Climate

Kamchatka's climate is decidedly continental; cool winters, warm summers. Summer and autumn months are by far the most popular (June-October) when max temperatures range from 15C (59F) to 30C (86F), but a growing trend in winter sports keeps tourism pulsing year-round.

Climatic variation is a startling phenomenon in Kamchatka. There are twenty distinct climate zones, divided along coastal, alpine and geothermal lines. The most startling variations occur in geothermally-active areas, where whole valleys are warmed by steam or geyser fields.

Hot springs have also kept alive dozens of species decimated during the last ice age. At Kronotsky Inlet, steamy riverside springs have preserved an ancient stand of blue-needled fir trees, while the vast six-by-eight-mile Uzon Caldera creates its own climate. Pulsing geysers, heaving mud pools and steam fields warm the earth, causing spring shoots to sprout early and tempting surly brown bears (the world's largest) to emerge early from hibernation. Wagtails let the warm earth do its share of the egg incubation and bald eagles soar through steam clouds, daring anything to move.

Kamchatka's climate is as diverse as its wildlife. You will find a moderate maritime zone on either coast, a continental zone in the central valley with four distinct seasons, and an arctic zone in the northern parts of the peninsula. Depending on when and where you choose to travel on the peninsula, you will find a tremendous variance in temperature. The beauty of traveling to Kamchatka is that all of these climatic zones are easily accessible. Depending on how ambitious an itinerary you choose for yourself, you will find lush forests, extreme mountain ranges, remote lakes, rocky coastlines, and vast tundra.

CLIMATE CONDITIONS (normal, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky)

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