Kamchatka is the newest area on earth,save for a few islands, and has 15 active volcanoes, is snowbound most of the year,is bigger than California, with only 387,000 people – most of them in Petropavlovsk.

Major boiling points below:

About 100 miles away, over an ice or deep mud road,snowbound 11 months of the year, high into the mountains is a geothermal plant – to harness volcanic energy. Here is one of the buildings. Getting the power to the city is problematic.

A five hour climb brings you into a volcano that sometimes erupts . This is foul smelling hot sulfur gas escaping from the blowhole.One must walk carefully – sinking into the hot earth would turn your leg into charred bone instantly.

Back down in the valley – boiling mud bubbles out of the Earth everywhere – creating a beautiful,surreal scene.

Here’s some footage I shot a few years back – inside the steamy caldera of a Sumatran volcano!