Valley of the Geysers. Gone!!!!

This really breaks my heart.

A massive landslide has completely destroyed one of the world’s greatest natural treasures: the Valley of the Geysers.

Located in Kamchatka, a part of Russia’s Far East, the Valley of the Geysers is, as you might imagine, a valley of geysers–more than 90 in fact. This desolate natural phenomenon was discovered in 1940 and today remains accessible only by helicopter. I’ve been dying to visit for a number of years now and was probably within 12 months of doing so. It never occurred to me that I needed to hurry up before it disappeared. But on Sunday, a landslide more than a mile long and 600 feet wide buried 2/3 of the famous valley and most all of its geysers.

Yes, our world is a fragile place indeed. After all the squawking I’ve done in the last two years about global warming and disappearing glaciers, I never thought that the Valley of the Geysers would be the first to go. And yet, it has happened.

The only good news here is that the landslide has created a natural dam and experts believe that a lake will eventually take form here. In the meantime, we can only gaze upon the above photo, taken by Robnunn, and wave goodbye to a very cool place indeed.