Palana is an urban-type settlement, the administrative center of the Koryak District - an administrative-territorial unit with a special status within the Kamchatka Territory of Russia.
Located on the western coast of Kamchatka, on the
right above-floodplain terrace of the Palana River, 7 km from the
place of its confluence with the Sea of Okhotsk.
Distance
to the regional center, the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (for
ground transport) - 936 km, to the village of Tigil - 165 km. The
regional airport "Palana" is located 4 km west of the village.
Toponymy
The village is named after the river of the same
name, which is translated from Koryak. Pyl'yn means “having a
waterfall”. Also, the village has the Koryak name Kameran -
literally “the house of dried chum salmon” and the Itelmen name
Kylkhit - “the place where birches grow”.
For the
first time, the Russian Cossacks-explorers of the Atlasov detachment
entered the area of the present settlement in 1697, then there was
the Koryak Ostrozhek Angavit, which the Cossacks called the Middle
Palansky. In 1876, due to frequent flooding, the settlement was
moved to its present location. By 1896, there were 16 houses and 11
dugouts, in which 180 people lived. In the center were a church and
a shop. The overwhelming majority of the population were Itelmens
and Koryaks, only 20 Russians. Local residents were engaged in
fishing and hunting, as well as gathering. At that time, the palans
did not keep deer, and sled dogs were the main mode of transport in
winter.
By 1920, about 250 people lived in Palana. The
village had a church and a school, 37 wooden dwelling houses and 3
dugouts. In 1925, a village club was housed in the church, five
years later the building was dismantled and rebuilt into a new House
of Culture.
In December 1926, a paramedic station was opened
in the village. On October 16, 1930, a radio post office was opened,
in 1937 - a library.
On October 15, 1937, by Decree No. 88 of
the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the
administrative center of the Koryak National District of the
Kamchatka Region of the Far Eastern Territory was transferred from
the Koryak cultural base to the village of Palana.
On August
23, 1955, by decision No. 60 of the Koryak regional executive
committee, a forestry enterprise was organized in Palana, which
became responsible for forestry throughout the entire district.
On July 20, 1962, the village of Palana received the status of a
working village.
In 1990, the Koryak Pedagogical School was
opened in Palana.
In 2000, the nuclear submarine of the
Pacific Fleet was named "Palana", while the administration of the
Koryak Autonomous Okrug and the crew of the submarine entered into
an agreement on patronage.
On June 1, 2003, a park of culture
and rest was laid.
On February 18, 2005, the workers'
settlement received the status of an urban district.
Until
July 1, 2007, the working settlement of Palana was the
administrative center of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, a subject of
the Russian Federation, which became part of the newly created
Kamchatka Territory as an administrative-territorial unit with a
special status.
7 km from Palana, there is a
raid unloading point for sea vessels (port point), located at the
mouth of the Palana River. The port station provides unloading of
ships with fuel, food and manufactured goods from
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Vladivostok, Nakhodka and Magadan. The
most favorable time of the year for maritime navigation is
May-October.
There is an airport of local airlines (Kamchatka
Aviation Enterprise), which receives aircraft and helicopters from
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and regional settlements. It is also used
for freight transport.
Along the 440 km winter road from
Palana, you can drive by car to the villages of Esso and Anavgai,
located in the Bystrinsky district of the Kamchatka Territory, and
from there along the road to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
By
2014, it is planned to complete the construction of an improved
winter road to the village of Tigil, along which traffic is possible
all year round, the construction of the same winter road to Anavgai
will continue.
Incidents
On September 12, 2012 at 12:28 pm
local time (4:28 Moscow time), the An-28 aircraft, following flight
number 251 along the route Elizovo (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) -
Palana, crashed 10 kilometers from the village of Palana. 10 people
were killed.