Where is it? Kamchatka Oblast, or region, is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, northeast of Primorye Krai and Khabarovsk Krai and bordered by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. It shares a northern border with Magadan Oblast. It is in the same time zone as Vladivostok, and you can find the current local time here. Like Vladivostok, it was deemed a militarily important area and closed to the West from after World War II until 1990. The military is still here, so don't expect to wander all over all by yourself.

What's the biggest city? Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, population 198,028 as of the 2002 census, out of 358,801 total inhabitants in the region.

Who lives here? Mostly ethnic Russians. Some were exiled here, some were lured here by the prospect of riches from gold and fur-trapping. Kamchatka also includes the Koryak Autonomous Region, which is home to a native ethnic group, the Koryak.

What do they do here? Surprisingly, tourism is a very big draw, especially for eco-tourism, winter sports and scientific exploration. The peninsula includes 160 volcanoes, of which 29 are active. It also features Geyser Valley, the second largest group of geysers in the world after Yellowstone Park in the U.S. Unfortunately, a mudslide earlier this month severely damaged Geyser Valley. According to "Way To Russia", the top 10 things to do on Kamchatka are trekking, kayaking, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, cycling, bathing in hot springs, swimming in the Pacific (brrrrrrr), whale watching and snowboarding. Fishing and forestry are also important industries.

Does it have any English-language news sources? Russia Today has a limited Kamchatka news feed in English.

How do I see what it looks like? You can see pictures of Kamchatka on Flickr. There are a lot of pictures of winter weather, and a few stunning shots of the most recent eruption of Klyuchevskoy Volcano. Fotki has a few volcano shots too.

How do I get here? Not by railroad or road from the mainland--there isn't any. There are, however, roads that connect several points on the peninsula. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport is the way in. It is served by Aeroflot, Domodedovo and Transaero from Moscow, and Vladivostok Avia and S7 Airlines from Vladivostok. You can also go through Khabarovsk on S7 or Dalavia.

Which adoption agencies work here? One or two used to be active in the region, but I don't find any that are active now.

Which Russian adoption bloggers have been here? Nobody that I can find right now. Russia Forum member "Pinkie" adopted her daughter from Kamchatka in 2005 and tells that story here. There a few, very small groups about Kamchatka on Yahoo! groups, but nothing specifically related to adoption.

Truly trivia: Although a Russian explorer, Ivan Kamchaty, discovered the peninsula, the fort that became Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was founded by the Danish-born explorer Vitus Bering in 1740. He died a year later on a nearby island later named Bering Island. His name also survives on the body of water that separates Russia from Alaska.

Need more information? "Way To Russia" has a nice guide to the region, focused on its attractions to tourists. Far North Science out of Alaska covers the volcanic activity on Kamchatka. A local tourism company, Kamchatka's Vision, maintains a fairly detailed site on the peninsula. The climate in Kamchatka is subartic, so pack accordingly; here's the current weather in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky .