The southern Kamchatkan thermal field: once the fog lifted – the mega-volcanism was revealed.

When descending the slope of Kambalny Ridge the volcanism goes into overdrive. Everything hissing, boiling, and bubbling, and with every color of the rainbow present. The overall result is a surrealistic scene – like a mini-Uzon. So, of course – we set up camp right in the middle of it!…

Alas, the weather wasn’t great…

This here hut was occupied, so we pitched our tents next to it:

A modest supper al fresco:

Glamping amenities:

The dismal weather continued…

So we lay low for a while. Some of us turned to drink!…

There’s no cold lake to cool your beer in here like there is at Ksudach; but here there’s another solution:

And here’s our chief sommelier, DZ, off to dig a fresh beer cooler ) ->

My lying low mainly consisted of sleeping, interspersed with short stretches of wakefulness when I’d take silly photos – like this one:

Others decided to make rock mosaics ->

Some decided to sit it out in the tents:

Kamchatka contrasts ->

When the weather cleared up somewhat – off we popped for walkies…

The southern Kamchatkan thermal fields really are something:

Chemical-soup streams:

Apparently the streams are good for the skin – full of minerals as they are, so pools have been made for spa treatments:

The further we walked – the brighter the colors:

…And all the more potent the volcanisms:

Modern Kamchatka-kunst:

Incredibly – life: some kind of algae:

According to one hypothesis, life on Earth came about as a result of volcanic gurgles and chemical reactions. So, could new life still be nascent on such thermal sites? Could new life forms emerge – maybe ones we won’t like at all?…

Pulsating hot springs – not to be confused (yeah, right) with geysers:

A few gifs thereof:

You can walk around this volcanic zoo for hours and hours; we sure did:

Red sky at night – Kamchatka tourists’ delight! ->

Kambalny:

Kurile Lake:

The Sea of Okhotsk, with Atlasov Island/Alaid volcano top-left:

Oh my gorgeous! ->

The rest of the photos from our Kamchatka-2024 trip are here.