. Their concentrations can be found in the West Kamchatka lowland, Parapolsky valley and coastal plains. east coast. Such lakes, as a rule, are small, have a rounded shape and steep banks.
The lakes of Kamchatka are located at different heights above sea level and are heterogeneous in their temperature and water regime. They also have different freezing and opening times.
The greatest rise in the water level is observed in summer, when snow melts in the mountains. The height of the level of coastal lakes depends on the tidal sea currents. Maximum amplitude level fluctuations in the lagoons of the western coast reaches 4-5 meters. Lagoons and lakes sea coasts freeze in December - later than in the interior of the peninsula, and open in late May - early June, although some of them are cleared of ice only in July
The rivers of Kamchatka have enormous reserves of energy. Their abundance, high water content and mountainous nature create favorable conditions for the construction of hydroelectric power plants, but our rivers are mostly spawning grounds for such valuable fish species as salmon. And spawning grounds must be preserved.
The shallow lakes of Kamchatka, which warm up well, are used for breeding silver carp in them - a tasty and nutritious fish. Amur carp and sterlet are also bred here.
The largest rivers of Kamchatka are reliable highways. Goods, materials, equipment, construction timber are transported through Kamchatka, Penzhina and some others.
Kamchatka is characterized by a dense hydrographic network. More than 6 thousand large and small rivers flow on its territory, but only a few of them have a length of more than 200 km and only 7 - over 300 km. The most major river peninsula - Kamchatka, with a length of more than 750 km.
Many rivers along their entire length have stormy temper with rapids and waterfalls. The largest of them: Kamchatka and Bolshaya - are navigable only in the lower estuarine part, where sandy spits fenced off from the ocean form estuaries.
Volcanic regions are characterized by "dry" rivers, in which water appears only on a short time during the snowmelt period. Many rivers have long been chosen by lovers of water travel. The most popular are short-term rafting with fishing on the rivers: Kamchatka, Zhupanova, Bystraya (Malkinskaya), Kol, Karymchina, Left Avacha, Opala, Pymta, Elovka, Tigil ...
Other rivers: Right and Left Avacha, Fast (Essovskaya), Left Shchapina, Nalycheva are of sport interest for experienced tourists.
The lakes of the peninsula are numerous and diverse in their origin. On the lowlands and in the estuarine floodplains of some rivers, small swampy, often overgrown lakes are scattered. One of them is Lake Nalychevo.
Higher, lakes are common, lying in depressions of a hilly relief formed by terminal moraines during the glaciation of Kamchatka. The largest of them are Lake Nachikinskoe and Dvuhyurtochnoe.
The formation of many lakes is associated with volcanic activity. Some of them are located in depressions during the lowering of individual sections earth's surface above devastated magma chambers or at the bottom of explosive funnels, such as lakes Kurilskoe and Karymskoe; lakes in volcanic craters: Ksudach, Khangar, Uzon; deep tectonic depressions, such as Lake Azhabachye.
Most large lake Kamchatka - Kronotskoye was formed in the river valley, blocked by powerful lava flows of the Krasheninnikov volcano.
A large amount of precipitation, the presence of permafrost, long melting snow in the mountains, low evaporation, mountainous relief serve as a reason for the development of an exceptionally dense hydro network within the Kamchatka Territory.
There are 140,100 rivers and streams in Kamchatka, but only 105 of them are longer than 100 km. Despite the insignificant depth, the rivers are exceptionally full-flowing.
The Kamchatka River (758 km long) and the Penzhina River (713 km) stand out sharply in size. Most Kamchatka rivers flow in a latitudinal direction, which is due to the meridional character of the main watersheds: the Sredinny and Vostochny ranges.
The Kamchatka rivers are mountainous in their upper reaches and calm in the plains. When flowing into the sea, many of them usually wash up spits, and at the mouths - underwater shafts, bars.
Within the mountains, the rivers flow in relatively narrow V-shaped valleys with steep slopes and have a fast, often rapids flow. The bottom and slopes of the valleys are composed of coarse clastic material (boulders, pebbles, gravel). As the rivers approach the plains, the size of the material composing the valleys and river beds decreases; The flow of rivers slows down and becomes calmer.
IN in general terms coastal lowlands are a combination of flat wetlands, concentrated mainly near the coast, undulating, hilly interfluve spaces and wide river valleys. Within the hilly-ridged plains, the riverbeds branch into channels and branches, and on the coastal lowlands they form many bends and old rivers.
Mountain rivers are distributed exclusively within mountainous regions. Basically, they correspond to the upper sections of the rivers, however, on big rivers this rule is violated. Often, when crossing the spurs of the ridges, the rivers in the middle and even the lower reaches acquire a mountainous character of the flow due to the large slopes of the valley.
Rivers within mountainous regions with maximum elevation differences have rapids-waterfall channels. They are characterized by the alternation of rapids and waterfalls with segments of stagnant zones. Such rivers are distinguished, as a rule, by their small size, flowing along the bottom of the ravines with steep slopes. The length of such sections ranges from a few percent of the entire length of the river (if the river flows downstream into the foothills and onto the plain) to 100% (small rivers and streams flowing throughout their entire length within mountainous regions).
With the gradual leveling of the relief, rapids and waterfalls disappear, but the nature of the current remains turbulent. In addition, as tributaries flow in, the size and flow of rivers (i.e., the amount of water flowing through the cross section of the river in a certain period of time) increase. For such rivers, the most characteristic is a rectilinear form of the channel with separate single islands and forced bends (bends of the river channel). The formation of such bends is due to the fact that the river flow tends to go around the rocky ledges, composed of strong, indestructible rocks, and thereby acquires a sinuous shape.
In some areas, mountain rivers form large erosion pits, the depth of which is tens of times greater than the average depth of the river. Such pits are good hiding places for fish, since the current speeds in them are sharply reduced.
On the large rivers of Kamchatka, one can also observe areas with a rapid flow of the stream. Narrow valleys with steep slopes, high flow velocities (> 1 m/s) may be due to the constriction of rivers by spurs of mountain ranges. On rivers that generally do not differ in deep and gentle channels, there are constantly areas with a significant slope, leading to a sharp increase in flow rates, which, due to the shallow depth and rockiness of the channels, makes the flow turbulent. Such rivers, as a rule, flow in a single channel and only a few islands divide the flow into branches. The islands here are high, they are clusters of large pebbles, overgrown with birch and alder bushes. Above and below the islands, open pebble banks form.
The most beautiful banks of mountain rivers attract attention. When approaching close to the ridges, they take the form of high rocky ledges. Mosses and lichens growing on them give the rocks a red-brown or green color.
During the transition from mountainous conditions to plains, the steepness of river valleys and the speed of the current sharply decrease. For these reasons, the flow power becomes insufficient to move river sediments (boulders, pebbles). This material is deposited directly in the river channel, forming a kind of islands, called cores. As a result, a bizarre and very dynamic pattern is formed from many ducts separated by islands. These types of channels are most common in the lower reaches of small rivers.
One more distinctive feature of these rivers is the presence of a large amount of driftwood (logs and branches of various sizes) in the channel, which is associated with the exit of the rivers into the forest area. During periods of spring snowmelt, as well as after heavy rains, the water level in the rivers and the speed of the current increase, the flow of water intensively erodes the banks. As a result, a huge amount of woody material enters the river and is deposited downstream on the shallows - near the islands or coastal spits. That is why the largest creases (clusters of branches, writhing, as well as whole tree trunks) lead to the breaking of the river into channels, some of which have a direction opposite to the main course of the river.
Thermal springs "Vilyuchinsky" consist of two groups of springs with water temperature from 40 ° to 60 ° C, located in the picturesque valley of the Vilyucha River among small-leaved forests and shrubs; the springs are decorated with travertine domes and dense colonies of thermophilic algae with specific biological communities; the slopes of the river valley are convenient for skiing; and just above the springs, the river forms a beautiful waterfall 40 m high.
The Nalychevo thermal springs, the largest thermal carbonic springs in Kamchatka, are discharged in the area between the Goryachaya and Zheltaya rivers over an area of more than 2 km 2 . At the foot of Mount Kruglaya, deposits of springs formed a huge travertine shield with an area of more than 50,000 km 2 with a dome composed of carbonate and ferruginous-arsenic sediments (the dome was called the "cauldron"). Along its periphery, many hot springs emerge, forming a stream. The dome is surrounded by thermal swamps.
In the Goryachaya floodplain, for 2.5 km, the outlets of the term are concentrated in the form of short hot streams flowing into a cold river, as well as in the form of small lakes, puddles and swamps. In these streams and lakes, extensive colonies of thermophilic algae have grown, forming multi-colored dense mats - pillows. The same sources are located on the Zheltaya River, 600 m from the mouth.
Talovye hot springs are located 6 km from Nalychevskie on the left side of the Porozhistaya valley. The exits are traced for 1 km, their temperature is 31-38°C, the total visible flow rate is 6 l/sec. Installed hidden unloading in alluvium. The main outlets of the springs - the so-called "Talovy boiler" - are located in a clearing in a dense birch forest. Here, at the foot of the hill, two bright orange travertine cones 45 m in diameter and 13 m high have formed. Warm streams flow down the surface of the travertines. The space between the domes and at the foot is swampy.
The water of the Talovye hot springs belongs to the same hydrochemical type as the Nalychevo springs, but the content of sulfate and bicarbonate in it is somewhat higher. In addition, arsenic deposits are more abundant in travertines from melted springs. Finally, unlike the water of the Nalychevo springs, the water of the Talovyh springs is pleasant to the taste.
Local history thermal springs come out along the banks of the Talovaya River 2 km upstream of its confluence with the Shaibnaya River. The distance to the Nalychevo springs is 8 km. Outcrops of thermal waters in the form of individual griffins and weak seeps can be traced in the swampy floodplain of the river for 100 m. with more mineralization. Local lore baths do not deposit travertines; in their gas composition more nitrogen.
Verkhne-Zhirovsky steam jets and springs are located in the upper reaches of the Zhirovaya River, on its left bank. The area where sources and steam jets exit is a hard-to-reach gorge with very steep sides several hundred meters high. Thermal springs and steam jets are scattered over a large area. Almost all of them are located on steep slopes or in steeply falling gullies. Three areas are distinguished, in which, as in the areas of the Severo-Mutnovsky thermal baths, there are steam jets, and mud boilers, and heated areas with a boiling point, and down the slope, at the water's edge in the Zhirovaya River, there are springs with a temperature of 60-72 °C. Chemical composition steam condensate sulfate-calcium-sodium with a low total mineralization of 0.2-0.5 g / l.