Chukotka Autonomous Okrug or Chukotka is located in the Far East. It
borders with the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the west, with the
Magadan region in the southwest and the
Kamchatka Territory in the south. Across the Bering Strait is the US
territory of Alaska. The shores of the district are washed by the East
Siberian and Chukchi seas of the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea of the
Pacific Ocean.
Most of the territory is located on the Chukotka
Peninsula and is located beyond the Arctic Circle, but here the weather
is slightly milder than in neighboring Yakutia.
Elgygytgyn Lake
Pevek
Provideniya
Wrangel Island
The Chukotka National District was formed by the resolution of the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee of December 10, 1930 “On the
organization of national associations in the areas of settlement of
small nationalities of the North” as part of the Far Eastern Territory
of the RSFSR. At that time it included the following areas: Anadyrsky
(center - Novo-Mariinsk, also known as Anadyr), Eastern Tundra (center -
Ostrovnoye), Western Tundra (center - Nizhnekolymsk), Markovsky (center
- Markovo), Chaunsky (center in the Chaunskaya area lips) and Chukotka
(center in the Chukotka cultural base - St. Lawrence Bay), transmitted
by:
from the Far Eastern Territory, the Anadyr and Chukotka regions
in their entirety;
from the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist
Republic the territory of the Eastern tundra with the border along the
right bank of the Alazeya River and the Western tundra, areas of the
middle and lower reaches of the Omolon River.
When the region was
zoned in October-November 1932, it was left “within its previous borders
as an independent national district, directly subordinate to the
region.”
On July 22, 1934, the All-Russian Central Executive
Committee decided to include the Chukotka and Koryak national districts
into the Kamchatka region, however, such subordination was of a rather
formal nature, since from 1939-1940 the territory of the district was
under the jurisdiction of Dalstroy, which exercised full administrative
and economic management on subordinates him territories.
On May
28, 1951, by decision of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the
district was allocated to direct subordination to the Khabarovsk
Territory.
Since December 3, 1953 it was part of the Magadan
region.
In 1980, after the adoption of the RSFSR Law “On
Autonomous Okrugs of the RSFSR”, in accordance with the 1977
Constitution of the USSR, the Chukotka National Okrug became autonomous.
On June 17, 1992, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug seceded from the
Magadan Region and received the status of a subject of the Russian
Federation.
Currently, it is one of four autonomous okrugs that
are not part of another subject of the Russian Federation.
The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is a territory subject to a border
regime.
The entry of foreign citizens into the part of the
territory of the district adjacent to the sea coast and onto the islands
is regulated, that is, permission from the border service of the Russian
Federation or documents allowing stay in the border zone are required.
Until 2018, this also applied to Russian citizens; currently only visits
to Wrangel, Herald and Ratmanov Islands are regulated for them.
Specific sections of the border zone on the territory of the district
are determined by Order of the FSB of the Russian Federation dated April
14, 2006 No. 155 “On the limits of the border zone on the territory of
the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.” In addition, the entry of foreign
citizens into the entire territory of the district is regulated in
accordance with Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of
July 4, 1992 No. 470 “On approval of the List of territories of the
Russian Federation with regulated visits for foreign citizens,” that is,
permission is required for them to visit the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
FSB.
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is located in the extreme northeast of
Russia. It occupies the entire Chukotka Peninsula, part of the mainland
and a number of islands (Wrangel, Herald, Aion, Ratmanova, etc.). This
is the only region in Russia, part of which (the entire Chukotka
Peninsula and the eastern part of Wrangel Island) is located in the
Western Hemisphere.
It is washed by the East Siberian and Chukchi
seas of the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea of the Pacific Ocean.
On the territory of the district there are two peninsulas, Chukotsky
and Daurkin, as well as the extreme points of Russia: the eastern point
is Ratmanov Island, the eastern continental point is Cape Dezhnev. Here
are located: the northernmost city of Russia - Pevek and the easternmost
- Anadyr, as well as the easternmost permanent settlement - Uelen.
The district is located in the Kamchatka time zone. The UTC offset
is +12:00 (UTC+12). The difference with Moscow time is 9 hours.
The territory is slightly smaller than Chile or Zambia, and larger than
Myanmar or Afghanistan. This is the only transhemispheric entity in
Russia - its extreme northeastern point lies in the Western Hemisphere.
Most of the district's territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle.
Therefore, the climate here is harsh, subarctic, on the coasts -
maritime, in the interior - continental. The duration of winter is up to
10 months.
The average temperature in January is from −15 °C to
−39 °C, in July - from +5 °C to +10 °C. The absolute recorded minimum is
−61 °C, the absolute maximum is +34 °C. Precipitation - 200-500 mm per
year.
Many climatic records were recorded in Chukotka: minimum
hours of sunshine, the lowest radiation balance for these latitudes,
maximum average annual wind speed and frequency of hurricanes and storms
in Russia (Cape Navarin).
The growing season in the southern part
of the district is 80-100 days. Permafrost is widespread everywhere.
Chukotka is dominated by mountainous terrain, and only in the coastal
part, as well as along river valleys, are there small areas occupied by
lowlands, the largest of which is Anadyr.
The continental part
has a clearly defined slope in the north - towards the Arctic Ocean, in
the east - towards the Pacific Ocean.
The
mountain landscape is represented in the central part by the
mid-altitude Anadyr Plateau and Anyui Plateau, above which mountain
ranges rise 1 km high, as well as the Chukotka Plateau in the east.
The highest point is the Source Mountain (Chantal Range) - 1887 m.
The territory of Chukotka is rich in water resources. More than 8,000
rivers more than 10 km long flow here, most of which are mountainous.
The rivers are fed predominantly by snow and rain; they are
characterized by long-term freeze-up (7-8 months), high and stormy
floods, and uneven flow. The beds of many rivers freeze to the bottom
with the widespread formation of ice. The opening of rivers is
accompanied by congestion due to the later release of ice from rivers in
the lower reaches. A feature of the lowland rivers of the region is the
constant variability of their beds (wandering) due to the thawing of
fossil ice and the subsequent subsidence of the soil. Almost all rivers
flowing into the ocean are influenced by sea tides, as a result of which
there is a significant rise in the water level in the lower reaches and
their countercurrent.
The main bays of the northwestern part of
the Bering Sea are Anadyrsky, Kresta, Mechigmensky, Kanchalan, Omolon,
Provideniya, Lavrentia; the western part of the Chukchi Sea -
Kolyuchinskaya Bay; and the eastern part of the East Siberian Sea -
Chaunskaya Bay. The main straits are Anadyrsky, Senyavinsky, Bering and
Longa.
The largest rivers are the Anadyr (with tributaries Main,
Belaya, Tanyurer), Omolon, Velikaya, Kanchalan, Amguema, Bolshoi and
Maly Anyui.
Most of the lakes are of thermokarst origin, only a
few are located in the mountainous part of the district. The coastal
lakes of the Arctic Ocean are of lagoonal origin, as a result of which
the water in them is salty. Most lakes are flowing, while low-lying ones
often become overgrown and turn into swamps.
The largest lakes
are Krasnoye, Mainits, Pekulneyskoye, Koinygytgyn, Vaamochka, as well as
the unique Lake Elgygytgyn, the study of which will allow us to
understand what the climate was like on Earth millennia ago.
A
total of 44 groundwater deposits have been discovered, 19 of which are
used for economic purposes.
There are 18 thermomineral springs on
the territory of Chukotka, the largest of which are Mechigmenskie,
Lorinskie, Chaplinskie, and Senyavinskie.
There are significant reserves of minerals: oil, natural gas, coal, gold, silver, tin, tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, antimony, mercury, copper, uranium, construction raw materials. The most famous deposits: ore gold - Kupol, Mayskoye, Karalveemskoye, Dvoinoye, Kekura, Valunistoye; placer gold - Ichuveem, Ryveem, Pilkhinkuul; tin ore - Pyrkakai stockworks, Iultinskoe, Valkumeyskoe; tungsten - Iultinskoe; coal - Anadyrskoye lignite, coal from Bukhty Ugolnaya, Dalneye; copper - Gerbil; mercury - Tamvatneyskoe, West Palyanskoe. Single diamond grains have been identified in marine sediments of the coastal part of Eastern Chukotka.
On the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug there are two protected areas of federal significance - the Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve and Beringia National Park, as well as 26 protected areas of regional significance - 5 reserves and 21 natural monuments.
Lake Elgygytgyn (140 thousand hectares), Lebediny (383 thousand hectares), Chaunskaya Bay (148.2 thousand hectares), Ust-Tanyurersky (355.3 thousand hectares) and Avtotkuul (273.3 thousand hectares).
Amguemsky, Ayonsky, Anyuisky volcanoes, Tnekveemsky and Telekayskaya groves, Pekulneysky, Palyavaamsky, capes Vankarem and Kozhevnikov, Lake Achchen, Klyuchevoy (Senyavinsky thermomineral springs), Lorinsky (Kukunsky) hot springs, Routan, Rauchuagytgyn, Chaplinsky, Pineyveemsky, Pegtymelsky, K ekurny ( settlement of the outliers), Termalny, Vostochny (Uelenskie hot springs) and Chegitunsky.
Over 900 species of higher plants, over 400 species of mosses and
over 400 species of lichens grow in Chukotka. In the continental part of
Chukotka, unique floristic relics have been preserved for this region -
Telekayskaya and Tnekveemskaya groves.
Chukotka is home to
shrews, lemmings and voles, a chipmunk, a black-capped marmot and a
Beringian ground squirrel, a squirrel and a flying squirrel, a mountain
hare and a pika, a wolverine, an ermine, a weasel, a river otter and a
sea otter, an elk and a reindeer, white and brown bears, foxes and
arctic foxes, polar wolves and lynx. Koryak and Yakut bighorn sheep live
in the mountainous regions, and on Wrangel Island there is a musk ox,
which was brought here as an experiment for the reintroduction of musk
oxen that previously lived here and has successfully taken root - now
its population is about 1000 individuals. The sable has also been
successfully reintroduced, as well as the muskrat and American mink. The
coastal waters of Chukotka are inhabited by 9 species of cetaceans
(gray, bowhead and humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, beluga
whales, killer whales, harbor porpoises and white-winged porpoises) and
6 species of pinnipeds (Pacific walrus, Far Eastern bearded seal, larga
(spotted seal), lionfish (striped seal) seal), Akiba (ringed seal) and
Steller sea lion (northern sea lion)), as well as 7 more species of
marine mammals (blue and southern right whales, sei whale, narwhal,
sperm whale, northern swimmer and northern fur seal). The Bering Sea
alone is home to 402 species of fish, of which more than 50 are
commercial. The inland waters of the district are home to about 30
species of freshwater fish and the only representative of amphibians is
the Siberian salamander. The district is home to 42 species of land
mammals and approximately 220 species of birds.