Maly Shantar Island (russian: Остров Малый Шантар ''Ostrov Maly Shantar'') is a small, narrow island in the northwestern

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

, one of the

Shantar Islands The Shantar Islands (russian: Шантарские острова, translit=Shantarskiye ostrova) are a group of fifteen islands located off the northwestern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk east of Uda Gulf and north of Academy Bay. Most of the isla ...

Geography

Maly Shantar or Little Shantar Island is about 19 km (11.8 mi) long with a maximum width of 6 km (3.7 mi). It is separated from

Bolshoy Shantar Bolshoy Shantar ( rus, Большо́й Шантар, r=Bol'shoy Shantar, Big Shantar, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj ʂɐnˈtar) is the main island of the Shantar Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia; its area is and it measures about . It has a large brackish ...

or Big Shantar Island to the north by Severo-Vostochnyy Strait, from Belichy Island to the east by Opasny Strait, and from the mainland to the south by

Lindholm Strait Lindholm Strait (Russian: ''Proliv Lindgol'ma'') is a strait in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. It separates Malyy Shantar and Belichiy Islands to the north from the Tugur Peninsula to the south. At its narrowest it is only 3.2 km (2 mi) wide. T ...

. To its west lies the

Shantar Sea The Shantar Sea (russian: Шантарское море) is a small coastal sea in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. It is bounded to the north by Bolshoy Shantar Island, to the east by Malyy Shantar Island, and to the south by Tugur Bay. History ...

History

Between 1853 and 1889,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

whaleship A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

s anchored off Malyy Shantar to obtain shelter from storms or send out

whaleboat A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...

s to hunt

bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...

s in nearby Proliv Lindgol'ma (which they called ''The Gut''),

Tugur Bay Tugur may refer to: * Tugur (river), a river in Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Far East. * Tugur Bay, a Bay in Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Far East. * Tugur (Khabarovsk Krai), a village in Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Far East. *Tukur Tukur ( fa, توكور, al ...

, or

Ulban Bay Ulban Bay (Russian: ''Ul'bansky Zaliv'') is a bay in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk, just south of the Shantar Islands. It is a southern branch of Academy Bay to the north. The Syran and Ulban rivers flow into its head. Geography Ulban Bay i ...

. Their main anchorage was Long's Harbor ( Abrek Bay) to the southeast of the island. They also went ashore to obtain wood.''Sea Breeze'', of New Bedford, Sep. 4-6, 1866, ODHS.

References

{{Sea of Okhotsk Islands Shantar Islands Islands of the Sea of Okhotsk Islands of the Russian Far East Islands of Khabarovsk Krai