Valley of Geysers
Description:
The Valley of Geysers is one of the largest clusters of geysers in the world, and the only one in Eurasia. It is located on the territory of the Kronotsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve, which is included in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites.
There are about 20 large geysers and many hot springs. The valley of geysers was opened in 1941 by the employees of the Kronotsky Reserve by geologist Tatiana Ustinova and observer Anisifor Krupenin. Since 1991, the Valley of Geysers has been open to tourists.
A special attraction for observation is the Giant Geyser, which ejects a column of water to a height of 30 meters, and steam clubs to heights of 300 meters and above. Geysers, fumaroles, thermal and mineral “pulsating” springs, as well as whole cascades of small waterfalls are a phenomenon of global scale. Such natural phenomena in such a significant concentration are found only in 3 points of the planet: Iceland, Yellowstone National Park (USA), the North Island of New Zealand.
The Valley of Geysers was severely damaged by a landslide on June 3, 2007. About half of the geysers were littered with a debris avalanche and flooded by a subpond lake. However, the Valley is alive and still of great interest to scientists and tourists. However, the last to get there is not so easy because of the inaccessibility and reserve regime.