A VOYAGE TO 
1779. The river Awatfka arifes from the mountains fituated 
t0 '* r '_j between the Bolclioireka and the Biftraia, and running, 
from North Weft to South Eaft, a courfe of one hundred 
miles, falls into the bay of Awatfka. The Tigil is like- 
wife a river of conftderable fize, riling amidft fome very 
high mountains, which lie under the lame parallel with 
Kamtfchatkoi Nofs, and, running in an even courfe from 
South Eaft to North Weft, falls into the fea of Okotzk. All 
the other rivers of this peninfula, which are almoft infi¬ 
nite in number, are too fmall to deferve a particular enu¬ 
meration. 
If I may judge of the foil, from what I faw of its vege¬ 
table productions, I fhould not hefitate in pronouncing it 
barren in the extreme. Neither in the neighbourhood of 
the bay, nor in the country I traverfed on my journey to 
Bolcheretfk, nor in any of our hunting expeditions, did 
I ever meet with the fmalleft fpot of ground that refem- 
bled what in England is called a good green turf; or that 
feemed as if it could be turned to any advantage, either in 
the way of pafturage, or other mode of cultivation. The 
face of the country in general was thinly covered with 
ftunted trees, having a bottom of mofs, mixed with low 
weak heath. The whole bore a more ftriking refemblance 
to Newfoundland, than to any other part of the world I 
had ever feen. 
It muft however be obferved, that I faw at Paratounca 
three or four ftacks of fweet and very fine-looking hay; 
and Major Behm informed me, that many parts of the 
peninfula, particularly the banks of the river Kamtfchatka 
and the Biftraia, produce grafs of great height and ftrength, 
which they cut twice in the fummer; and that the hay is 
of a fucculent quality, and particularly well adapted to the 
3 fattening 
