Kamchatka on the map of Russia is located in the north-eastern part of the country. In the east, it is washed by the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, in the west - by the Sea of Okhotsk. The nature of Kamchatka is amazing and beautiful. Tourists love to visit these places.
But there are quite dangerous territories on the peninsula. This is the Death Valley , where birds, animals and people die in almost minutes. Surprisingly, only microorganisms survive in it. Scientists have been researching this phenomenon for a long time, but have not yet found an explanation for it.
Death Valley History
The story of Death Valley begins long ago. It was not created by man, but by nature. Some call it the Land of Paradoxes. It is located next to the Valley of Geysers - a favorite tourist destination.
For a long time no one knew about the existence of the Death Valley. Although once a research expedition, heading to the Uzon volcano, settled down on vacation almost 300 meters from it. But she did not pay attention to the Death Valley.
Location of Death Valley
Death Valley is located in the Kronotsky Reserve, in which there is an active volcano Kikhpinich. The Geysernaya River flows along its western slope. Death Valley is located on the other side of the volcano. It occupies a small territory - only 500 m wide and 2 km long.
Interesting places of Kamchatka
Kamchatka on the map is located in the north-east of Eurasia. The peninsula has its own unique attractions. For example, the Valley of Geysers. The nature of Kamchatka is striking in its majestic beauty.
One of its unique places is Death Valley. This is a very picturesque place. There are a number of natural terraces on the western slope of the volcano. Steam constantly rises above them from the hot springs located nearby.
The valley is deadly to all living things. As soon as the sun begins to warm, small animals descend into the valley. But they quickly die in it. They are followed by large predators that eat carcasses of small animals. But they die, even moving away from a black spot.
The Death Valley in Kamchatka stubbornly keeps its secret. Scientists have found almost 200 dead animals and birds. Among them are bears, hares, lynxes, crows, wolverines, eagles and foxes. Animals and birds are much more sensitive than humans. Their sense of smell is so developed that they sense anomalous zones in advance and bypass them.
Then the question arises: “Why did the animals and birds, despite the danger, nevertheless enter the valley and not leave it at the first alarming signals of the body?” Despite all the horrors that the valley is fraught with, many tourists come to see it.
Discovery of Death Valley
The Death Valley in Kamchatka was discovered only in 1930 by Kalyaev (forester) and Leonov (volcanologist). Local residents later said that, hunting, they lost several dogs. They began to look for them. And when they found, the animals were already dead. Death came, according to the hunters, from a sudden stop in breathing. Nearby were many more corpses of birds and other animals.
Some of them were completely gnawed, and some had already decomposed. Suddenly, the hunters became ill, and in a panic they hastened to leave this place. According to their stories, everyone felt a metallic taste and dryness in their mouths. Weakness spread over my body, my head began to spin and chills appeared. After the hunters left the valley, all the unpleasant sensations passed after a few hours.
Unique and dangerous Death Valley (Kamchatka, Russia)
Not only animals suddenly die in the Death Valley. Since it became known about her, many scientific expeditions have tried to investigate it. But some scientists from them have not returned home. Over 80 years, according to estimates by the reserve’s employees, more than 100 people have died.
In the Death Valley, even large animals die, such as bears, lynxes, etc. Some of them were simply poisoned by the meat of dead animals, which they tried in the valley. And they died already outside the death zone. At autopsy, scientists discovered multiple internal hemorrhages in all.
What is the secret of Death Valley?
The death valley in Kamchatka attracted many scientists. In her study, they first believed that the death of animals and people occurs due to the high concentration of gases that fill this place. They include life-threatening compounds that can cause poisoning. And the symptoms really were similar to those observed at dissection of animals.
Only such harmful compounds act slowly. Therefore, the animals that left the valley would survive. Moreover, these volcanic substances can not be so toxic as to poison the meat so much that after eating it, the bears died a few hours later.
What secret do Kamchatka mountains keep?
The peninsula not only attracts with the beauty of its places, but also does not get tired of surprising scientists. On the eastern ridge of the Kamchatka mountains is located the active volcano Kikhpinich. On one of its sides a valley was discovered in which all animals and birds die. It is deadly to humans as well.
In the Death Valley, chemical analyzes of air were performed. Deadly cyanide was found in it. This is the most poisonous and fastest gas. When it enters the body, it blocks breathing, and a person or animal can die in a matter of seconds.
In this case, cyanide is able to accumulate in the body. And so poison the meat that the animal, having tasted it, dies very quickly. Only there are a few but. The concentration of cyanide should be very high in the meat in this case. But this would require such an amount in the air that everyone who had just entered the valley would die right on the spot, not having time to go further.
There is a second one, which indicates that cyanide cannot be the cause of such a high mortality rate. Even in small amounts, this gas causes severe tearing. But many travelers and scientists who visited the valley and returned back, were in it without gas masks. And they did not suffer from tearing.
The third but - cyanide kills all life, up to microorganisms. And in the valley there are gnawed corpses. Moreover, many decomposed. And this is the activity of bacteria that need oxygen. Otherwise, the corpses would simply dry out. So, the Death Valley in Kamchatka is still not fatal for everyone. And it turns out that the concentration of poisonous gas is not so high as to cause deaths if microorganisms do not die.
Animal Rescue in Death Valley
Death Valley is an inexplicable phenomenon. After the first research, scientists began to take it much more seriously. They work on its territory only in gas masks. They live nearby, but at a safe distance.
Volunteers constantly come to cleanse her from the corpses of small animals so that large predators do not enter the deadly territory. As a result, people were able to save the lives of many animals.