Mutnovsky, Gorely, Viluchinsky Volcanoes

Mutnovsky, Gorely, Viluchinsky Volcanoes

 The Southern Volcanic group is situated in 75 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchastky. It includes the following volcanoes: Viluchinsky, Mutnovsky and Groely. This volcanic group deserves to be one of the most attractive tourism destinations of Kamchatka. The way to this volcanic group goes along the Paratunka area and further along the west side of the Paratunka River valley. Near the end of the farmed land, an unpaved road begins; this provides access to the Mutnovsky area, a geothermal power station. Along this road there are many places that are worth visiting: Verkhne-Paratunskie Hot Springs, Viluchnsky waterfall, Barkhatnaya Hill, Karymshinskie Hot Springs and Dachnye Hot springs. From the road you can admire the beautiful view of the splendid but inactive cone of  the Viluchinsky volcano. The road climbs a gently sloping ridge in a lovely environment of open mountain tundra. We stop at a viewpoint on the broad plateau east of Gorely; the shield volcano of Gorely lies to the west, beyond the rim of its modest caldera wall; the ice-clad ramparts of the Mutnovsky volcano lie further away to the south; the Viluchinsky cone rises to the northeast. This mountainous tundra is one of the best places for exploring Kamchatka alpine flowers.

Vilyuchinsky volcano is the closest volcano to Petropavlovsk in the south. It is situated on the opposite side of the Avacha Bay. The Vilyuchinsky volcano is extinct. It has a very beautiful cone, the height reaches 2175 m. At the foot of the volcano from the south-eastern side there are the Verkhne-Vilyuchinskie hot springs, and on the north-western side of the volcano a 40-meter waterfall is situated.

Gorely volcano is located in Southern Kamchatka, 75 km southwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. This volcano presents a volcanic ridge that consists of several merged cones. The summit of the range reaches the absolute height of 1892 m and has a series of craters. Besides the top craters, there are six more side craters on the slopes. The distance from the foot of the volcano to the edge of the 1st crater is about 5 km.

Mutnovsky volcano is situated near Gorely, 80 km south of Petropavlovsk. The absolute height of the Mutnovsky volcano is 2323 m. The Mutnovsky volcano is considered to be one of the most beautiful places in Kamchatka. It has two craters, the first one is called Central, and its dimensions are 2 km x 1,5 km. There one can see different displays of volcanic activity, with beautiful blues and yellows dramatically colouring the scene. One of its slopes is covered with a gorgeous glacier. The second crater is smaller, but shows strong fumarole activity. The last eruption took place in 2000. Because of the volcanic activity, some part of the glacier melted and a volcanic lake has appeared. But even in quiet periods, the volcano excretes large amount of energy in the form of fumarole gases and numerous powerful thermal springs. It is one of the largest geothermal deposits in the world.