Expression of active tectonics in morphology of a river valley (an example of the Kamchatka River valley)

The Kamchatka River is the largest river of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The area of the Kamchatka River basin makes it one of the largest that emerged above the subduction zone. The peninsula is located in a temperate maritime climate, which favors intensive fluvial processes, especially for the largest river system of the peninsula. The study of fluvial processes within the Kamchatka River basin is based mainly on the publications of the mid-XX century. Recently dated deposits and remote sensing data permits us to identify the spatial distribution of the factors affecting the Kamchatka River valley topography. For this study, the relative elevation model and the main morphometric characteristics of the Kamchatka River - the stream gradient and the tortuosity ratio – have been calculated. Changes in the morphology of the valley and in the characteristics of its modern channel allow us to distinguish eight segments of the Kamchatka River valley. The contrast topography of the Kamchatka River valley, is caused by a non-uniform submergence of the CKD with rates exceeding those of fluvial processes.