Kamchatka Lake. Hydrography of Kamchatka: rivers, lakes, groundwater

While you, friends, were fast asleep, and the legislators of the most democratic country in the world were considering the next round of sanctions against Russia, we collected duffles and indulged in dreams of looking at the famous brown bears at least from afar. So early in the morning, when Roman arrived at the house, everything was already ready - a tent, sleeping bags and two huge trunks with the necessary things. And, although we are flying today not somewhere to the potentially inhabited Proxima Centauri, distant parsecs, but to the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, nevertheless, a strategic supply of products is carefully packed - cervelat, cheese and sweets.

The South Kamchatka Nature Reserve is known as a protected corner of the peninsula, a place inaccessible, without settlements. Complete desertion, except for a handful of scientists and a few inspectors throughout its gigantic territory of 322 thousand hectares. But it is there that the largest population of the main Kamchatka animal lives.

We plan to spend several days in this protected natural area. And we still don’t know that our dream will soon come true: in less than half a day, on the shores of the Kuril Lake, literally a few steps away, we will see bears hungry for red fish, and water literally boiling from salmon going to spawn...

Direction – South Kamchatka Nature Reserve

Ready to fly? The propeller blades forcefully capture the air currents... The car shuddered and took off from the ground. From the places of civilization to the bear kingdom, where there is pristine nature and traces of unprecedented animals, we fly for an hour and a half. The helicopter is huge, with excellent visibility from its operating height, and you can also open the windows.

It is not surprising that almost all of the tourist people are busy taking pictures. Katya and I are wrapping ourselves in sweaters: the neighboring window of the helicopter is also wide open - Sanya is filming the landscapes. Forests and tundra, all imaginable shades of green, blue rivers and sky, blue-violet mountain peaks in the white patches of snowfields.

Roman, our Kamchatka friend, is a thorough person. Before traveling to the reserve, he considered it his duty to first take us to the small Museum of Nature in the city of Elizovo. There, in a cramped exhibition hall filled with all sorts of stands, exhibits, sculptures and stuffed animals, the scientific basis for the upcoming trip was laid out, and we were imbued with the consciousness that we were heading to an exceptional and interesting place.

Where is the reserve and Kuril Lake located?

Included as a subdivision of the Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve, the State Nature Reserve of federal significance "South Kamchatka" occupies a large area at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, where it is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Its functions include environmental protection activities, systematic study of coastal, terrestrial and lake ecosystems and the development of natural-educational tourism.

South Kamchatka Nature Reserve and Kuril Lake on the map of Kamchatka:

Kuril Lake and its origin

More than eight thousand years ago, an environmental disaster on a global scale broke out in the south of Kamchatka. The history of mankind knows many cataclysms associated with fire-breathing mountains, but no one could tell about the horror that happened then. There are no witnesses left. Only in the ancient legends of the Itelmens can one guess the echoes of those events...

As you know, the Kamchatka Peninsula is part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes 75% of all active volcanoes on the planet. However, the coexistence of people and fire-spewing mountains in this seismically active region is considered more or less peaceful.

And then the incredibly powerful activity of the awakened volcano began. “From the depths of an erupted impulse - Tragic and proud - the whirlwinds of ancient forces shot up”…

First there was a terrible roar, which would continue to thunder incessantly for many days. Then huge columns of fire with smoke, ash and debris rose into the Earth's atmosphere.

Rivers of molten lava flowed, erupting in endless streams from the depths of the earth. Soon, unstoppable, they reached both shores of Kamchatka and began to flow into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

When, finally, the magma chamber was devastated, the surrounding area of ​​6 thousand square kilometers was covered with a thick layer of powerful emissions of ash, pumice and other substances. There was nothing living around. Everyone died - people, animals, plants. And then the roof of the crater collapsed and a gigantic failure of the earth’s crust formed - 12.5 km long, 8 km wide and more than 300 meters deep.

Well, then long-term geological processes slowly flowed, taking centuries. Then rains, melting glaciers and springs that made their way to the top began to gradually fill the bowl of the huge caldera, slowly transforming it into what is now the most visited and picturesque object of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve and is called Kuril Lake.

Kuril Lake against the backdrop of other Kamchatka lakes

How many lakes are hidden in the mountains and valleys of Kamchatka? Many? Not just a lot, but a great multitude: their number reaches about one hundred thousand. But here’s what’s interesting: the entire space they occupy does not exceed two percent of total area edges.

Among the astronomical number of lakes in Kamchatka, Kuril Lake stands out as a star of the first magnitude. In terms of its size, it occupies an honorable third place among others, and if we take into account exclusively freshwater bodies of water, then among these it will be the second in terms of mirror area.

The five largest lakes in Kamchatka:

Name	Location	Square (in sq. km)
Nerpichye (including the bay called Lake Kultuchny) (salty)	Northeast of the peninsula estuarine part of the Kamchatka River average depth – 3.4 m, maximum – 12 m	552
Kronotskoe (freshwater)	Eastern part of the peninsula Kronotsky Reserve average depth – 51 m, maximum – 148 m	242
Kuril (freshwater)	South of the peninsula average depth -195 m, maximum – 316 m	77
Azhabachye (freshwater)	Ust-Kamchatsky district average depth – 17.05 m, maximum – 33 m	63,9
Palanskoe (freshwater)	Foothills of the Sredinny Range, Tigilsky district average depth – 14.8 m,	28,2

One of a kind

Kuril Lake is a body of water unique in many respects:

• To begin with, it is so deep, only Baikal and Lake Teletskoye in Altai surpass it. Not a lake, but a real Maracot abyss!
• The soil under its water - pay attention! – located 200 meters below ocean level. Check for yourself, taking into account the maximum lake depth and the position of the mirror, corresponding to 104 meters above the sea surface.
  And given the fact that the marine waters of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve are shallow - their depth is within fifty meters, then its very bottom is located below the bottom of the world ocean.
• Despite the fact that in the eastern part there are hot springs, the temperature of the lake water is even in summer! – does not exceed 10 degrees.
• In winter, strong winds blow through the territory of the reserve; frosts often reach twenty degrees. However, the reservoir does not freeze every year. This happens about once every ten years. And even then, at the mouths of the flowing streams - the Khakytsin and Etamynk rivers - polynyas remain, and the blue vein of the flowing Ozernaya River is only partially covered with ice - in the lower reaches.

And that’s not all there is to tell interesting things about Kuril Lake...

Cordon "Ozerny" in the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve

...The Blue River meanders between the low banks, making frequent loops in the thickets of yellow-green alder dwarf trees and between the astrakhan pimples of the copses. The light blue bowl of Kuril Lake, one of the largest in Kamchatka, unfolds below us. Finally, the helicopter, swaying in a peculiar way, descends and lands at the Ozerny cordon.

According to the definition in the encyclopedia, a guard post in a nature reserve is called a cordon. Here it represents an area on the shore of about one hundred by one hundred meters. Two rows of thin wire under a small current are stretched along its perimeter. This is for protection against bears.

Inside - helipads, boats, a few equipment, information stands. And the main thing is several wooden buildings, as well as tents - a motley cluster of small and large Canadian ones.

No, we didn’t live in that one, but in one of the smaller ones. There are also laid paths connecting all the elements. A cheerful and loud-voiced bunch of children aged from 7 to 15 years jump along the paths, like molecules in continuous Brownian motion.

It turns out that our arrival coincided with the arrival of a new shift of a children's environmental camp created for schoolchildren from the so-called Ozernovsky bush - fishing villages bordering the South Kamchatka federal reserve. The younger generation comes here to relax, but one of the basic rules of the eco-camp is only active recreation!

Children draw, make reports, take photographs and shoot videos. They go on hikes and learn to live in harmony with nature. They get acquainted with the work of government inspectors and volunteers, and together with scientists they conduct observations of bears, sockeye salmon going to spawn, insects and birds.

Boat trip on Kuril Lake

We have a tight schedule - there is so much to see in three days! We quickly set up a tent and throw things into it. First of all, we rush to the boat pier, from where boats with tourists go for a walk along Kuril Lake.

We noticed: for some reason the floating pier is especially loved by big and small bears. But somehow the young bears especially like to sit and dream near the romantic white mooring structure.

Do you think maybe she is waiting for someone under the scarlet sails?

Meanwhile, we board the boat, each receiving a cheerful orange-colored vest, only the nose sticks out from the bulky flotation device.

Flooded with sunlight and surrounded by steep and green shores, Kuril Lake attracts with its grandeur and blueness. The panorama is completed by the mountains that turn blue on the horizon. We are in the middle of the lake, the boat is slowing down. All cameras are aimed at the correct cone of Ilyinskaya Sopka.

It is an active volcano that last erupted at the beginning of the 20th century. Then its lava flows once again changed their shape coastline lakes. Somewhere there, among the impassable piles of volcanic blocks, hidden from us by thickets of cedar and birch woodlands, hot springs gush out and jets of steam escape.

In addition to Ilyinsky, Kamchatka’s most beautiful reservoir is protected by other active volcanoes - Dikiy Greben, Kambalny, Kosheleva.

On the Kuril Lake there are several picturesque islands - products of lava that rose from the bottom of the flooded caldera - the Samang, Nizkiy, Chayachy archipelago and the diamond-cut Heart of Alaid. Interesting name, Truth? It turns out that an ancient Itelmen legend is connected with him...

Legend of the Heart of Alaid

By the time of that catastrophic eruption, which became the first stage in the formation of the Kuril Lake, the near and distant surroundings of the future reservoir had long been inhabited by the Itelmens. Therefore, information about this extraordinary event, refracted in a unique way, was preserved in people's memory even after many generations. And now, in the lilac haze, the outlines appear before us famous island. And we listen to the legend...

Once upon a time, a troubled tribe of volcanoes lived here. All of them are hot, proud, irritable and envious. Every now and then quarrels and fights broke out between them, only fire and ashes flew into the sky.

And there was one among them who was not like the others. The giant Alaid is beautiful, kind and fair. The real black sheep of the tribe. In addition, Xu, the best of the girls, fell in love with him. This also did not add to our hero’s sympathy among his fellow tribesmen; you remember that they burned with black envy of any other person’s success.

And one day all this vile Caudla attacked the noble Alaid en masse. The roar of the showdown and the noise from the riot of the titan clan spread across the entire earth, and the sun was obscured by an impenetrable veil of dust and smoke. The details of how the fight developed are unknown, but the giant Alaid was unbearably offended after what happened.

So much so that he decided to leave both his tribe and the places dear to him forever. Leaving his homeland forever, he tore his loving heart out of his chest and left it lying in the center of the blue bowl of Kuril Lake.

The path along which Alaid left turned into the Ozernaya riverbed. The unfortunate girl, shedding bitter tears, turned into the Xu River. The volcano tribesmen, who did not expect such a turn of events, slowed down their fuse and hid in thought, and the stone giant himself still stands in the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk. After all, if you believe the legend, it is the very white cone of Alaid that rises on Atlasov Island...

Come on, seagull, answer me

Whether Alaid Island, Nizkiy or Chayachy Islands on Kuril Lake - each is an undivided patrimony of birds. For some unknown reason, they avoid settling only on the Samang archipelago. All high points on rocky patches of land are chosen by slaty-backed gulls, where their families raise their chicks in massive nests made of dry grass.

White, with dark gray feathers on the wings and back, a massive yellow beak, the tip of which nature slightly smeared red, and pinkish legs. We saw a lot of these noisy birds on . Seagulls are an indispensable element of the sea horizon, whose cries are inseparable from the coast, wind and rustling waves.

I can already hear the question: how did it happen that the inhabitants sea ​​coast, living along the perimeter of Kamchatka, suddenly settled in such a distance - almost 60 km! - from salt water, and even in the freshwater Kuril Lake? There is no answer - so far much in the behavior of these birds remains unknown to scientists. That’s why ornithologists on Kuril Lake keep a close watch on them.

In the meantime, experts on the kingdom of birds from the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve confirm that:

• firstly, the very fact of slaty-backed gulls living in a freshwater body is very unusual,
• secondly, the behavior of local birds is noticeably different from the habits of their sea comrades.

The peaceful life of gull colonies on the islands is interrupted from time to time by the invasion of uninvited brown gourmets. Kamchatka bears deftly climb slopes slippery from bird droppings to get to clutches of eggs or chicks that have not yet fledged. Four kilometers from the shore to the Heart of Alaid, predatory bears swim playfully.

For the slaty gulls themselves, regardless of their habitat, the main dish in their diet is fresh fish, although they do not at all disdain to dine on scraps from someone else’s meal or rummage through city garbage dumps with interest and benefit. But on Kuril Lake, seagulls, after bears, are the main consumers of sockeye salmon that come here to spawn.

Salmon in the splendor of crimson

Here it is... Transparent blue waves run from the boat to a narrow strip of beach. The water in the shallows is really blue, but near the shore it already takes on a red tint - this is given by salmon changing their color during spawning. The fish mass, which has not yet reached a critical size, presses against the shores...

Employees of the Kamchatka Research Institute of Fisheries, which have been conducting observations in the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve since the middle of the last century, made interesting discovery. It turns out that the lake is filled with emissaries of the salmon genus along the shores clockwise, starting from Ozernaya.

A little time will pass, the peak of the spawning run will begin, and large accumulations of silvery fish bodies will suddenly acquire the whole range of red, coral, and burgundy tones. The gaze tries to penetrate into the frozen depths of the Kuril Lake; it is clear that thousands of dark silhouettes are rushing about there. This year's salmon spawning was slightly delayed due to cold weather; we arrived at the very beginning.

There are a huge number - about 33 thousand - species of fish in the world. But it’s good if a tenth of this diversity is of economic interest to humanity.

Salmon is the common name for one (albeit very large) family of marine commercial fish. Some of the members of this family live in the Pacific Ocean. Pink salmon, sockeye salmon, chinook salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, masu salmon - their names sound like a wonderful song. Like all salmon, they go to fresh waters to spawn at the right time, where immediately after spawning the adults die, and the juveniles while away the initial period of their lives.

Along the shores of the Kuril Lake, into numerous rivers and streams, the instinct of procreation drives char, stickleback, chinook salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon, and chum salmon, but the first fiddle here is undoubtedly played by gigantic herds of sockeye salmon.

Red fish at a red price

Red fish attracts food lovers – brown bears – to the shores of Kuril Lake. Clubfoot fishermen manage to eat plenty of sockeye salmon.

What about people? Natural Kamchadals tried bread for the first time only at the beginning XIX century, from time immemorial their main food was “salmon fish of the family.” You yourself know how things stand with salmon and why this is so. I will say one thing - the Kamchatka Territory still has fish stocks that are unique in diversity and size.

In the meantime, in hopes of a better future and to remind you, here is an excerpt from an interesting book:

Salmon (red fish) is an amazing fish: the worse the meat, the better the caviar. The most common and simplest is chum salmon, but it is chum salmon caviar that is the most delicious and largest. The best salmon is Mezen salmon, from which salmon is made (the last time I saw it was at the buffet of the CPSU Central Committee in 1979, where I was for the first and last time), but I don’t remember eating salmon caviar. It should be added here that caviar taken from salmon in the sea is much worse than mature river caviar and requires more salt consumption. And now I will try to rank the salmon, from worst to best: chum salmon - catfish - pink salmon - char - masu - chinook salmon - salmon (not just salmon) Arkhangelsk and Mezen.

- Alexander Levintov “Great”

I’ll add on my own behalf - the place of sockeye salmon from the population of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve is next to the Chinook salmon - the queen of salmon in terms of taste. As for such a variety of salmon as coho salmon, it is simply an excellent sea fish, but so far underestimated by our population. Here's proof for you - brown bears!

They really know a lot about red fish! For example, during salmon spawning, clubfoot prefer to catch Kamchatka sockeye salmon and coho salmon, but neglect chum salmon.

You, me, you and me,
You, me, you and me,
It's great to have salmon in the world!
If sockeye salmon were not found here,
Trouble would immediately happen,
People in Kamchatka would have a bad life.
***
We need to strive for balance
And everyone will make friends with nature,
So that there is harmony on earth!

The guys made a great song.

Salmon goes to spawn

We return to the pier, and from there to the cordon. Of course, under the protection of an armed ranger. Outside the perimeter - nowhere without a man with a gun, even on the bank that is two steps from the camp! The wire is stretched again, the current is turned on... We are relieved to get rid of the jackets that have immediately become unbearably hot, the sun is scorching with might and main.

Ozernaya originates near the cordon from Kuril Lake. It, the largest river of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, winds its way for fifty kilometers and flows into the cold expanse of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Along it, like a gutter, many millions of grown-up Pacific salmon fry glide, setting off from the safe spawning grounds to fatten up into the sea.

Along it, after a few years, adult fish return from the ocean in tight schools to spawn in their native places. Homing is the scientific name for this phenomenon, the true nature of which scientists have not yet figured out. But there is a hypothesis that its basic basis is, that is, the ability of salmon to remember the chemical composition of the water in the place of their birth.

We joined a group of tourists who were about to go to a nearby fenced area. There is the territory of a fish survey station, a station of the Kamchatka Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, where ichthyologists study the ecosystem of the lake, observe the fry, count how many red fish have risen to spawn in the reservoir and its tributaries. For this purpose, the river is blocked from one bank to the other by a bridge-dam.

Is it possible to count this?

Kuril Lake is the largest spawning ground for sockeye salmon. Its surroundings have the highest density of brown bears in the world. The total number of toptygins is estimated at one thousand specimens. How did you count the bears freely roaming the open spaces? And just like, for example, the same elephants and hippos in Africa! When animals are counted using aircraft, everything is more or less clear. But how can you find out how many fish come here... Nevertheless, this figure is also known - about 5 million sockeye salmon.

Oh friends, how I would like to tell you in all the details how pundits are counting these millions, whose dark silhouettes with still greenish heads are trying to penetrate Kuril Lake through the wooden barrier structure erected by science.

But alas, we were not allowed onto the observation bridge; the secret of calculating the fish population remained unsolved. I had to limit myself to photos nearby and, having sipped lightly, went home. We returned, and here they were...

The main characters are brown bears of Kamchatka

Of course, you can go to Africa to see, and, but we wanted to watch brown bears in Kamchatka. After all, Toptygin is not only a national symbol of Russia, but also a calling card of the peninsula. If there are 120 thousand clubfoot throughout the country, then 16 thousand of them are the Kamchatka population.

Until now, we have only seen bear tracks - in, tufts of fur on the trees near the trails. And now we are in real bear territory.

At arm's length

Amazing things are happening in the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve: a meter from a thin wire stood a mother bear with four small dark brown cubs...

This is truly a rare sight, because usually a mother bear has two, maximum three babies! All this is true, but not for the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, where the abundance of food, good wintering conditions and the environmental status of the territory had such a beneficial effect.

They say that it is not uncommon for bears to adopt orphaned babies. But when we arrived, he was running here alone without his mother. So restless and unkempt. Pathetic...

But for some reason, none of the many furry mothers showed kindness to the poor fellow when he tried to snuggle up to their happy families from time to time.

When a family of bears walks past the cordon fence to meet their needs, tourists run out in a crowd, and the clicking of cameras begins. It happens that photographers behave strangely in search of a better angle, but sometimes bears almost give photographers a heart attack with their antics.

A crowd with cameras gathered behind the security wire. It was an exciting photo shoot. The clubfooted model was in quiet thought, concentrating on some of her problems. The photographic equipment chirped joyfully.

Suddenly the main subject of the shooting resolutely turned around and, showing displeasure, moved towards our crowd. People immediately recoiled, suspecting the beast with ten-centimeter sickle-shaped claws of bad intentions.

Our stampede was heroically stopped by the cordon inspector present. This time the brown bear did not receive a portion of the lyuli, but another time during a similar prank we saw how the inspector first shouted, then waved his arms menacingly, and then applied the maximum measure of influence on the dull owner of the peninsula, throwing a flare at him.

Procrastination! Well, what kind of protection is this... A weak click on a wet nose! And Sanya and Katya are in the forefront! To whom bears are a joy, but my heart skips a beat at the sight of them. If only they would go their own way... And they do - slowly, along the beach past the pier where we had just disembarked.

They are playing catch up... They are having fun and don’t care about the sapiens who click and trample on the grass. Sanya tries to stand even closer - there is no more than three meters between him and the object of his admiration. Katya stretches forward in fascination. Daddy's girl! But I manage to catch her. She pouted her lips and was offended. But even if dissatisfied, she stands nearby! Now you can take out your phone, take a photo of the bear and send your family the image of the big brown guy.

The bear is a dangerous animal

He stood nearby on the shore, not noticing us. Meeeeedveeeed! Photos, photos, photos... So... Round, club-footed, good-natured and clean. It doesn't smell at all! Not a bit like the beast that helpfully draws memory after all the domestic zoos. Although animals from traveling menageries leave especially strong impressions.

In general, the Kamchatka bear made me want to pet it... However, the bear is very dangerous, of enormous strength, and, most importantly, an unpredictable predator. whose behavior is often subject to misinterpretation.

When people communicate, most of the information is transmitted verbally, that is, through speech, but communication is also accompanied by facial expressions, gestures, and changes in posture.

Animals, of course, cannot speak, but those who believe that their facial expressions are poor are mistaken. Just the opposite! With their trained eyes, scientists counted 13 facial movements on the chimpanzee’s face. The internal state of the horse is expressed by 17 positions of the eyes, nostrils and lips. Dogs can show 16 senses with their expressive facial expressions. Even cats have everything written unambiguously on their whiskered faces.

The thick skin of a bear's face is a poor assistant in facial mobility and expressiveness. The bear's ears, a true and unmistakable indicator of the mood of cats and dogs, are deeply hidden in thick fur.

What is on the mind of a brown animal with a calm face is difficult to understand and predict. Even very experienced people sometimes fail to do this. That’s why, when photographing bears, you can quite unexpectedly find yourself in such a mess that it doesn’t seem like much...

And to get closer to them is an incredible risk. A cheerful man, a zoo director by profession, once said: “If you have a mortal enemy, then give him a nice tame bear cub.”

For the night is dark and full of terrors

The helicopter flew away, the bears left, and life settled down. At the cordon there is a canteen where they are ready to feed tourists lunch and dinner for a thousand rubles. We were offered soup, buckwheat with cutlet and compote. Tasty! I feel like I'm back in a pioneer camp. The sausage remains in the bag unclaimed.

It’s hot... The sun’s rays are like from engineer Garin’s hyperboloid. The children are running around restlessly, Sanya is wandering somewhere, and Katya is sitting in the shade of the boat. After the excursion, they are immediately pulled ashore and moved outside the perimeter so that the bears do not play pranks. I sat down next to her on the grass, and somehow imperceptibly dozed off... In the evening, when the insidious sun calmly sets, my face glows and burns, because we have no protective cream. They didn’t take it from us; they considered it unnecessary along with light summer clothes.

Sanya arranged for us to take a boat ride on Kuril Lake again - already at sunset.

It’s always good and beautiful on the water, but the daytime and evening lake is heaven and earth, everything looks different and is perceived differently. The calm water is coldly silver, the shores are shrouded in black shadows, a continuous dark mystery, no traces of the joyful beauty of the day.

It’s getting dark, we go to the tent. And only then do I realize that behind the thin fabric there is a purely symbolic wire, and there... It seems that I was not the only one who understood this. In the morning, Katya admitted that she had been imagining bears creeping towards the tent all night.

The darkness at the cordon of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve is full of various sounds that are incomprehensible to the townspeople. In addition, in the next tent someone was snoring very expressively and loudly. And Sanya poked his head outside several times to check the situation. I had about the same impressions as that unforgettable night when in a remote camp in Botswana there was a knock on the door.

Much noise about a cyclone

In the morning the bustle and running around began. And all because yesterday evening the sky was covered in puffy wisps of clouds and there was no sunset. The weather began to deteriorate. The rangers said there was a cyclone coming. Cyclones are common in Kamchatka. But, the main thing is that this is a time of non-flying weather for helicopters. Moreover, the time is protracted, when you can be stuck in place for a week or more.

And it’s already time for us to fly away - we’ve seen enough of the bears. Even Katya no longer rushes to everyone, except mothers with cubs.

The Israeli group is sitting on backpacks, we should be sent with them. But when, despite the heavy clouds, a helicopter hovered over the cordon like a small green dragonfly, two elite tourists appeared at the airfield out of nowhere. And then they all outplayed it.

The privileged bourgeoisie flew away, along with them a group of Israelis flew into the sky, and we are still sitting under the low clouds and waiting. The weather is getting worse and worse. Well, exactly - “The country is sad, mountainous, damp. The winds blow around it almost continuously.”

One of the rangers comes up and says that there will be no more flights today. We are setting up the tent. Before we even had time to catch our breath, a new messenger comes running: we can recover together with the children’s camp. On foot.

From Kuril Lake, children go on an adventure trek through the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, stopping at most interesting place- Kutkhina Bati tract, after which they return home to the village. But the trick is that from Ozernovsky helicopters make regular flights to Petropavlovsk! Well, let's take advantage of the happy coincidence... Goodbye, bears!

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Kuril Lake is the second largest lake in Russia, which is located on Far East Russia, on the territory. This lake was formed as a result of a powerful volcanic eruption and shift of tectonic plates. It is surrounded by landscapes of incredible beauty: the flora and fauna of the lake and the surrounding area evoke admiration and surprise. Kuril Lake has incredible natural beauty.

Kuril Lake – the second largest lake in Russia.

If we divide the lakes of Russia by size, then the Kuril Lake in Kamchatka deservedly takes second place after, its area is approximately 75 square meters, and its maximum depth is about 300 m. The approximate age of the lake is 8 thousand years, to be more precise, it belongs to to the Pleistocene era. Since then, the surrounding nature of the lake has remained virtually unspoilt by human factors.

Kuril Lake - description.

Kuril Lake is surrounded by two large volcano– Ilyinskaya Sopka and Kambalnaya Sopka. Ilyinskaya Sopka on at the moment is active volcano and has an almost perfect shape. Kuril Lake also has several fairly large islands, among them the heart-shaped island called Heart of Alaid is famous. This island, as well as the Kuril Lake itself, is associated with many different legends and mysterious stories, the plausibility of which has not been confirmed.

Fish spawning on Kuril Lake.

Water Kuril Lake in Kamchatka became the site of the largest concentration of fish species such as salmon and sockeye salmon. It is on this lake that these fish spawn.

Heart Alaid Island has become a haven for a large concentration of seagulls who do not want to share the island with anyone else, and the land surrounding the lake has sheltered large number brown bears.

Kamchatka Overall it is an ideal habitat for bears. There are a large number of parodies of dens created by nature in which bears live, as well as a large number of different species of fish that predators feed on. Such fauna attracts crowds of tourists to Kuril Lake who want to watch bears catch fish. For this purpose, there are special towers on the island where people are safe and at the same time have a good view.

Kuril Lake is a fishing center that supplies many Russian cities with fish.

The climate of Kamchatka is not particularly pleasing to guests on hot days. The maximum temperature on the peninsula reaches 16 C. Nevertheless, Kuril Lake warms up to 10 C. This is due to the fact that the lake is regularly heated by the active Ilyinskaya Sopka volcano. Kuril Lake is a protected area and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Cape Lopatka.

The nearby Cape Lopatka, whose climate is also quite cool, along with the lake, is considered a protected area, is protected and is attractive among tourists. These places are of extraordinary value both for Russia and for the whole world.

Kuril Lake, Kamchatka, Cape Lopatka are places with incredible nature. These are places untouched by human hands. This area preserves clean air, clean waters, natural habitats for animals and the magnificent beauty of the surrounding world. These lands have retained their magic and grandeur, their beauty and naturalness. Tourists in Russia and around the world remain interested in Kuril Lake. Many people visit Kamchatka at different times of the year to admire the beauty of Russia and breathe a breath of fresh, clean air on the shores of Kuril Lake.

Pearl of Kamchatka. All unique natural objects The southern part of the peninsula is included in the South Kamchatka State Nature Reserve, included in the list of World Cultural and Cultural Heritage Sites. natural heritage UNESCO, and Kuril Lake has long attracted nature lovers with its pristine beauty.

Kuril Lake occupies a deep basin - a caldera, formed during the eruptions of the Ilyinsky and Diky Ridge volcanoes. With an absolute height of the lake of 104 m and a maximum depth of 306 m (the most deep lake in Kamchatka), its bottom is 200 m below sea level. The length of the lake is 12.5 km, width - 8 km, average depth - 176 m. There are several islands on the lake: the Heart Alaid Islands occupied by seagulls, two Gull Islands and the Samang archipelago consisting of four islands.

Kuril Lake is surrounded on all sides by volcanoes. Its banks are steep and steep. Numerous mountain streams and hot springs flow here, and only the Ozernaya River (62 km) flows out, which freezes briefly in winter. At the source of the river there is a scientific ichthyological station KamchatNIRO, where for more than 40 years scientists have been monitoring the state of the salmon population, because Kuril Lake is the largest spawning ground for sockeye salmon on the Asian continent, a valuable species of salmon. Every year, from 2 to 5 million individuals come here along the Ozernaya River to spawn. Salmon spawning lasts from July to March.

Many large birds of prey remain on the lake for the winter, as well as whooper swans and ducks. Foxes, river otters and wolverines readily feed on salmon. At the end of summer, more than a hundred bears gather near the lake. You can watch them catch fish for hours: some look out for prey from the shore, others wait for a long time motionless on the rifts until it swims towards them, others noisily chase it through the shallow water, others try to find it under the canopies of turf and snags “by touch.”

You can monitor bears from stationary “observation platforms” on the coast, during boat excursions, on berry patches in the tundra, or from an observation tower.

You can only enter the territory of the reserve if accompanied by inspectors who are responsible for the safety of visitors, and the area reserved for tent camp at the source of the Ozernaya River, protected from uninvited four-legged guests by a special fence.

Kuril Lake was formed more than 8 thousand years ago as a result of a powerful eruption and the subsequent subsidence of the earth's crust. At that time, powerful eruptions occurred in the region, the ash from which is found in the soil of the Magadan region and even in South America. Scientists believe that the caldera-forming eruption near Kuril Lake was the largest eruption in Kamchatka during the Holocene era. The eruptions formed a giant basin-lake, the maximum depth of which is 316 meters, which is 200 meters below the level of the World Ocean. Many rivers and streams flow into Kuril Lake, and one river flows out, Ozernaya.

There is a legend that tells that people who once lived here witnessed catastrophic eruptions. Once upon a time, on the site of the lake, there was a high mountain, so high that it blocked the sun for the neighboring mountains, thereby causing their indignation and causing frequent quarrels. Finally, they got so tired that the “High Mountain” rose and went into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and in its place a lake formed, in which she left her heart. Following the trail left by the mountain, the Ozernaya River flowed to the sea.

Above the cool surface of the lake, the water temperature of which in the entire history of observations has not exceeded 10.8 °C, rise lava islands of volcanic origin - Chayachy, Nizkiy, Serdtse Alaid and the Samang archipelago.

Kuril Lake as a biosystem

The lake is a unique biological system, and today it is one of the largest spawning grounds for salmon - sockeye salmon - in Eurasia.

Typically, young sockeye salmon from one to three years fatten up in lakes, after which they slide into Pacific Ocean, where it lives for another 2–3 years and returns to its native spawning area. Mass spawning of sockeye salmon continues from July to March. When the fish goes up against the flow of the river, the water in it literally boils. The number of sockeye salmon varies from 2 to 6 million individuals, and this attracts predators, especially bears, for which these places are a real paradise. At the end, more than 200 brown bears gather along the shores of the lake; river otters and foxes readily feed on salmon.

Kuril Lake - largest place wintering grounds for birds of prey, there are up to 700 Steller's sea eagles, up to 150 white-tailed eagles and about 50 golden eagles, in addition, several thousand pairs of slaty gulls live here far from the sea. Both large birds, ducks, and even small forest birds - puffy duck, nuthatch, lesser spotted woodpecker - partly feed on sockeye salmon or its eggs.

The places around the Kuril Lake are replete with pumice, which appeared as a result of powerful eruptions; in some places the thickness of pumice formations reaches 70–110 m. 4 kilometers from the source of the river, on the right side of its valley, there is a uniquely beautiful pumice outcrop called “Kutkhiny Baty”. On the shores of the lake, at the foot of the Ilyinsky volcano on the shore of the lake in Teplaya Bay, among the lava blocks, there are thermal springs.

People have inhabited the shores of the lake since ancient times; numerous human settlements and an ancient settlement have been discovered here. Indigenous people The Ainu, they were also called Kurilians (“kuri” is translated as “a person who came from nowhere”), and gave the name to the lake.

It is believed that the first Russians to visit Kuril Lake were most likely the Cossacks in 1703.

The first traveler to visit Kuril Lake was Georg Wilhelm Steller. In his work “Description of the Land of Kamchatka” he devoted a very small passage to the Kuril Lake. The lake was described in detail by the famous ichthyologist and hydrobiologist Alexander Derzhavin, a member of Ryabushinsky’s complex Kamchatka expedition. In 1908–1909, Derzhavin studied the Kamchatka River valley with its lakes, rivers and volcanoes. Having discovered crustaceans of marine origin in them, the scientist came to the conclusion that all of the listed lakes are relict. The first and most detailed archaeological research here was carried out in 1911 by Vladimir Yokhelson.

Kuril Lake today

Kuril Lake is located on the territory of the South Kamchatka Federal Reserve, which in 1996 was included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List in the “Volcanoes of Kamchatka” category.

Among the many bodies of water that our planet is rich in, Kuril Lake especially stands out for its pristine beauty. This is one of the main natural objects Kamchatka region, which is of great importance for scientific and educational tasks.

Description

Lake Kurilskoe is the second largest among all freshwater bodies of water located in Kamchatka. Its area is 77 square kilometers, and its greatest depth reaches 306 meters. The lake is filled with numerous streams and mountain rivers flowing into it from the surrounding hills. Water supplies are replenished by rain and snow. The highest water level is observed in June, the lowest in April. Her average temperature ranges from 7.8 to 10.6°C.

One of the shores of the lake is decorated with the cone of the Ilyinsky volcano, and on the opposite is Kambalnaya Sopka. Weather conditions in this climate zone cannot be called favorable. They are unstable. Thaws, accompanied by snowfalls, give way to frosts when the thermometer drops to 20 degrees below zero. Quite often strong winds are observed in the lake area, the speed of which reaches more than 30 meters per second.

Where is Kuril Lake located?

Despite its name, this picturesque lake is not located in the Kuril Islands. It is located in the southern part of the land of which belongs to the South Kamchatka Federal Reserve. A lake was formed in the basin of an extinct volcano, the height above sea level is 104 meters. It is hidden among wild rocky shores and bushes, so it can only be reached by helicopter.

Origin

According to experts, this unique reservoir was formed more than 8 thousand years ago. The origin of the Kuril Lake is associated with a beautiful legend, which tells that a huge mountain formerly rose in this place, blocking the sun from the nearest neighboring mountains. This caused quarrels and resentment on their part. As a result, the high mountain, tired of the strife, sank into the sea. And in its place a lake appeared.

Scientists have found out the true reason for the formation of this unique reservoir. Powerful volcanic eruptions that occurred in this place during the Holocene era devastated the volcanic interior and formed a basin whose depth exceeded 300 meters. Gradually, over millions of years, this caldera filled with water, and the Kuril Islands were formed, the origin of which is confirmed by pumice deposits up to 150 meters thick.

Features and attractions

The most unique phenomenon on Kuril Lake is the spawning of sockeye salmon, which lasts from April-May until October. The only outflowing river, Ozernaya, along which the largest herds of salmon in Eurasia move upstream, is literally teeming with fish. Sometimes up to 6 million spawners enter the lake. All this attracts many brown bears here. Avoiding each other under normal conditions, they are so passionate about fishing that they do not pay any attention to their relatives at this moment. In one place, up to 20 bears can feast on fish at the same time.

The nature near Kuril Lake is simply fantastic. Just like many lakes of the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Kamchatka, it attracts a huge number of tourists with its beauty. The real highlight is the active Ilyinsky volcano, whose height is 1578 meters. Particularly noteworthy is its shape in the form of a regular cone, as well as young lava flows descending directly into the lake.

Main rivers

Several small rivers flow into the lake. Among them are Etamynk (18 km), Khakytsyn (24 km), as well as Kirushtuk and Vychenkiya. The water in these rivers is unusually clean and transparent, as it flows from high mountain springs formed as a result of melting snow. During the spawning period of sockeye salmon, mother bears and cubs gather near the mouth for fishing. Adult males fish a little higher upstream, where the channel is narrower. Along the banks of the rivers flowing into Kuril Lake there are dense and impenetrable forests. Here you can only move along bear trails.

The only river that originates from Kuril Lake is Ozernaya, which flows into Its length is 62 kilometers, and the width closer to the mouth can reach up to 100 meters. Ozernaya is constantly inhabited by grayling, kuja, and nine-spined stickleback; chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, and coho salmon spawn. The river is fed by 18 tributaries.

Flora

The flora of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, where Kuril Lake is located, is simply unique. On the shore, a fern rises as tall as a man. It emits an intoxicating aroma that makes your head spin. There are 380 species of different plants here. Some of them grow only in this region. In the lake basin, large areas are occupied by sparse thickets of stone birch in combination with Kamchatka forbs. There are also alder, willow, and cedar.

Animal world

Countless herds of sockeye salmon, rising into the lake during spawning, lure the surrounding bears to the shores. By the end of summer, up to two hundred of them gather here. Bears are real gourmets. They are only interested in caviar in fish. They throw the gutted remains right on the shore. They are instantly collected by foxes waiting for their turn. Red-haired cheats do not bother themselves with hunting. They know very well that their patience will be rewarded.

The largest population of brown bears inhabits the territory where Kuril Lake is located. Kamchatka is a place where you can safely observe these animals. Being under the protection of the reserve, the bears are very trusting and are not at all afraid of humans. However, tourists are not allowed to approach them.

The largest colony of slaty gulls inhabits the islands located in the center of Kuril Lake. Its number reaches 2.5 thousand pairs. Closer to winter, birds of prey - the Steller's golden eagle - gather here. Whooper swans and ducks spend the winter on the non-freezing water surface. For all these birds, the main food is sockeye salmon and its caviar.

Islands

The volcanic eruption, which is associated with the origin of the Kuril Lake basin, contributed to the formation of several islands that adorn the water surface today. The names of some of them are associated with legends. Thus, the rocky island Heart of Alaid, located in the southern part of the lake, appeared, according to legend, after a high mountain that went into the sea left its heart in the lake. The trail left by the mountain later became the bed of the Ozernaya River.

From a geological point of view, the Heart of Alaid, as well as other islands of the Kuril Lake (Nizkiy, Chayachy, the Samang archipelago) are of volcanic origin. Their domes, created from lava, reach a height of up to 300 meters. Most northern island formerly it was also called Alaid (named after the volcano located on it), then it was renamed Atlasov Island. Alaid Volcano is the most active in the archipelago; its last eruption was recorded in 1996. This highest point Kuril ridge, the top of the volcano is at an altitude of 2339 meters.

Heart Alaid and Chayachy are islands, the inaccessibility of which makes these places convenient for breeding. But since there is not always enough food in the lake, you can often observe a picture when gulls fly 40 km to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. There, at the fish processing plant, they collect waste from fish production and return back, regurgitating the semi-digested food they brought into the beaks of the chicks.

Hot springs

This is another one of the main attractions of Kuril Lake. The springs are located on the shore in Teplya Bay, which was formed due to lava flows that descended from the volcano. They are small streams of water with a temperature of 35-45⁰C.

Kuril Lake is a real natural monument. The South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, on whose territory it is located, is included in the list of the World Natural and cultural heritage UNESCO.