Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (russian: Татарский пролив; ; ja, 間宮海峡, Mamiya kaikyō, Mamiya Strait; ko, 타타르 해협) is a
strait
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
dividing the
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 ...
n island 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: ...
from mainland
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
(South-East
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 ...
), connecting 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 ...
on the north with the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
on the south. It is long, wide, and less than deep at its deepest point.
History
Yuan dynasty
During the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
, the Yuan armies crossed the strait in the
Mongol invasions of Sakhalin
From 1264 to 1308, the Mongol Empire (and its successor the Yuan dynasty) made several incursions into the island of Sakhalin off the east coast of Siberia to aid their Nivkh allies against the Ainu, who had been expanding north from Hokkaido. ...
. Alleged remnants of a Chinese fort dating back to the Mongol Yuan era can be found in Sakhalin today.
"
Tartary
Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounde ...
" is an older name used by Europeans to refer to a vast region covering
Inner Asia
Inner Asia refers to the northern and landlocked regions spanning North, Central and East Asia. It includes parts of western and northeast China, as well as southern Siberia. The area overlaps with some definitions of 'Central Asia', mostly the h ...
,
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
and
North Asia
North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographical terms and is coextensive with the Asian part of Russia, and consists of three Russian regions east of the Ural Mountains: ...
. The toponym is derived from the Medieval ethnonym
Tartars
Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounde ...
, which was applied to various
Turkic and
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
semi-
nomadic empire
Nomadic empires, sometimes also called steppe empires, Central or Inner Asian empires, were the empires erected by the bow and arrow, bow-wielding, horse-riding, Eurasian nomads, nomadic people in the Eurasian Steppe, from classical antiquity (Scy ...
s, including the Yuan dynasty that ruled over China and the straits of Northeast Asia.
Qing dynasty
During the
destruction of the Ming dynasty and rise of the Qing dynasty in 1644, the name "Tartars" became applied to the
Manchus
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...
as well,
[Starting since the first book about the Manchu conquest: ]Martino Martini
Martino Martini () (20 September 1614 – 6 June 1661), born and raised in Trento (Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire), was a Jesuit missionary. As cartographer and historian, he mainly worked on ancient Imperial China.
Early years
Mart ...
,
De Bello Tartarico Historia
'. Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, 1654 and Manchuria (and Mongolia) became known to the Europeans as the "Chinese Tartary". Accordingly, when
La Pérouse charted most of the strait between Sakhalin and the mainland "Chinese Tartary" in 1787, the body of water received the name of the Strait (or Channel, or Gulf) of Tartary.
In
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the strait is named after
Mamiya Rinzō
was a Japanese explorer of the late Edo period. He is best known for his exploration of Karafuto, now known as Sakhalin. He mapped areas of northeast Asia then unknown to Japanese.
Biography
Mamiya was born in 1775 in Tsukuba District, Hitach ...
, who traveled to the strait in 1808 whereof the name was introduced by
Philipp Franz von Siebold
Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...
in his book ''Nippon: Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan'' (1832–54).
![Delisle - Carte d'Asie (Compagnieland)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Delisle_-_Carte_d%27Asie_%28Compagnieland%29.jpg)
On Russian maps, the short narrowest section of the strait (south of the mouth of the Amur) is called
Nevelskoy Strait
The Nevelskoy Strait (russian: Пролив Невельско́го) is a strait within the Strait of Tartary located at the narrowest point between Sakhalin and the Asian mainland. The Nevelskoy Strait is administratively part of Russia on the b ...
, after Admiral
Gennady Nevelskoy
Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (; in Drakino, now in Soligalichsky District, Kostroma Oblast – in St. Petersburg) was a Russian navigator.
In 1848 Nevelskoy set out in command of what became the to the area of the present-day ...
, who explored the area in 1848; the body of water north of there, into which the Amur River flows, is the
Amur Liman
The Amur Liman is a liman of the Amur River, the northern part of the Strait of Tartary between Eurasia and Sakhalin. It connects the Sakhalin Gulf of the Sea of Okhotsk with the main body of the Strait of Tartary via the Nevelskoy Strait.
"A ...
; and the name of "Strait of Tartary" is reserved for the largest section of the body of water, south of
Nevelskoy Strait
The Nevelskoy Strait (russian: Пролив Невельско́го) is a strait within the Strait of Tartary located at the narrowest point between Sakhalin and the Asian mainland. The Nevelskoy Strait is administratively part of Russia on the b ...
.
The Tartar Strait was a puzzle to European explorers since, when approached from the south, it becomes increasingly shallow and looks like the head of a bay. In 1787
La Perouse decided not to risk it and turned south even though locals had told him that Sakhalin was an island. In 1797
William Broughton also decided that the Gulf of Tartary was a bay and turned south. In 1805
Adam Johann von Krusenstern
Adam Johann von Krusenstern (also Krusenstjerna in Swedish; russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Крузенште́рн, tr. ; 10 October 177012 August 1846) was a Russian admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation o ...
failed to penetrate the strait from the north.
Mamiya Rinzō
was a Japanese explorer of the late Edo period. He is best known for his exploration of Karafuto, now known as Sakhalin. He mapped areas of northeast Asia then unknown to Japanese.
Biography
Mamiya was born in 1775 in Tsukuba District, Hitach ...
's journey of 1808 was little known to Europeans.
Gennady Nevelskoy
Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (; in Drakino, now in Soligalichsky District, Kostroma Oblast – in St. Petersburg) was a Russian navigator.
In 1848 Nevelskoy set out in command of what became the to the area of the present-day ...
passed the strait from the north in 1848. The Russians kept this a secret and
used it to evade a British fleet during the Crimean War.
Recent history
''S-117'' was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
Shchuka class submarine that was lost on or about December 15, 1952, due to unknown causes in the Strait of Tartary in the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
. The boat may have collided with a
surface ship
Surface combatants (or surface ships or surface vessels) are a subset of naval warships which are designed for warfare on the surface of the water, with their own weapons and armed forces. They are generally ships built to fight other ships, subma ...
or struck a
mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
. All forty-seven crewmen died in the incident.
The southeastern part of the Strait of Tartary was the site of one of the tensest incidents of the Cold War, when on September 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, carrying 269 people including a sitting U.S. congressman,
Larry McDonald
Lawrence Patton McDonald (April 1, 1935 – September 1, 1983) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Democrat from 1975 until he was killed ...
, strayed into the Soviet air space and was attacked by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor just west of
Sakhalin Island
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: ...
. The plane came down on the waters off the strait's only land mass,
Moneron Island
Moneron Island, (russian: Монерон, ja, 海馬島 Kaibato, ja, トド島 Todojima, Ainu: Todomoshiri) is a small island off Sakhalin Island. It is a part of the Russian Federation.
Description
Moneron has an area of about and a highe ...
. An intensive naval search by the U.S. with assistance of Japanese and Korean vessels
was carried on in a area of the strait just north of Moneron Island.
1956 causeway proposal
In 1956 the Soviet government proposed that a
causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...
be built at the Tartar Strait to block cold water from flowing into the Sea of Japan therefore raising the temperature in areas around the Sea of Japan. The Russians claimed it would raise the temperature of the Sea of Japan by an average of 35 °F (19.5 °C).
Transportation
![Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 e-9c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566_e-9c.jpg)
Since 1973,
Vanino-Kholmsk train ferry operates across the strait, connecting the port of
Vanino, Khabarovsk Krai
Vanino (russian: Ва́нино), an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Vaninsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, operates as a port on the Strait of Tartary. Population:
Geography
Vanino is located nor ...
on the mainland with
Kholmsk
Kholmsk (russian: Холмск), known until 1946 as Maoka ( ja, 真岡), is a port town and the administrative center of Kholmsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on the southwest coast of the Sakhalin Island, on coast of the gu ...
on Sakhalin Island.
Looking at the map, one could think that the Strait of Tartary would provide a convenient connection for boats sailing from the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
to 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 ...
, e.g. from
Vanino to
Magadan
Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region.
History
Maga ...
. However, according to the
SASCO
Sasco is a ghost town located in Pinal County, Arizona, west of Red Rock. Sasco, which is an acronym for the Southern Arizona Smelter Company, was a company town with a large smelter that served several mines. Once an impressive and little-known ...
that operates that shipping line, their ships rarely travel that way. The usual winter route from Vanino to Magadan is via
Tsugaru Strait
The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles (1 ...
, and around
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
; the usual summer route, is via
La Pérouse Strait
La Pérouse Strait (russian: пролив Лаперуза), or Sōya Strait, is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on t ...
and around
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: ...
. Only when coming back from Magadan to Vanino with a low load and in good weather would the ships travel along the shortest route, i.e., via the
Amur Liman
The Amur Liman is a liman of the Amur River, the northern part of the Strait of Tartary between Eurasia and Sakhalin. It connects the Sakhalin Gulf of the Sea of Okhotsk with the main body of the Strait of Tartary via the Nevelskoy Strait.
"A ...
,
Nevelskoy Strait
The Nevelskoy Strait (russian: Пролив Невельско́го) is a strait within the Strait of Tartary located at the narrowest point between Sakhalin and the Asian mainland. The Nevelskoy Strait is administratively part of Russia on the b ...
, and the Strait of Tartary proper (which SASCO calls the "Strait of Sakhalin" – ''Sakhalinsky Proliv'').
A
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
under the strait, to provide a road and/or rail connection between Sakhalin and the mainland, was begun under
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
, but abandoned incomplete after his death. Renewed calls for either a tunnel or a bridge have been made by politicians in recent years.
See also
*
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)The flight number KAL 007 was used by air traffic control, while the public flight booking system used KE 007 was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alask ...
References
External links
Parusa.narod.ru: Tatar Strait—Strait of Tartary
{{Authority control
Straits of Sakhalin Oblast
Bodies of water of Khabarovsk Krai
Bodies of water of Sakhalin Oblast
Pacific Coast of Russia