Hot springs are found all over the peninsula, and 8 m. above the village of Paratunka, on the Paratunka river, is the confluence of a deep river, formed by hot springs, which is navigable for canoes for 2 m. It rises among hot lakes, one of which is 200 yd. long and 14 yd. wide, and is much resorted to by the natives for its medicinal qualities.
The Komandorski islands, Bering and Myedni, form part of the province and are long and mountainous (2,600 ft.). They are the centre of a cod-fishing industry in the hands of Americans, who salt the fish for the Chinese and Japanese markets.
Their main industry in the past was the hunting of the fur seal (Otaria ursina) ; the male seals arrive at the end of May or in early June, and the females in mid-June for breeding. The pups are black at birth, but get a fresh coat of grey fur in August. The promiscuous killing of fur seals in calf in the open sea greatly diminished their numbers and led to protracted disputes. In 1890, 55,435 reached the market, but in 1911 only 200. Hunting these animals in the open sea was forbidden by the Washington International Commission for 15 years and 1912-17 was ob served as a close season in the islands themselves; the industry is slowly recovering. There are also reindeer and arctic foxes.
The islands have been inhabited for about a century by Aleuts. The chief settlement is Nikolski, on Bering island, where a wire less station is projected, and which has a steamer link in summer with Petropavlovsk. Karaginski island, opposite the Karaga river, also belongs to the province, from which it is separated by a channel 3o to so m. in breadth. Its mountains (2,00o ft.) form precipices off the north coast.
The Kamchatka River.—The chief river of the peninsula is the Kamchatka about 35o m. long, and its longitudinal valley, before it pierces the volcanic chain, is the least unfavourable re gion for agriculture. Carrots, potatoes and cabbages do well in the small •vegetable gardens, and clover and flax crops ripen. But rye, sown in May, frequently fails to mature by August, and the crop is rarely successful, so that the country depends on imported grain. Dairy cattle and horses could be bred, but, though a few are kept for local needs, attempts to introduce a dairy industry for export have failed up to the present. The Kamchatka river rises in two streams, one in the Ganal tundra, and the other in a lake in the Central range ; it discharges into the Kamchatka gulf over a low tundra, after receiving the overflow of Nerpiche lake.
Where the broad river meets the sea there is a maelstrom and motor boats visiting the river during the short summer season frequently capsize, so that to effect a landing is a precarious under taking. The Russian village of Ust-Kamchatsk is situated to the south of the river, while in the north are the Russo-Japanese fish canneries of Ust-Kamchatsk, which afford employment to 2,000 Japanese in the summer. About io m. south of the river are the Japanese "Nichiro" canneries, also employing 2,000 summer hands. Both canneries are idle in winter. A powerful wireless station on the north bank of the river communicates with the wireless station at Petropavlovsk.
For 20 m. or more from the mouth of the river, extends a swampy tundra, intersected by the countless arms of the river, with stunted willows and osier beds in places. The mouth freezes over towards the end of November, and thaws between April and the end of June; the upper course thaws in March and floods result. Of the numerous short streams running east and west the more important are :—the Tigil, 25o m., but navigable only in the tidal area, the Bolshaya, both on the west, and the Avacha, the Goligino, famous for its pearls, and the Oblukovino, which has gold in its upper reaches, on the east.
Climate.—Though much of the peninsula is situated in the same latitude as the British Isles, its climate is extremely severe. The short June to August summer is cooler than on the mainland of Siberia, particularly on the east, where the effect of the open ocean is emphasised by a cold current. Monsoonal rain is heavy at this season, and Bergman noted heavy snowdrifts lying in the south of the peninsula in the second week in June, 1920. Winter snowstorms are frequent and of such violence that travel in them is impossible. Coastal fogs are prevalent in summer. Winter temperatures are not so low as on the mainland. At Petropav lovsk the average January temperature is 13.8° F, July 58.3° F, while in the upper Kamchatka valley they are January 16° F, July 58°-64° F. The average annual precipitation is 4o in. or more and is excessive in view of the lack of evaporation. The rivers are frozen for 6 months or more.