Kamchatka river flow rate. Independent socio-political portal. Flora of Kamchatka

Palana is a small picturesque river flowing in the north of the Kamchatka Territory. In its upper reaches, the river forms many beautiful rapids, which attract the bulk of tourists.

The name "palana" comes from an old Koryak word that means "threshold". And the river fully corresponds to its name - originating from Lake Palana, it forms a long chain of rapids and waterfalls at its source. Many of these waterfalls are very picturesque and beautiful.

In addition to the rapids, Palana can not boast of anything else. The river has a length of about 140 kilometers and is used mainly to meet the various economic needs of the region. In addition, many varieties of commercial fish are found in its waters, so Palana is also popular among local fishermen.

Zhupanova river

The Zhupanova River is located on the Kamchatka Peninsula, its length is about 240 km. Flowing into the Kronotsky Bay, the river forms a vast estuary, which bears the same name. The Zhupanova River has a typical mountainous character and is considered a corner of virgin nature untouched by civilization. Five species of salmon spawn here. In addition, the river basin has become a habitat for many animals, such as brown bear, reindeer, fox, sable and many others.

Sport fishing is practiced on the river.

In the next five years, it is planned to build small hydropower plants on the river, unfortunately, this will lead to flooding of part of the valley, which may adversely affect the inhabitants of this ecosystem.

A large amount of precipitation, the presence of permafrost, snow melting in the mountains for a long time, low evaporation, and mountainous relief cause the development of an exceptionally dense hydro network within the Kamchatka Territory.
In Kamchatka, there are 1401 rivers and streams, but only 105 of which are over 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 nature of the main watersheds: Middle and Eastern Ranges.

Kamchatka rivers have a mountainous character in the upper reaches and calm - within 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 general terms, coastal lowlands are a combination of flat wetlands, concentrated mainly near the coast, undulating, hilly interfluve areas 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, this regularity is violated on large rivers. 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 flattening (levelling) of the relief, rapids and waterfalls disappear, but the nature of the current still 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 shoals 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.
In the transition from mountainous to flat conditions, the steepness of the 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.
Another 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 rivers entering 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. As a result, the use of rivers for rafting purposes almost throughout their entire length is impossible.

Distribution of rivers by basins. All rivers of the Kamchatka Territory belong to the basins of the Okhotsk and Bering Seas and the Pacific Ocean.
The rivers of western Kamchatka flow into Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Most originate in middle range. A smaller part originates in its foothills or peat bogs. In the upper reaches they flow in narrow gorges with numerous rapids and waterfalls, on the plain their valleys become wide (up to 5-6 km), the banks are low, the current is slow. The rivers form channels and abound in sandbanks.
Swamp rivers represent a sharp contrast to the transparent rapid mountain streams. Their channel is mostly narrow and deeply cut into peat. The waters, as always in swamp streams, are dark brown in color, the flow is slow. After rains, they swell up a lot. The beginning is usually taken in small oval or round lakes.
The largest of the rivers flowing into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is river Penzhina(713 km). The river starts at Kolyma ridge and falls into Penzhina Bay. The largest tributaries of Penzhina are the Oklan and Chernaya rivers. Other rivers of the western part of Kamchatka stand out: Bolshaya, Tigil, Icha, Vorovskaya, Krutogorova.
The rivers flowing into the Bering Sea are even shorter than the rivers of western Kamchatka. Most of them have a pronounced mountainous character all the way up to the mouth. The largest rivers originate in the Sredinny Range: Ozernaya(length 199 km), Ivashka, Karaga, Anapka, Gross. With Koryak highlands flows into the Bering Sea Vyvenka, Pahacha, Apuca.
Directly in Pacific Ocean flow into the rivers of southeastern Kamchatka. Of these, the largest are Zhupanova, Avacha and Kamchatka.
The largest river in the region Kamchatka(length 758 km, catchment area 55.9 thousand sq. km), unlike other Kamchatka rivers, it flows along a large segment of its length Central Kamchatka plain and has a mountainous character only in the upper reaches. The river has many tributaries. Of these, the largest: left - Kozyrevka, Fast, Elovka; right - Shchapina and Bolshaya Khapitsa.

The rivers of Kamchatka are surrounded by a landscape of a very special nature in terms of vegetation. In conditions of high humidity, which is characteristic of floodplain floodplains, truly monstrous grasses grow in which an adult person disappears with his head. They are accompanied by bushes, all together creating a truly impassable thicket.
Another characteristic feature of the floodplain landscape is animal trails. Even in the wildest lands, along water bodies, paths have been trodden along which you can move freely (unless you meet a four-legged clubfoot friend on it).

lakes

Over Kamchatka 100 thousand large and small lakes. According to their nature, they can be divided into six types. Each type is confined to a certain region of the region.
1. Numerous crater and dam lakes are common in areas of ancient and modern volcanism. Crater (sometimes with hot water) lakes are small and at a considerable height. Dammed lakes were formed as a result of blocking of rivers by lava flows (Lake Palanskoe).
Small pools of hot water often form at hot spring outlets. Lakes associated with volcanism also include large caldera lakes (Lake Kurilskoe).
2. Old lakes make up the second large group. They are located mainly in the valley of the Kamchatka river.
3. On the coasts, mainly in the estuarine parts of the rivers, there are lagoon lakes separated from the sea by spits. They are of considerable size. Lake Nerpichye, for example, is the largest lake in Kamchatka. Its area is 448 sq. km, depths range from 4 to 13 m.
4. Discharge lakes were formed as a result of the split and subsidence of individual sections of the earth's crust. They are characterized by the simplicity of the outline of the coast. (Lake Dalnee near the village of Paratunki).
5. Another type is formed by glacial lakes located at the foot of the ridges, where they sometimes form a typical landscape.
6. Peat lakes are widespread within the region.

Many lakes were formed under the influence of several factors and cannot be attributed to any particular type.
In small, well-heated lakes, goldfish and pike are found. In some lakes - Amur carp.
At the same time, the lakes are wonderful spawning grounds for salmon, and Kuril lakes and Nerpichye are among the best spawning grounds in the world.
Some lakes are exceptional. An example is Lake Kurilskoye, an ancient caldera filled with water. Among the volcanic lakes of Russia there is not a single one that is in any way close to it in terms of structure. With a relatively small size (77.1 sq. km), the lake has great depths (306 m) and belongs to the deepest lakes in Eurasia. The panorama of the lake is unique. From all sides it is surrounded by majestic cones of volcanoes. The coasts and underwater slopes are steep and rocky. Ancient lake terraces are visible on the slopes of volcanoes.
Islands in the form of peaks rise from the bottom, one of the islands, trihedral rock Alaid.
The lake is fed by numerous mountain streams mixed with the waters of hot springs. One weakly freezing Ozernaya river flows out of it. The lake is one of the most important spawning grounds for sockeye salmon.
In the craters or calderas of many volcanoes there are lakes that do not freeze all winter, so ducks and swans often hibernate on them.

The Kamchatka River is the largest waterway of the peninsula bearing the same name. Itelmen name - Uykoal, can be translated as "Big River". It flows into the Pacific Ocean and has a length of 758 km. Its source is in the mountains, from where the water flows down in a stream, forming Ozernaya Kamchatka. Having merged with the Right River, it becomes a single stream with it. Flowing in the mountainous part of its path, Kamchatka forms many rapids and rifts, here its course is quite stormy and noisy.

The mouth of the Kamchatka River on the peninsula

In the middle section, it becomes flat, with a more phlegmatic character. This section is the longest. However, here the channel is not distinguished by calm predictability, in some places it is very winding. A single stream is divided into arms, covering wider spaces. Approaching the ocean, the river goes around the Klyuchevskoy massif, flows to the east, crosses the Kumroch ridge and becomes delta-shaped at the very mouth, dividing into many channels. They are separated by spits, mostly composed of sand and pebbles.

Flowing into the Pacific Ocean, Kamchatka forms a channel connecting it with Lake Nerpichye, the largest on the peninsula. The river has islands all along its path. There are a large number of them, but they are not large in size, mostly sandy and have no vegetation, except for grass and in some places willow. On the flat territory, the river flows for more than 30 km through the Bolshiye Shcheki gorge, forming steep rocky banks of breathtaking beauty. Such a landscape arises due to the fact that the river intersects with the spurs of the Kamchatka Range.

The Kamchatka basin includes more than seven thousand small rivers. It is in these tributaries that spawning of fish, mainly salmon, takes place. The largest tributaries are Elovka, Shchapina, Kozyrevka. The river is fed from groundwater, precipitation, snow. Snow and underground (sedimentary) nutrition is approximately 35% (each), about 28% of water comes from glaciers. In winter, Kamchatka freezes over, freezing begins in November, and ice drifts in May.

The nature of the river and the processes occurring in it are greatly influenced by the seismic activity of the region and volcanism. When eruptions occur, glaciers melt and mudflows rush down into the river. The strongest mudflow that has existed in the last 100 years was the mudflow that arose after the eruption of the Nameless volcano in 1956. Streams of mud and stones spread far along one of the tributaries of Kamchatka.

Fish spawning on the Kamchatka River

Kamchatka flows in both mountainous and flat areas; its course is accompanied by coniferous and floodplain forests and shrubs. Of the conifers, Ayan spruce and larch are mainly common. Poplar, alder, willow, etc. grow in the upper and close to it middle reaches of the river, in addition to conifers. The lower course is more swampy, here shrubs and grasses predominate along the banks.

The area around the river is rich in fauna. There are many birds, among which you can see gulls, cormorants, partridges and other species. Moose, deer, wolves, muskrats and other animals live in coastal forests. The owner of these places is the Kamchatka bear. During spawning near the tributaries of Kamchatka, the number of bears increases many times.

The main treasure of the river is its fish stocks. Salmon and other fish spawn here. This significant event takes place at the end of summer, attracting many bears to the shores. Freshwater valuable fish live here permanently. Some of them, for example, silver carp or Amur carp, were specially introduced into these waters and took root, give offspring and are the object of fishing. Lamprey, sterlet, Pacific herring, char, Kamchatka grayling, flounder, etc. live in the river basin.

Fishing occurs both on an industrial scale and individually. Amateur fishermen specially come to Kamchatka to fish here with pleasure, which you will not find in such abundance in other places. In late June - early July, the most favorable period for catching chinook salmon. Sockeye salmon is perfectly caught at the turn of July and August. Throughout August, there is chum salmon, and from the end of August almost until November - coho salmon.

Pond use

In addition to fishing, people actively use the river for other purposes. As the largest water artery of the peninsula, closer to the mouth it is used in navigation: the depth reaches 5 m, so the conditions are favorable for this. The river is also of great importance in the tourism sector. In addition to the beauties that people come to admire, it makes it possible to make tourist water trips. The beginning of the route is Ust-Kamchatsk or the village of Klyuchi.

Since ancient times, people settled around the river. Archaeologists find traces of ancient settlements. Russian Cossacks who arrived here in the 17th century reported that in the valley of the Kamchatka River there are many yurts, which were the dwellings of local peoples. The Cossacks themselves built wooden prisons, almost all of them then grew into cities and towns. The fact that people settled in these places is largely due to the fertility of the soil, which makes it possible to engage in agriculture.

The Kamchatka River, sometimes fast in its course, sometimes majestically calm, full of fish, surrounded by unique landscapes, is one of the decorations of the peninsula, which also has practical significance.

Our routes along the Kamchatka River

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The largest river in the region. Its length is more than 750 km, the Itelmen name is Uykoal, which means “Big River”. Kamchatka has two sources: the left one, originating in the Sredinny Range (Ozernaya Kamchatka River), and the right one in the Eastern Range (Right Kamchatka River). Merging within the Ganal tundra, they give rise to the Kamchatka River itself. It flows to the north, but in the area of ​​the village of Klyuchi it turns sharply to the east and flows into the Kamchatka Bay, forming a wide mouth, the fairway of which is constantly changing.

Kamchatka is the only river of the region that has a navigable value. Currently, Kamchatka is used for navigation for 200 km. from the mouth. In the lower course, the depths on the stretches during low water reach 5-6 m, on the rifts about 2 m.

The Kamchatka basin occupies the Central Kamchatka depression, between the Sredinny ridge in the west and the Valagin ridge in the east. The large size of the river determines that more than 80% of its length falls on a flat channel. In the upper reaches, the channel is mountainous and semi-mountainous, with numerous branchings typical of Kamchatka rivers.

Within the flat channel there are several special and extremely intriguing areas. This is the famous Bolshie Schyoki gorge, in which the river flows for 35 km and has almost sheer rocky shores, which any “untwisted” canyon in North America can envy. Their development here is associated with the river crossing the spurs of the Kamchatka Range. The river also very picturesquely crosses the spurs, where, already being a large flat river, it forms two large rapids - Krekurlinsky and Pingrinsky.

The Kamchatka River has the largest fish resources. All types of salmon fish come to spawn: pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), kunja (Salvelinus leucomaenis). A wide variety of residential forms of fish: char (Salvelinus), mykizha (Parasalmo mykiss), Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma), grayling (Thymallus arcticus pallasi), cyprinids, even sturgeons are found.

A huge number of tributaries flow into Kamchatka. The largest of them, Shchapina,. Kamchatka and its numerous tributaries carry a large amount of alluvial material.

The Kamchatka River is not only the most powerful water artery, but also the history of the region. Its valley has been densely populated since ancient times. The well-known archaeologist N. N. Dikov, working in the valley, discovered ancient settlements. The greatest habitation of this river valley was also noted by Russian explorers. V. Atlasov in his “tales” reported: “And how they sailed along Kamchatka - there are many foreigners on both sides of the river, great settlements.” The Cossacks sent for reconnaissance reported that from the mouth to the sea in a section of 150 km there were 160 prisons, and in each of them 150-200 people lived in one or two yurts. According to the most conservative estimate, about 25 thousand people lived in the Kamchatka valley.

Used sources:

Data collected and processed by Batalov D.

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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 in the Far East of the 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. At different times of the year, the general appearance of the delta changes. 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, the maximum height is 3621 meters. The average height of the Eastern Range is from 1200 to 1600 meters, and the highest point is 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, natural phenomena such as mudflows sometimes occur 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 areas the river does not freeze in winter due to the release of 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 industry. 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.