Kuril Lake origin. South Kamchatka Nature Reserve - a world of brown bears and salmon pandemonium

Lake Kurilskoye is located in the extreme south of Kamchatka. It is located on wild rocky shores with impenetrable bushes.

Lake Kurilskoe is the second largest (after Kronotsky) of the freshwater lakes in Kamchatka. The lake basin is a volcanotectonic depression 12.5 km long and 8 km wide, formed 8300–8400 years ago as a result of a powerful eruption and subsequent subsidence of the earth's crust.

The lake is located at 104 m above sea level. Its maximum depth is 316 m, the average is 195 m. Since the coastal marine areas of the reserve are shallow (isobaths within 50 m), the bottom of the lake relative to the level of the world ocean is located much lower than in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean.

On the lake there are islands made of lava: Chayachy, Nizkiy, Heart of Alaid and the Samang archipelago. They are domes, the relative height of which is 200–300 m.

Kuril Lake gives rise to the Ozernaya River. The largest rivers flowing into the lake are Khakytsyn (24 km) and Etamynk (18 km).

In historical times, the lake was well inhabited by the Aborigines. The largest Neolithic settlement-fortress discovered at Cape Siyushk. The aboriginal population was influenced by the Ainu culture. During archaeological work, Ainu ceramics and Japanese bronze coins were found.

Many of the names used for natural objects in the Kuril Lake area are associated with legends recorded by S.P. Krasheninnikov:
“Once upon a time, on the site of the lake, there stood 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 of them that “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.”

The heart of Alaid is now called a rocky island in the southern part of the island, very similar in shape to a heart.

4 km from the source of the river, on the right side of its valley, there is a uniquely beautiful pumice outcrop called “Kutkhiny Baty”.

About them S.P. Krasheninnikov writes like this: “... 9 versts from the top of the Ozernaya River, and on which side of it is unknown, stands a whitish rocky mountain, which looks like canoes placed perpendicularly, for which reason the Cossacks call it baton stone, and the local pagans tell that the god and creator of Kamchatka Kuthu lived there for some time before his departure, in these stone shuttles or bahts he traveled across the sea and lake to fish, and upon leaving there he placed the shuttles on the declared stone, and for this they are kept in such reverence from them that they are afraid to come close to them.”

The Kuril Lake region is generally characterized by the widespread development of pumice deposits. Their formation is associated with a powerful outbreak of acidic volcanism in the early Holocene. The thickness of pumice formations reaches 70–110 m.

There are hot springs on the shores of the lake. Groups of water outlets with temperatures up to 45ºС - the Kuril springs - are located at the foot of the Ilyinsky volcano on the shore of the lake in Teplaya Bay among lava blocks overgrown with birch woodland and elfin wood.

The water column is so large that with stable winter winds, as a result of mixing of water masses, the lake is not covered with ice in some years, or the ice cover is loose and fragile.

The largest herd of sockeye salmon in Eurasia spawns in Kuril Lake. The optimal number of producers ensuring expanded reproduction of the herd is estimated at 1.5–3.5 million individuals; in reality, up to 6 million producers entered the lake (1990). Sockeye salmon spawning is unusually extended: it lasts from July to March. 71% of spawning areas are in lakes, 26% in rivers and 3% in key spawning grounds. At the source of the Ozernaya River, the KamchatNIRO scientific station constantly operates.

The abundance of sockeye salmon for such a long time is the most important feature of the natural complex of the lake. At the end of summer, more than 200 brown bears gather in the lake basin; they are trusting because they are under protection South Kamchatsky reserve Here it is easier than anywhere else to observe the life of these wonderful animals. The common river otter and fox readily feed on salmon.

On the islands in the middle of the lake there is one of the largest colonies of slaty-backed gulls in fresh water bodies, numbering more than 1.5 thousand pairs.

In winter, an unparalleled concentration of large birds of prey gathers here: up to 300–700 Steller’s sea eagles, up to 100–150 white-tailed eagles, up to 50 golden eagles, cases of flights of bald eagles are known. Most of them are found on river and key spawning grounds in the Khakytsyn-Etamynka interfluve and on the Ozernaya River. Hundreds of them spend the winter on open waters whooper swans and up to 1.5–2 thousand ducks. All of them (even vegetarian species), as well as small forest birds - puffy duck, nuthatch, small spotted woodpecker - to one degree or another feed on sockeye salmon or its eggs. The winter ecosystem of Lake Kurilskoye is unique.

Finally, the lake basin is part of a fairly large area in the extreme south of the Kamchatka Peninsula, where there is a high concentration of passerine birds (especially forest birds) on autumn migrations. The fact is that this area is a pre-start stopover for passerines leaving Kamchatka through Cape Lopatka, since even further south there are no conditions for a long stopover for forest birds.

TO northeast part of the lake is adjacent to the active stratovolcano Ilyinsky with an impressively regular conical structure 1578 m high. The youngest lava flows of this volcano descend directly into the lake, forming several bays. The western shore of the lake is framed by a volcanic extrusion - the Wild Ridge ridge with a highest elevation of 1080 m. In calm, clear weather, volcanoes are reflected as if in a mirror on the surface of the lake, creating fantastically beautiful landscapes. Lake Kurilskoye is one of the most beautiful corners of Kamchatka at any time of the year.

The Kamchatka Peninsula owes its mountainous volcanic relief to a turbulent geological past, when it sank into the ocean and then rose above it again. The activity has not disappeared to this day: seismic stations record up to 800 earthquakes a year, and three dozen volcanoes (out of three hundred in total) remind themselves from time to time with powerful (and not so powerful) eruptions.

In the basin of one of the long-extinct Kamchatka volcanoes (caldera), lies the picturesque Kuril Lake. This is the second largest freshwater body of water in Kamchatka: 77 sq. kilometers (larger is only Kronotskoe Lake with an area of 242 sq. kilometers). Its average depth is estimated at 195 meters, and the maximum reaches 316 meters.

Kuril Lake is located on the territory of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, at an altitude of 104 meters above sea level. Its surface is decorated with islands of volcanic origin: Chayachy, Nizkiy, Heart of Alaid and the Samang archipelago: domes made of lava up to 300 meters high.

Adjacent to the northeastern part of the reservoir is the active 1578-meter high Ilyinsky volcano with an ideal conical shape. Its lava flows descend directly into the lake, forming several bays. And the western coast is framed by the Wild Ridge ridge with its highest elevation of 1080 meters. In calm, clear weather, volcanoes, as if in a mirror, are reflected on the surface of the lake, creating fantastically beautiful landscapes.

The lake is fed by snow and rain, with water levels fluctuating up to 1.3 meters (maximum in May/June, minimum in April). The average water temperature off the coast is about +7.6°C, while the water has never warmed up above +10.8°C in the entire history of observations of this landmark of Kamchatka. However, on the shores of this reservoir there are many hot springs, up to +45°C.

In winter, an unparalleled concentration of large birds of prey gathers here: 300-700 Steller's sea eagles, 100-150 white-tailed eagles, 50 golden eagles. Once on the lake they observed the arrival of a bald eagle - a rare bird whose species is on the verge of extinction. And even such an ordinary bird as the slaty gull is represented here in record numbers: more than 1.5 thousand pairs.

Kuril Lake is the largest spawning ground for sockeye salmon (Pacific salmon) in Eurasia. Many rivers and streams flow into the lake, but only one river flows out, Ozernaya. When the fish goes up against the flow of the river, the water in it literally boils. Salmon numbers range from 2 million to 6 million!

Another unique feature of Kuril Lake is the long spawning period of sockeye salmon: from June to March. Both of these factors attract many brown bears to the shores of the reservoir. Under normal conditions, clubfoots avoid each other, but during salmon spawning they gather together near the lake. Up to 20 individuals can be observed here at the same time, and they are so keen on fishing that they do not pay attention not only to their relatives, but also to people.

Adjacent to the northeastern part of the reservoir is the active 1578-meter Ilyinsky volcano with an ideal conical shape. Its lava flows descend directly into the lake, forming several bays. And the western coast is framed by the Wild Ridge ridge with its highest elevation of 1080 meters. In calm, clear weather, volcanoes, as if in a mirror, are reflected on the surface of the lake, creating fantastically beautiful landscapes.

The lake is fed by snow and rain, with water levels fluctuating up to 1.3 meters (maximum in May/June, minimum in April). The average water temperature off the coast is about +7.6°C, while the water has never warmed above +10.8°C in the entire history of observations of this Kamchatka landmark. However, on the shores of this reservoir there are many hot springs, up to +45°C.

However, tourists are not allowed close here, and you can admire the fishing bears from the territory of the excursion camp and observation towers. Well, or with the help of our panoramas!

And the story about another amazing trip to Kamchatka will consist mainly of an emotional essay by the producer and wonderful muse of our team - Alina Trigubenko, who has already participated in Airpano projects, for example, in Hong Kong, and my comments on it.

Well, Stas and I fell in love with Kamchatka right away, even while filming the eruption of the Tolbachik volcano in December 2012. Nature, people, and even the frost - minus 25 degrees: everything around us was somehow friendly and sincere. Therefore, the thought of returning there haunted me. When, in early August, the phone rang and the woman’s voice on the phone said: “They are bothering you from the Kronotsky Nature Reserve,” it was an opportunity that could not be missed.

The “season for tourists” in Kamachatka is very short: July-August-September. The most “delicious” thing is the autumn colors at the very end. This is exactly the time we dreamed of catching. A month of negotiations, phone calls and approvals... Finally, tickets were purchased, 2 days before departure!

Alina Trigubenko: The expedition to Kamchatka began with an arrival in Elizovo, a small Far Eastern town. On the walls of some houses there is metal cladding in order to protect the buildings from the violence of the elements.

A thought immediately popped into my head; or rather, even hope - what if the weather is already preparing another surprise that will take us by surprise during filming? So powerful, so cinematic.

Surprisingly, contrary to my stereotypical expectations, it was very warm in Kamchatka in early September. Much warmer than in rainy Moscow.

Upon arrival, we, still sleepy, were immediately taken to meet the director of the reserve, Tikhon Igorevich Shpilenok; They explained the tasks, signed the papers and immediately sent us on a sightseeing trip to Petropavlovsk (this is the only way to enter local time - do not sleep until their, Kamchatsky, evening). And so as not to relax, we scheduled a flight for the next morning: to the bears, to Kuril Lake.

AT: Our film crew was incredibly lucky - we had the lucky opportunity to spend the night at the Grassy cordon. There, an impudent fox willingly posed for us, tempted by easy prey in the form of human food, and in the mornings he was on duty at the door of the kitchen, where I prepared food for our men. The rivers surrounding Travyanoy are literally a den of bears!
Only a small electric fence separated us from these seemingly dangerous and huge creatures. But he fulfilled his role: touching the stretched wire with his wet nose, the animal received sufficient rebuff.

Although there was a case when precautions seemed like a hindrance to a person. A few years ago, a famous Japanese photographer came to the cordon and decided not to embarrass himself and his communication with wildlife with a guest house at the cordon: he set up a tent outside. The bear did not miss his chance, and the incident turned out to be tragic.

But in general, according to the inspector Konstantin accompanying us, it is more necessary to protect animals from people than people from animals. Of course, we went to each shoot with a full set of protective equipment, but the inspector’s main weapon was knowledge of the psychology of the bear, its habits, habits, and tastes. It turns out that if you don't provoke them, bears are not aggressive. Four bipedal bipeds with an unknown flying and filming object cannot compete for his attention with a juicy fish, for which you just have to stretch out your paw. During spawning there are millions of delicious sockeye salmon, full of caviar and the desire to die. It sounds creepy, but it’s true - sockeye salmon dies after spawning, literally providing its offspring with all the necessary microelements!

We managed to film bears fishing, islands, and the most interesting cliffs of Kutkhina Bata in good sunshine, but on the day of departure it started to rain. The AirPano team is lucky!

It was a pity to leave Kuril Lake: where else can you find yourself surrounded by 10 real bears, walking at a distance of several meters, who do not care about our presence? (Perhaps this is how the inspector’s gaze affected them?) This is an incomparable sensation. On the way back, the helicopter made a stop at the Khodutka hot springs, but instead of plunging into the 40-degree healing water, we preferred to take pictures. If we talk about Kamchatka, then with all the details!

AT: Next stop was the Valley of Geysers. A truly amazing place - one of 5 similar places on the planet and the only one on our continent. During a powerful landslide in 2007, some of the geysers were under water, but no one was injured: the mudflow stopped a meter from the house in which there were people. The panorama of the Valley clearly shows the scale of the disaster.

Fortunately, many geysers survived, and over time, the water in the lake acquired an emerald color, and it became another attraction of the Valley. The first day of shooting was amazing. By the second morning we had already gotten used to it, and we wanted to shoot a 360 video of one of the geysers - “Bolshoi” in all its glory: a column of water reaching 12 meters in height, clouds of steam...

AT: When we were trying to film an erupting geyser from above, our helicopter was hit by a powerful jet of steam, it lost control and crashed at an impressive speed into an earthen wall on the opposite bank. Our pilot Stas had to go on an expedition to rescue equipment: first become a rock climber, then dive into the muddy water of the lake, where hidden hot springs awaited him. All parts of the filming apparatus were assembled, and Stas escaped with a slight burn to his heel.

I would like to talk more about the filming, but it so happened that another natural disaster took us by surprise, and we found ourselves blocked in the Valley of Geysers with virtually no food supplies and no communication.

AT: A powerful cyclone came, which previously killed dozens of people in Japan; our wooden “guest house” was shaking from the gusts of wind. The rain did not stop for three days. By a fantastically lucky coincidence, just before the cyclone, a helicopter with a group of wealthy tourists and a large supply of food landed in the Valley. Moreover, they brought a professional chef with them! Thanks to Dmitry, who fed us homemade sweets after our film crew shared the last chocolate bar. And when, by the fourth day, their food supplies had melted, we proudly contributed with a bag of oatmeal.

On the fifth day, the cyclone disappeared, and with it, as it turned out, three meters of water in the lake! Our team, naturally, was the first to photograph this federal event and fly around the shallow lake with a video camera. We were the lucky ones who saw and, of course, filmed how several geysers, previously hidden under water, started working. How a geyser bursts into life from under layers of mud: it literally tears apart matter and sweeps away everything in the path of a powerful stream of boiling water! The spectacle is fantastic.

Yes, the sky cleared, helicopters with tourists began to arrive, Alina flew to the mainland, and Stas and I headed to the Uzon caldera.

Uzon greeted us with a riot of colors: yellow birches, red blueberry and lingonberry bushes, green spruce trees, the blue color of thermal lakes... Without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful places on the planet, especially when viewed from the air.

It was there that the Soviet science fiction film “Sannikov Land” was filmed.

Everywhere you look, everything around is boiling, gurgling, smoking: the underground kitchen works continuously. Boiling mud volcanoes of different colors, jets of steam bursting to the surface, hot streams and lakes... This is probably what our planet was like at the beginning of its formation.

Returning from another shoot, Stas noticed a large bear picking blueberries, about thirty meters from the path. The beast didn't even bat an ear when we passed by. I rushed into the hut to get the TV. No, people did not come into his field of attention - eating berries for the hibernation season was much more important than reacting to a person with a tripod. Later, inspectors warned that such calm was deceptive. “Two jumps,” they rated my photo.

Days in the Uzon caldera flew by unnoticed. According to forecasts, another bad weather was approaching, and we could also be “stuck” for several days, like in the Valley of Geysers. We decided not to tempt fate, but to fly to Petropavlovsk on the first plane...

“Bear Region, Kuril Lake, Kamchatka” is part of a trilogy of virtual tours dedicated to photographing Kamchatka landscapes from the air. Other tours from the series of Kamchatka panoramas: “” and “”.

The AirPano team thanks the Russian Geographical Society for financial support in creating the virtual tour, as well as the administration of the Kronotsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve and personally the director Shpilenko Tikhon Igorevich for the ideal organization of the filming process, warmth and care for our film crew.

Kuril Lake is considered the largest spawning ground for sockeye salmon in Eurasia. The population size of this fish can reach 6 million individuals. Spawning lasts a long time - from May to October.

Spawning is important for the ecosystem of this region and the entire peninsula. The registration of incoming fish and monitoring of offspring is carried out by the TINRO observation station. It is located on the west coast and has been operating for a long time.

As soon as the fry hatch from the eggs, they live in the lake for some time and then go into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Years later, they return to the spawning ground to hatch new offspring.

You need to know that sockeye salmon looks different in fresh water and in salt water. The color of the fish during the mating season changes to bright red instead of silver. At this time, males even grow jaws similar to a bird’s beak.

If you believe approximate calculations, then in 1 year up to 10 million fish rise to the Kuril Lake, in rare years the figure reaches 20 million. These are big numbers, indicating the largest sockeye salmon migrations in all of Asia.

At the moment, a large number of fishing enterprises are located along the banks of the river. Ozernoy and along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Technology has developed so much that if you want, you can catch all the fish. Of course, in order to maintain the natural balance in the ecosystem, enterprises adhere to regulations. There are certain days when fish pass without obstacles, and there are days for fishing. This approach has allowed the sockeye salmon population to recover in recent decades.

It takes sockeye salmon about 4 days to reach their destination and lay eggs. The fish moves along the Ozernaya River unevenly and often lingers in depressions along the way. The peak of migration occurs from mid-July to early September.

Of course, in addition to sockeye salmon, there are other types of fish here: chum salmon, pink salmon, chinook salmon, and char.

In addition to large migrations of fish, tourists are attracted here by bears who don’t mind going “fishing”. According to rough estimates, by August about 250 brown bears come to the shore of the lake. They are under the protection of the reserve. Bears feed on fatty salmon and catch river otters and foxes. Browns simply love fishing!

Protection from the reserve workers and the abundance of food affect the behavior of brown bears. They relax more and play with each other. Therefore, photographers from all over the world often come here to take beautiful photos of dancing and kind bears. Such photographs participate in competitions and win prizes.

It’s also impossible to live without birds on Kuril Lake. The largest colony of slaty gulls lives here. In total more than 1500 pairs. In winter, large predators also come here to hunt: golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, and Steller's sea eagles. Their greatest concentration is observed in the area between the Etamanka and Khakytsyn rivers, on the Ozernaya River.

About 2,000 wild ducks and hundreds of whooper swans spend almost the entire winter on the water. The diet of birds necessarily includes sockeye salmon and its caviar. There are no vegetarians here.

Kuril Lake is visited by birds from the passerine family, mainly during autumn migrations. This is explained by the fact that Kuril Lake is the optimal place to relax before leaving the Kamchatka Peninsula. There are simply no more southern places with good parking conditions.

Kurilskoye is a crater lake in the south of the Kamchatka Peninsula on the territory of the South Kamchatka Federal Nature Reserve. The reservoir is surrounded by rocky shores and impenetrable bushes. By and large, in size this giant can only be second to Kronotsky, giving him the palm. Of the freshwater lakes in Kamchatka, Kurilskoe is the second largest (area 12.5 x 8 km).

It seems that here life flows somehow differently, leisurely, calmly, enjoying every moment. It’s beautiful, like in a fairy tale, and this is because the territory of the reserve, where Kuril Lake is located, has been included in the UNESCO Natural Heritage List since 1996. These are not all the interesting facts - we will highlight many of them below, and we are sure that you will feel a sincere desire to see the marvelous land and its attractions with your own eyes!

Kuril Lake on the map

Kuril Lake is located in the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and it can be seen even without using a strong zoom. The coordinates on the map of Russia are as follows: 51°27′18″N, 157°5′54″E

It is difficult to get to the reserve on your own at such a distance from the regional center. There are two options for transport - a helicopter or all-terrain vehicles. Both types of casting have their pros and cons. The main criteria are price, comfort, travel time, as well as dependence on weather conditions. By using a helicopter, you save a lot of time and travel in comfort, but the price of such a trip is many times higher, plus the weather has a big influence. By using road transport you will benefit in price and will not depend so much on weather conditions, but travel time increases many times and comfort, frankly, is much less.

Kuril Lake is located on the territory of the South Kamchatka Federal Nature Reserve, which covers vast areas in the south of the peninsula, including several kilometers of coastal waters. Protection and regulations are the most stringent, since this is the only federal reserve in the Kamchatka region. Employees and volunteers working on the territory tirelessly monitor the conservation of the population of rare birds and animals, including bighorn sheep, sea otters, brown bears, anturas, sealed seals, bean goats, Steller's eagles and many others.

To reduce the anthropogenic load on the natural complex, tourist visits are limited by quotas allocated by the state. Our company receives permission to visit this territory almost a year in advance, and tours are clearly tied to specific dates within the reserve. At the moment, we form only two groups annually, but there are many more interested people.

Weather on the lake

Due to its large area, in some years in winter the reservoir is not covered with ice at all. Imagine that the average water temperature here is quite high. So, off the coast, in September the figure is 7.6 °C, and this, mind you, is not the maximum, which, in turn, is 10.8 °C!

The proximity of the Sea of Okhotsk has a great influence on the weather. This sea is not calm, and the wind often carries rain and fog into the reserve. The only thing that saves us is the volcanoes and mountains surrounding the lake, which, like guardians, take the entire blow upon themselves.

The weather here is changeable and unpredictable. For example, you can go from a camp on the border of the reserve to white waterfalls or a stone town in sunny weather, but during the journey you will find yourself in torrential rain throughout the entire route. And upon returning to the camp, they found out that everything was calm, and the sun was shining just as well.

Therefore, the most valuable advice is to plan thoroughly for Kamchatka! Additional warm clothes, waterproof high boots and a raincoat will not be superfluous. As local guides say: “no one has ever been found fried.”

Origin of the reservoir

The maximum depth of the lake is 316 meters, the water is fresh. Its basin is a volcanotectonic depression, which was formed due to the subsidence of the earth's crust 8300-8400 years ago due to a strong eruption.

The formed depression at 104 m above sea level, the caldera, was occupied by a lake fed by snow and rain. Several islands rising above the surface of the lake are formed by lava deposits. These are the dome-shaped islands of Chayachy, Nizkiy, Heart of Alaid and the Samang archipelago with a relative height of 200-300 meters.

Several rivers and small streams flow into the lake (Etamynk, Vychenkiya, Kirushutk, Khakytsin, etc.), and the Ozernaya River flows out of it, running west to the Sea of Okhotsk. It is along this river that millions of fish rise to lay eggs and give birth to new offspring. Accordingly, the lake is characterized as wastewater. 4 kilometers from the source are the Kukhtina Baths - pumice outcrops associated with an outbreak of acidic volcanism in the early Holocene. The thickness of pumice formations in the area of the Kuril reservoir exceeds 100-110 meters.

Neighbors of the reserve and its attractions

Kuril Lake itself is interesting for many reasons. In particular, they are also interesting “neighbors” for tourists. For example, on the northeastern shore is the famous Ilyinskaya Sopka volcano.

There is also a place here for capes, which help to achieve natural harmony. In the south, Tugumynk juts into the lake, and in the northwest - Pulomynk. Beauty worthy of the brush of the most talented artist. Needless to say, the reserve is always in demand among tourists.

And that's not all - when you arrive here, you will hear the singing of water, it's the rivers running

Vychenkia
Etamynk
Kirushutk
Khakytsin

The river with the euphonious name Ozernaya playfully flows straight into the arms of the Sea of Okhotsk to the west. It is also worth mentioning that on the shore of Teplaya Bay there are outlets of hot mineral waters. Thus, another argument is added in favor of choosing this direction.

On the border of the reserve, there is a small settlement of Pauzhetka, where groups of tourists making a car-pedestrian journey stop.

From here you can go along a difficult and long road to a unique phenomenon - White Falls. You can find them on one of the slopes of the Koshelevsky volcano.

Water from the melting of snow and glaciers on the slopes of the volcano flows through the earth's crust, dilutes the minerals it contains and carries it to the surface. Immediately, minerals settle and color numerous stream beds a ghostly white color. Already from a distance on the approach you can see rivers of milk. When you come closer and scoop up water, it turns out to be transparent. The effect of whiteness is created by the colored riverbed, which is constantly renewed by nature.

Initially, we also took tourists to the White Falls, but the difficult walking road and frequent precipitation in this corner of the reserve caused great disagreement among the group, and in the end we decided to close this part of the route. We hope that someday the feeling of discovery and searching for new places will prevail over the need for comfort, and we will again be able to observe these rivers of milk with you.

The next interesting attraction, one of our favorite places, is the stone town. This bizarre structure was built by the wind.

It is called a town for the similarity of stone sculptures to a once destroyed ancient settlement. Here you can wander through the streets and climb into crevices. This is a place of ancient and mysterious power that can be felt everywhere.

The path to Stone Town is also not easy. For about 3-4 hours you will have to climb along a dry stream bed, through dense bushes and along rocky areas, but when you reach the top, about 850 meters, you understand that all your efforts are not in vain. An indescribable panorama opens up: in the distance Kuril Lake glistens in the sun , the Ozernaya River meanders like a snake, and Pauzhetka “smoke” on the right.

I just want to sit on a pebble under the warm rays of the sun and silently look at the beauty.

Flora and fauna

Kuril Lake is the largest spawning ground for sockeye salmon, a fish of the Pacific salmon family, in Eurasia. The population size here varies between 1.5-6 million individuals. Spawning is very long: it lasts from May to October and determines some of the features of the lake ecosystem.

The spawning process is very important not only for the ecosphere of a given area, but also for the entire peninsula, which is why the special observation station TINRO is responsible for recording incoming salmon and for future offspring. It has been located on the west bank for a long time, fulfilling its mission.

After the new fry hatch from the eggs, they live in the reservoir for some time, and then go to feed in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. A few years later, driven by instinct, they return again.

The same sockeye salmon in the salty waters of the Pacific Ocean and here, in a fresh body of water, looks completely different. In addition to the fact that it stops looking for food, the color of the fish during the mating season changes from silver to bright red, and in males even the body structure is subject to change - jaws similar to a bird’s beak grow.

According to rough estimates, the number of fish that rise to the Kuril Lake per year is about 10 million, and in some years about 20. This is one of the largest migrations of sockeye salmon in Asia, second only to the migration of fish along the largest river of the peninsula - Kamchatka.

Today, many fishing enterprises operate along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and along the banks of the Ozernaya River outside the reserve. The fishing technology is at such a level that, if desired, you can catch all the passing fish. In order not to disturb the natural balance, the operating hours of enterprises are limited to so-called “passing” days, during which the fish rises to its target without hindrance. Thanks to a set of environmental measures, the sockeye salmon population has recovered in recent decades after ruthless fishing in the middle of the last century.

The movement of fish along the Ozernaya riverbed is not uniform. Along the way, it settles in various depressions. The average time required to travel from the ocean to the spawning site is 4 days. The peak of migration, the runic movement, occurs between mid-July and early September. It is at this time that we plan to visit this territory in organized groups as part of tours.

Sockeye salmon is not the only species of fish living here; other species include pink salmon, chinook salmon, chum salmon, and arctic char.

The reserve attracts tourists not only with the spectacle of water red with fish, but also with bears flocking to this rich feast.

As a rule, by August, about 200-250 Kamchatka brown bears, which are under the protection of the South Kamchatka Nature Reserve, come to the lake area. Along with river otters and foxes, they readily feed on hearty and fatty salmon. They definitely like fishing on Kuril Lake!

The abundance of bear food and the protection of the reserve by workers affects the habits of the bears. They have more time to play with each other and relax. It is this circumstance that attracts nature photographers from all over the world. You have probably already seen on the Internet photographs of dancing bears, sad ones against the backdrop of the Ilyinsky volcano, cubs fishing with a twig, and many others. Most photographs of bears participating in various photo competitions are taken in these places.

The islands in the middle of Kuril Lake are home to the largest colony of slaty gulls in fresh water bodies - more than 1.5 thousand pairs. In winter, species diversity on the lake increases. Large predators gather here: about 400-700 Steller's sea eagles, up to 100-150 white-tailed eagles, about 50 golden eagles. Their greatest concentration is observed at salmon spawning grounds in the interfluve of Khakytsyn and Etamynka and on the Ozernaya River.

Several hundred whooper swans and 1.5-2 thousand wild ducks spend the winter on open waters. Sockeye salmon and its caviar are, to one degree or another, included in the diet of all species of birds, including even vegetarian species, and small forest birds (nuthatch, puffy duck, lesser spotted woodpecker, etc.).

During autumn migrations, representatives of the passerine family also visit Kuril Lake. Their choice is explained extremely simply: Kuril Lake is the only suitable place to stop before leaving the Kamchatka Peninsula through Cape Lopatka. To the south there are simply no conditions for stopping passerines.

Origin from time immemorial

Time has stopped here - this is true, but still there is a story that is filled with various interesting events. So, earlier this place was chosen by the aborigines, and their largest fortress settlement was located on Cape Siyushk.

People lived here, loved, worked, and also came up with names for certain natural objects, and, by the way, most of them are closely intertwined with the legends recorded by Krasheninnikov during his campaigns:

Previously, in the place where the lake is now located, there was a majestic mountain, and it was so high that it blocked the sunlight from the neighboring mountains. Naturally, this caused violent indignation on the part of the neighbors. Quarrels began. As a result, the neighboring mountains and volcanoes became so boring that “Vysokaya Gora” could not stand it and... went straight into the Sea of Okhotsk. It was in her place that a lake appeared, which to this day holds her heart. The mountain, going into the sea, left a trail behind it, along which the Ozernaya River, already mentioned by us, ran after it.

A very interesting interpretation, isn’t it. It is also interesting that the local inhabitants (and the whole world) call the rocky island the Heart of Alaid; it is located directly in the south of the island, and is similar in shape to a heart. Krasheninnikov was able to very accurately describe many places that have survived to this day.

One of the brightest and most memorable attractions of Kuril Lake is the active Ilyinsky volcano. It is located in the northeastern part of the lake. Its regular cone-shaped shape is striking, the top of which reaches 1578 m. Relatively young lava flows of Ilyinsky descend directly into the lake and form several bays.

At the foot of the volcano in Teplaya Bay there are thermal springs. They are named Kuril Islands in honor of the lake. Outlets of water with temperatures up to 45 o C are hidden between lava blocks overgrown with dwarf cedar and open forests of stone birch.

The western shore of the reservoir is bordered by the Wild Ridge ridge (1080 m). In calm weather, volcanoes are reflected on the surface of Kuril Lake. Landscapes appear before your eyes, from which it is difficult to take your eyes off. This is probably exactly what the Thirtieth Kingdom, the Thirtieth State, looks like.