From Japanese this area is translated as "the land of the god of the mouth", the Manchu language calls it "Sakhalyan-ulla". Initially, Sakhalin was identified on maps as a peninsula, but subsequent expeditions provided a lot of evidence in favor of the opinion that Sakhalin is still an island.
The harsh lands of Sakhalin are located east of the Asian coast. The island is the largest in the Russian Federation and is a neighbor of the Kuril Islands. A traveler who has visited these places remains deeply impressed for a long time. Natural monuments are the main treasure of the island.
Description and location of the island
The cold waters of the Sea of Okhotsk wash the territory of Sakhalin, warm waters are taken from the Japanese and Pacific Oceans. The Kunashirsky, Treason, Laperouse and Soviet Straits are the only border with the state of Japan. The distance from Sakhalin to the mainland is completely occupied by water.
The area of Sakhalin is 87 thousand square kilometers. This figure includes the islands of Seals, Ush, Moneron, the Kuril ridge with the Kuril archipelago.
From the southernmost point of the island tonorthern there are 950 km. The entire area of Sakhalin looks like a scaly fish (from the height of the ISS flight), where the scales are many rivers and lakes scattered across the island.
The Tatar Strait separates Sakhalin and the mainland. There are two capes in the strait, the width between which is about seven kilometers. For the most part, the coast is flat with numerous estuaries that flow into the seas.
History
Historical background of the island begins with the early Paleolithic, about three hundred thousand years ago.
Today more than 10,000 kilometers separate Sakhalin Square from the Russian capital. The plane flies through seven time zones before reaching the airport of the largest city - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Russian travelers in the 17th century often became pioneers, discovering new lands of their vast country. In the 50s of the 19th century, an expedition led by Nevelsky finally proved the Japanese theory that Sakhalin was an island formation. At the same time, the island was inhabited by peasants, and became the border point of Russia and Japan, so military posts were placed throughout the territory. The next 30 years turned this place into a colony where exiles were sent.
The agreements between Russia and Japan had a great impact on the study of Sakhalin land. For ninety years, the Russian-Japanese border has changed four times. Due to the armed intervention by the Japanese in 1920, the entire area of Sakhalin was occupied. The troops were withdrawn only in 1925, andseven years later, the island became part of the Far East, as the Sakhalin region.
Roaming from one country to another, the Kuriles finally returned to the Soviet Union after the Second World War. The modern border of the region was formed in 1947.
The capital of Sakhalin is the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, which was formed by settlers at the end of the 19th century.
Tourism in Sakhalin
The geography of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands is a treasure trove of the Far East. Until now, the development of island attractions continues. The development of tourism, according to the authorities, should bring the region's economy to a qualitatively new level of development. About 60 travel companies operate on the island, and most of the tourists are from neighboring Japan. They are attracted by the variety of not only natural, but also historical monuments. The authorities of the island also monitor the Japanese heritage left from the occupation.
In recent years, ecotourism has begun to develop actively on Sakhalin. But taking into account the fact that the Japanese are more focused on comfortable conditions of stay, travel companies are limited to field trips, and hotels and hotels are increasingly improving the services provided. Almost all hotels have a menu with oriental dishes (including Japanese).
A program of hikes to Chekhov Peak is being implemented. The territories are being improved more and more, including the construction of a tourist complex in the village of Goryachiye Klyuchi and the Aquamarine tourist center. A project is being prepared for the construction of complexes next to thermomineralsources.
Sights include: incredibly beautiful Bird Lake; the partially destroyed Devil's Bridge; the largest waterfall on the island of Kunashir - Ptichy; active volcanoes Kuriles - Golovnin, Tyatya; lighthouse at Cape Aniva; the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk covered with white rocks; picturesque lake Tunaicha; Treasury of the nature of the Kuril Islands - Iturup Island; northern hot springs of the island; formation on the rocks Kunashir - Cape Stolbchaty; the southern point of the island is Cape Crillon; the most beautiful waterfall on Russian territory - Ilya Muromets.
Population of Sakhalin
Sakhalin Region has about 500 thousand people. Sakhalin is multinational, the population consists of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Koreans, Mordovians, Tatars, as well as indigenous people.
The indigenous population of Sakhalin includes several nationalities: Nivkhs, Tonchi, Evenki, Ainu, Nanai, Uilta. These are the inhabitants of these lands who lived on them before the establishment of modern borders. Indigenous peoples, unfortunately, are very few in number. However, they are still engaged in the development of their national economy and lead a national life.
Flora
Diversity among the flora and fauna of Sakhalin is not observed. Compared to the Japanese Islands, the territory of the Sakhalin Region is quite poor in terms of the number of flora and fauna representatives.
F. Schmidt began to study the flora of the island in the middle of the 19th century. At the moment, there are about1500 species of plants with vessels for holding water, dissolved mineral s alts and other organic elements (vascular).
About seventy percent of Sakhalin is occupied by forests, despite the environmental problem of deforestation and annual fires, the north of the island is still occupied by coniferous trees. This area is considered dark coniferous taiga. New trees grow very slowly due to lack of sunlight. In order for a young tree to receive a good dose of sun, it has to wait until some of the old representatives of the forest fall and bring light into the dark taiga shroud.
There are, of course, light coniferous forests, but their representatives are mainly larches, which are not very common on the island. Why is this happening? The special soil is to blame for everything, under which clay layers are located. They do not allow water to pass through and, accordingly, do not allow trees to develop and grow well. And a very small part of the forest area is occupied by deciduous forests.
Sakhalin forests are rich in wild rosemary, which forms serious thickets and swamps. Of the berries, blueberries and cranberries are common here, and cloudberries grow in the swamps. A large number of perennial grasses and shrubs are represented.
Fauna
The climate of Sakhalin allows forty-four species of mammals to live on the island. Bears, reindeer, otters, wolverines, raccoon dogs and a large number of rodents are common here, about 370 different species of birds, of which 10 are predators.
For the periodThe development of the island by man destroyed a large amount of flora and fauna, so a rather long list of endangered animals and plants of Sakhalin was included in the Red Book.
Industry
Sakhalin industry is developing quite rapidly, it included the oil and gas, coal, fishing and energy industries. Of course, the advantage for many years remains oil and gas production. Thanks to the developments of Sakhalin scientists, Russia entered the list of leading countries in the export of liquefied natural gas. Sakhalin provides gas to Japan, Thailand, Korea, Mexico and China.
The development of offshore deposits made it possible in terms of money to improve the condition of roads, residential premises and so on. For the continuous growth of the region's economy, work is underway to attract continuous investment in existing projects.
Sakhalin climate
The climatic conditions of the island are moderate monsoons, due to the direct proximity to the water. Winter here is quite snowy and long, and summer is cold. For example, January weather has strong northern winds and frosts. Quite often you can get into a snowstorm. Snow avalanches are also not uncommon here, sometimes the winter wind reaches an incredible speed of hurricane force. In winter, the temperature drops to -40 degrees, and adjusted for the wind even lower.
Summer on Sakhalin is short - from mid-June to early September with temperatures ranging from 10 to 19 degrees above zero. It's rainy enough, the Pacific brings highhumidity.
The warm current of the Sea of Japan flows in the southwest, while the east coast is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk with a cold current. By the way, it is the Sea of Okhotsk that dooms Sakhalin to cold spring weather. The snow usually doesn't melt until May. But there were also record highs of +35 degrees. In general, each season here comes with a three-week delay. Therefore, August has the warmest days and February the coldest.
Summer brings floods to the island. In the 80s, Sakhalin suffered from a powerful typhoon. He left more than 4,000 people homeless. And in 1970, a typhoon poured more than a month's rainfall in a few hours. A fifteen-year-old typhoon brought mudslides and landslides. Usually these weather conditions come from the Pacific Ocean.
Geography and geology
The geographical relief of Sakhalin Island is determined by mountains of medium and low height, as well as flat areas. The West Sakhalin and East Sakhalin mountain systems are located in the south and in the center of the island. The north is represented by a hilly plain. The coast is marked by four peninsular points and two large bays.
The relief of the island consists of eleven areas: the Schmidt Peninsula is a land with a steep rocky coast and mountainous terrain; the plain of northern Sakhalin is a territorial area with hills and many river networks, it is here that the main oil and gas fields are located; mountains of the western part of Sakhalin; lowland Tym-Poronaiskaya - located in the center of the island, the mainpart of it is swampy; Susunai lowland - located in the south and most of all populated by people; the eponymous ridge - Susunaisky, which includes the famous Chekhov and Pushkinsky peaks; mountains of eastern Sakhalin with the highest point - Mount Lopatin; peninsula of Patience with its lowlands; plateau Korsakovskoe; lowland Muravyovskaya, consisting of numerous lakes, popular among local residents; the Tonino-Anivsky ridge, famous for the Kruzenshtern mountain and its deposits of the Jurassic period.
Mineral resources
First place among the natural resources of Sakhalin Island is occupied by biological, moreover, this niche brings the region to the first place in the Russian Federation. The island is rich in hydrocarbon reserves and coal deposits. In addition, large quantities of wood, gold, mercury, platinum, chromium, germanium and talc are mined on Sakhalin.
How to get to the mainland?
The distance from Sakhalin to the mainland of Russia can be overcome in several ways: by plane (for example, from the nearest city of Khabarovsk), by ferry from Vanino, and for extreme people in winter, you can overcome the water part on foot on frozen ice.
The Nevelskoy Strait is considered the narrowest point between the mainland and the island, its width is about seven kilometers.
However, the island has an interesting history of the frozen railway construction, which began under Stalin. Moreover, the trains had to pass through special tunnels through the already mentioned Cape Nevelskoy and Cape Lazarev. The construction of railway lines was carried out by convicts from Gulag prisons. Work progressed at a fast pacehowever, the leader's death brought the project to a complete h alt. Many prisoners were amnestied.
Surprisingly, not a single bridge has been built in all the past years. Therefore, modern developments begin precisely with the intentions of constructing bridge crossings. Moreover, Russia intends to connect Sakhalin with the Japanese island of Hokkaido, for more fruitful cooperation between the regions.
