Penzhina

a river in Kamchatka Oblast, RSFSR. The Penzhina is 713 km long and drains an area of 73,500 sq km. It rises on the Kolyma Highlands and empties into Penzhina Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk. In the upper course it flows through a deep valley, and in the lower, through an intermontane depression. It is fed by snow and rain. The mean flow rate is approximately 680 cu m per sec. The Penzhina freezes in November, and the ice breaks up in May or early June. The main tributaries are the Shaiboveem, Kondyreva, and Oklan on the right, and the Aianka, Chernaia, and Belaia on the left. Timber is rafted on the river, which is navigable.

a mountain range in Kamchatka Oblast, RSFSR. Situated between Penzhina Bay and the Penzhina River valley on one side and the Parapol’skii Dol on the other, the range is 420 km long, with elevations to 1,045 m. It is composed of extrusive rocks, sandstones, and schists and is broken by the valleys of the rivers of the Penzhina River basin. Sparse stands of dwarf stone pine are found to elevations of 300 to 700 m; above, there is grass and lichen tundra.