The New Student's Reference Work/Kamchatka

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search

See also Kamchatka on Wikipedia, and the disclaimer.


Kamchatka (kȧm-chȧt′ kȧ), also spelled Kamschatka, a peninsula of eastern Siberia, stretching into the Pacific, between Bering Sea on the east and the Sea of Okhotsk on the west.  It covers an area of nearly 150,000 square miles, although the population is under 10,000.  Fishing and hunting constitute the chief occupations of the inhabitants, and furs are the most valuable production of the peninsula.  Kamchatka was annexed to Russia at the close of the 17th century; and in 1855 was incorporated with the maritime province of Siberia.  See Kennan’s Tent-Life in Siberia.