Description
CLIMBING ON TOLBACHIK VOLCANO |
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1. Theme |
SIGHTSEEING & FIRST SIGHT ACTIVITIES ADVENTURES EXTREME NATURE |
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2. Region, cities, Itinerary of travel |
Kamchatka |
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3. Seasonality |
JULY-AUGUST |
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5. The complexity, style of the tour |
Medium Soft adventure Wildlife watching and trekking |
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6. Accommodation |
Camping |
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7. Number of days |
4 days |
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8. Number of people |
Starting from 10 persons |
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9. Booking conditions |
2-3 month in advance Group tour Guaranteed departures |
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10. Price range |
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11. Summary of the program |
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Tolbachinsky Dale is one of the most unique places of Kamchatka. Tolbachik volcano is situated in the south-west part of the Klyuchevskaya volcanic group. This place is famous for the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption which includes North and South Fissures (1975-1976). The North Fissure consists of slag cones, hardened lava flows, coming down the western slope, slag fields, which formed during the eruption and spread over the territory of more than 1000 km2. In Soviet times the lunar vehicle tests were held in this area.
Even after more than 35 years after that great eruption the area is still like another planet’s surface. The lifeless, at the first sight, slag fields, the chains of variegated slag cones, scattering in numerous directions, volcanic bombs, moving of the dead forest, fixed by the hot breath of the volcano, and bright northern patterns created by flowers on the dark slag.
The last eruption in 2012-13 attracted the volcanologists and lovers of volcanic activities here. Plosky Tolbachik is the only volcano in the Kurile-Kamchatka zone which erupts in the Hawaiian type. It means that during its eruptions the extended flows of liquid lava flow down, the lava gushes and there is not much volcanic slag. The period of Tolbachik volcanic activity is about 35 years. The volcano has been observed since 1740. Since then 10 eruptions has been fixed, 4 of them were great. The last eruption started on the 27th of November, 2012, at the south-west slope of Plosky Tolbachik. The lava began to gush and flow from the 6 km in length fissure. The eruption lasted for 9 months and finished on the 28th of August, 2013. The total volume of 2012-2013 lava at the end of the eruption was about 0,5 km3. The lava covered the area of 36 km2.
The top of Plosky Tolbachik is “cut” by the caldera of 3 km in diameter. The caldera is filled with ice and eruption products. There is a depression in the western part of the caldera which is about 300 m in diameter and 40-50 m in depth. There are gas emissions which are accompanied by suffocating smell of sulfur. The ascending is quite easy and doesn’t require any special training, but it takes rather long time, in average about 10-12 hours (including the way back). The Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption started in summer, 1975. It was one of the greatest and most beautiful eruptions of the XXth century. The great fissure formed in 18 km from Plosky Tolbachik crater, magma began to gush from the fissure forming new cones. The eruption lasted more than 1 year. The lava flows covered huge territory, volcanic bombs were scattered for many kilometers, the slag layer reached 7 meters in height. All the life was destroyed around the volcano.
PROGRAM - MINIMUM 3-4 DAYS Day 1 - Transfer to Kozyrevsk village. Transfer to Kozyrevsk village by all-terrain vehicle (600 km). Stop for lunch at Milkovo village. Arrival at Kozyrevsk in the evening. Dinner, overnight in tents. Day 2 - Dead Forest. Lava eruption flows 2012 – 2013. Breakfast. Transfer to the bottom of Plosky Tolbachik volcano. Arrival at the campsite. Lunch, camping in tents. After lunch transfer to the Dead Forest area or trekking to new lava flows of 2012-2013 eruption. Dinner at the camp. Overnight in tents. Day 3 – Ascension on Plosky Tolbachik volcano. Breakfast. The ascension on Plosky Tolbachik volcano, 3085 m. Boxed lunch en route. Dinner at the camp. Overnight in tents. * Ascending the Tolbachik volcano according to bad weather conditions can be replaced by trekking to new lava flows of 2012-2013 eruption or a trip to the Dead Forest and climbing the North Fissures. Day 4 - Transfer to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Breakfast. Transfer to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (600 km). Stop at Milkovo village for lunch. Arrival in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. |
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