RUSSIA: Mudslide destroys Eurasia's only geyser valley in the remote Kamchatka peninsula

Record ID: 759383

  • Title: RUSSIA: Mudslide destroys Eurasia's only geyser valley in the remote Kamchatka peninsula
  • Date: 5th June 2007
  • Summary: (EU) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JUNE 4, 2007) (REUTERS) VIKTOR NIKIFOROV, DIRECTOR OF WORLD WILDLIFE FUND IN RUSSIA, SITTING AT HIS DESK MAP OF KAMCHATKA ON THE WALL PEN POINTING LOCATION OF GEYSER VALLEY ON MAP (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VIKTOR NIKIFOROV, DIRECTOR OF WORLD WILDLIFE FUND IN RUSSIA, SAYING: "The soil in Kamchatka is young, and what happened is a normal event in Kamchatka. Of course, it is a pity that a unique feature (geysers) has been lost, but in reality such things happen everyday in Kamchatka. The earth is in motion, and Kamchatka is a land of volcanos, and so it's likely that an earth tremor caused the mudslide, which has blocked the river and a natural dam has been created and slowly the geyser valley will fill up with water."
  • Embargoed: 20th June 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVADCSW0UX8KZO1OFA2RWTWB72GI
  • Story Text: A powerful mudslide has destroyed Eurasia's only geyser valley in the remote Kamchatka peninsula of Russia's Far East, local media reports said on Sunday (June 3). The first television footage from the hard-to-reach area showed the valley flooded with grey melting snow, mud, fallen trees and stones. No plumes of white steam from geysers -- a sight widely known from recent video and pictures -- could be seen. Kamchatka, a 1,250 km (780-mile) long peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk, is one of five places in the world where geysers -- springs ejecting hot water and steam into the air -- can be found. There were about 90 geysers in the valley. "The biggest springs may still come through the debris but most of the others are probably lost forever," RIA news agency quoted an unnamed scientist at a local institute as saying. Scientists told RIA the slide had also destroyed deposits of siliceous sinter, or geyserite, a rare stone that takes many years to form. The geyserite cements the rock around the geyser and prevents erosion. About 3,000 tourists come to the geyser valley every year. In Moscow, the director of the Russian office of the World Wildlife Fund, said mudslides on Kamchatka were a frequent occurrence, due to tremors linked to the peninsula's active volcanos. "The soil in Kamchatka is young, and what happened is a normal event in Kamchatka. Of course, it is a pity that a unique feature (geysers) has been lost, but in reality such things happen everyday in Kamchatka. The earth is in motion, and Kamchatka is a land of volcanos, and so it's likely that an earth tremor caused the mudslide, which has blocked the river and a natural dam has been created and slowly the geyser valley will fill up with water," said Viktor Nikiforov, of WWF Russia. "The valley was unique, with a special temperature regime, warmer by 15 degrees Celsius during winter months. Bears used to frequent the valley, and the warm rivers flowed into nearby rivers, which made them very important as hatching grounds for wild fish stocks," added Nikiforov. Russia's Vesti-24 channel quoted scientists as saying unusually warm weather in Kamchatka could have caused the slide. It said the torrent had also blocked the Geisernaya river and the water breaking through the dam could cause more damage in the valley. There is no road leading to the valley. An official at the Ministry of Emergencies told RIA a mission to study the consequences of the slide will fly to the area on Monday.
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