This six kilometers basin is the only geyser field in all of Eurasia and second largest in the world. It is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it has about ninety geysers and many other thermal springs. It was discovered by Tatiana Ustinova, a local scientist, in 1941 but serious exploration of the area began in 1972. In the 1980s The Valley of Geysers was presented as one of the main attractions of the Kamchatka peninsula, in an attempt to raise tourist awareness. Foreign tourists were allowed access to the valley in 1991.
The Valley of Geysers suffered some modifications, due to a massive mud flow that covered a part of the basin in the summer of 2007. However in recent months the waters have receded exposing some of the submerged areas. The largest geyser, Velikan, able to shoot jets of water 40 meters high, was not affected by the landslide.