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OPASNY CANYON

The Volkannaya River flows down from the Mutnovsky Volcano slopes and is fed by snow fields and glaciers which intensely melt in summer and not so much in winter (under the influence of fumaroles).

The river carries sulfirous and sulfuric acids and argillaceous sediments with melt and rain waters. They make the river turbid and yellow-grey, the water is bitter. The hazardous substance concentration is so high that the Mutnaya River, into which the Vulkannaya River flows, is lifeless up to the ocean.

The Vulkannaya River rushes from the craters into the channel cut in the lava field, and in 3 km it falls from the vertical cliff (80 m height) into the narrow crack. The edges of its vertical walls are cracked, some parts may crash, that is why the canyon is called Opasny (Dangerous).

In the last three years, the volcanic activity of the Mutnovsky Volcano has increased greatly. In this regard, from September 2023, the access to the Opasny Canyon were closed.