What cities in Kamchatka do you know? In fact, there are not so many of them. In this article we will talk about each of the cities on a distant peninsula. When they were founded, how many people live in them, what interesting things can a tourist see there?
Kamchatka Peninsula: cities, natural conditions and tourist resources of the region
Kamchatka Territory is a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, one of the most underpopulated. For many residents of Russia, and indeed the entire planet, it is literally perceived as "the end of the world." Nevertheless, it is very difficult to find a person who would not hear about the peninsula of volcanoes and geysers.
The total area of the Kamchatka Territory is 464 thousand square kilometers. The peninsula is washed by the waters of two seas at once - Bering and Okhotsk. The climate in the north of the region is subarctic, and on the coasts - temperate marine with some signs of monsoon. At least 14 thousand rivers, streams and streams flow through the territory of Kamchatka. But the main natural feature of the region is volcanoes. About three hundred can be counted within the peninsula, 29 of them are operational.
In the Kamchatka Territory, only 317 thousand people live. Almost 80% of them are citizens. The cities of Kamchatka are small both in area and in population. We will talk about them in more detail in the following sections.
Kamchatka is visited annually by thousands of visiting tourists and wildlife lovers. They all come here to visit the unique natural parks of the peninsula, to see with their own eyes the authentic villages of local Aboriginal people, to admire the views of the highest volcano in Eurasia. Extreme tourists go to Kamchatka to make rafting on one of the local rivers.
Kamchatka: cities (list and population)
As mentioned above, only every fifth resident of the Kamchatka Territory lives in villages. The cities of Kamchatka (there are only three) are small, in two of them there are less than 50 thousand inhabitants. There are much more villages and towns in the region - 85.
All cities of Kamchatka are listed below. In parentheses are the population of each of them, as of 2015:
- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (181 thousand people);
- Yelizovo (38.6 thousand people);
- Vilyuchinsk (21.7 thousand people).
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
The largest city of the Kamchatka Peninsula is located on the shores of the Pacific Avacha Bay. It was founded back in 1740. Modern Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a rather large and prosperous city with a population of 180,000.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is one of the few cities in Russia that has retained its original (historical) specialization. The main branch of the local economy is still catching and processing fish. The catch is processed at the Akros, Okeanrybflot and several smaller enterprises.
Along with this, the tourism industry is rapidly developing in the city. Indeed, the demand for travel to this amazing region is growing every year. Travel companies are developing new routes with a visit to the famous Valley of Geysers, hot springs, volcanoes and other natural wonders of the Kamchatka Territory. Unfortunately, the infrastructure of the city and the region is developing very slowly so far. About 20 thousand tourists come to the peninsula annually, while almost a million travelers visit neighboring Alaska. Although the tourist potential of Kamchatka is in no way inferior to the US state.
Elizovo
Yelizovo is the second largest city in the Kamchatka Territory. People settled here and lived since ancient times. This is evidenced by the finds of traces of ancient sites on the banks of the local Avachi River. But the history of the modern settlement began in 1809, when the first settlers from Central Russia settled here. The main sources of income for the city budget of Yelizovo are fisheries, as well as tourism.
What is interesting to see in this city? Here is the only international airport and zoo on the peninsula. In the vicinity of Yelizovo are 20 of the 29 active volcanoes. In the city you can buy original products from fur and deer skin, from walrus bone.
Vilyuchinsk
Vilyuchinsk is the smallest of the Kamchatka cities, the only one in which the population does not decrease every year, but increases. Today, almost 22 thousand people live here.
Vilyuchinsk is known as the city of submariners. Back in the 30s, a large base of diesel submarines was created here. Today, nuclear submarines of various projects are also based in Vilyuchinsk.
There is a technical school and four secondary schools in the city, a cultural center, a large library and its own museum. In 2007, a water park was built here, and in 2010 - an ice center.
Conclusion
The cities of Kamchatka are small in population. The largest of them is home to less than 200 thousand people. In total, there are three cities within the Kamchatka Territory. These are Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (the administrative center of the region), Yelizovo and Vilyuchinsk.