Okha (russian: Оха́) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Okhinsky District Okhinsky District (russian: Охи́нский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion) of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia; one of the seventeen in the oblast.Law #25-ZO Municipally, it is incorporated as Okhinsky Urban Okrug.Law #524 It is lo ...

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalínskaya óblast', p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the K ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Population:

Geography

Okha is located on the east coast of the far north of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

island, just south of the isthmus of the Schmidt Peninsula, approximately north of

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ( rus, Ю́жно-Сахали́нск, a=Ru-Южно-Сахалинск.ogg, p=ˈjuʐnə səxɐˈlʲinsk, literally "South Sakhalin City") is a city on Sakhalin island, and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. I ...

, near the shoreline of the

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 ...

History

It was founded shortly after the discovery of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

in the area in 1880, initially under the name ''Okhe''. The name is derived from an Ainu word meaning ''Bad Water''. Industrial exploitation of the petroleum reserves began in 1923, during the Japanese occupation of Sakhalin from 1920-1925. During this time the town was called or depending on Kanji used. Town status was granted to it in 1938.

Climate

The town suffered significant damage in the

1995 Neftegorsk earthquake __NOTOC__ The 1995 Neftegorsk earthquake occurred on 28 May at on northern Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. It was the most destructive earthquake known within the current territory of Russia, with a magnitude of and maximum Mercalli i ...

that occurred on May 28, and was used as pivotal base for rescuers deployed to Neftegorsk, which was destroyed to the extent that it was not rebuilt. A number of survivors of Neftegorsk were later transferred to Okha. Another smaller earthquake hit the town on May 10, 2005, but there were no fatalities or significant damage.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Okha serves as the

and is subordinated to it.Law #25-ZO As a municipal division, the town of Okha and ten rural localities of Okhinsky District are incorporated as Okhinsky Urban Okrug.Law #524

Economy

Okha, along with the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

, is the center of Sakhalin's

industry. An oil pipeline and gas main runs from Okha to

Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur ( rus, Комсомольск-на-Амуре, r=Komsomolsk-na-Amure, p=kəmsɐˈmolʲsk nɐɐˈmurʲə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the west bank of the Amur Rive ...

on the Russian mainland. A number of oil wells exist in close proximity to the town, mainly controlled by the company

Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian Vertical integration, integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, Extraction of petroleum, extraction, production, refining, Petroleum t ...

Transportation

The town is the northern end point for the island's road system. There was a rail connection to the island's narrow-gauge rail network at

Nogliki Nogliki (russian: Ноглики) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Nogliksky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located near the eastern coast of Sakhalin Island, about inland from the Sea of O ...

; however, this was closed in 2006. There is an airport in Okha with service to

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

and

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

* {{Use mdy dates, date=November 2012 Cities and towns in Sakhalin Oblast