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(Source: http://www.kronoki.ru)
The views of the Kronotskoye Lake strikingly remind of classic Japanese landscapes: mountains and waters, regular volcanic cones over wide waves. In addition to the natural unique character, the beauty of the lake views is a compelling reason to come here.
A talented photographer or an artist can create the “Hundred Views of Kronotskaya Mountain” which will be no worse that the famous views of Fuji. The role of Fuji is played by the volcano Kronotskaya Bald Peak on the eastern side of the lake.
The Krasheninnikova Volcano stands on the southern side, it is not such a perfect picture, but is also closely connected to the lake. The activity of these two volcanoes gave birth to the lake ten thousand years ago, during the Late Pleistocene, when the flows of lava flooded the river that flowed here. A water reservoir of unusual shape appeared (almost an isosceles triangle), it is the largest one on Kamchatka with the area of 242 square kilometers.
Eleven islands in the eastern part of the Kronotskoe Lake are named after the participants of Kamchatka expedition of Fedor Ryabushinsky who explored these places in 1908-1910. Large colonies of Pacific gulls gather on the islands; eagles, osprey, peregrine falcons nest on the shores of the lake, swans decorate the water surface.
Swans can be seen even in the winter when the lake freezes - they spend the winter at the source of the ice-free Kronotskaya River. Underwater inhabitants of the lake are the special kinds of loaches and kokan’ (the “settled” kind of red salmon) formed in a closed ecosystem.
The lake is connected with the ocean by Kronotskaya River, but the ordinary salmon cannot pass through it: the rapids in the upper reaches present the obstacles for them. From the photographers’ point of view, the Kronotskoye Lake is one of the most photogenic and meditative places of the reserve.
You can observe all Kronotskoye weather metamorphoses in five minutes. One can often see a rare natural phenomenon - lenticular clouds - above Kronotskaya Bald Peak. These clouds are formed between the horizontal layers of air in a sufficiently moist atmosphere.
They resemble a flying saucer hanging over the mountain: not moving with the wind, they twist around the top, just like cotton candy.
You can get to the Kronotskoe Lake, as well as all to the territory of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, only through the official tour operators of Kamchatka Krai. Independent visits are prohibited. An alternative way is to spend a month as a volunteer in the reserve. There are no special tours of the lake. They are combined with the visits to the Valley of Geysers and the calderas of the Uzon Volcano.
Author: Anna Dorozhkina
