Kamchatka << kam CHAT kuh >> Peninsula extends southward from eastern Siberia, in Russia, between the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. It covers about 135,000 square miles (350,000 square kilometers). A range of volcanic mountains, many of them active, runs the length of the eastern coast. The peninsula has thick forests and many hot springs. Large populations of brown bears and Steller’s sea-eagles inhabit Kamchatka. Its streams have many salmon.
Most of the peninsula’s people are Russians. Others belong to Siberian tribes and include Koryak, Even, Chukchi, Itelmen, and Aleut. The peninsula and nearby islands make up the Kamchatka krai (territory) of Russia. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, on the eastern coast, is the capital and chief port.
