ZECO TRAVEL TALK

A massive landslide covered portions of Russia’s Valley of the Geysers on June 3, 2007. The valley is located within the Kronostsky Nature Reserve and comprises part of “The Volcanoes of Kamchatka,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The slide was more than a mile long and over six hundred feet wide and moved within a three-minute interval. The front of the slide stopped only several feet from a helicopter on the ground near the only tourist hostel in the Reserve. Nineteen tourists and six park personnel were evacuated but no injuries were recorded. The cause of the landslide is uncertain. Initial reports of an associated earthquake have not been confirmed. Volcanic rocks underlying the steep slopes of the Valley have been extensively altered chemically during a long history of penetration by hot, acidic geothermal fluids that characterize the area. This combined with water saturation associated with spring snowmelt could have influenced detachment along already unstable steep slopes.

Tatiana Ustinova, a geo-hydrologist, first described the Valley in 1941. The area was a popular tourist destination during the Soviet era but was closed to foreign visitors until 1990. The Valley is one of only five regions in the world with significant geyser fields, including the United States, Chile, Iceland and New Zealand. Within the Valley, an area of 2.7 square miles hosts more than 20 large geysers, 200 thermal springs, vapor-steam jets, thermal pools and boiling mud-pots.

The landslide originated in the upper reaches of the Vodopandy valley and ultimately inundated the Geysernaya River. The slide created a large dam (180 feet in height) that impounded the Geysernaya River creating a thermal lake. Both the lake and slide debris covered four big geysers within the Reserve, including “Pervents” (Firstborn), a group named “Troynoy” (Triple), “Bolshoi” (Greater) and “Maly” (Lesser). Geysers outside the slide area appear to have not been affected, including the famous “Velikan” (Giant) and “Vitrazh” (Stained Glass). On June 7 the Geysernaya River breached the landslide dam and the thermal lake began to drain. At present it is uncertain the extent to which portions of the Valley buried by slide debris will return to their previous majesty. It is also unclear if geysers and other thermal features initially drowned could return to life if the thermal lake drains completely.

A group of passengers onboard the Clipper Odyssey over flew the Valley of the Geysers by helicopter on June 15 during Zegrahm’s “Kamchatka to Alaska” itinerary. They likely were the first western tourists to view the slide damage.

View the Kamchatka to Alaska Photo Gallery in this Travel Blog for images taken of the Valley of the Geysers on June 15, 2007.