Ust-Belaya (russian: Усть-Бе́лая; ckt, Куулючьын, ''Kuulûč’yn'') is a

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

(a '' selo'') in Anadyrsky District of

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...

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 ...

, located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

Anadyr Anadyr may refer to: *Anadyr (town), a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia *Anadyr District *Anadyr Estuary *Anadyr (river), a river in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia *Anadyr Highlands *Anadyr Lowlands *Operati ...

and the Belaya Rivers.Strogoff, p. 92 Population: Municipally, the settlement is subordinated to Anadyrsky Municipal District and incorporated as Ust-Belaya Rural Settlement.

Geography

The settlement lies on the banks of the Belaya River (so called because of the contrast between its waters and those of the Anadyr), near to where it flows into the

Anadyr River The Anadyr (russian: Ана́дырь; Yukaghir: Онандырь; ckt, Йъаайваам) is a river in the far northeast of Siberia which flows into the Gulf of Anadyr of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous ...

. The Parapol-Belsky Lowlands lie to the west and the

Anadyr Lowlands The Anadyr Lowlands (russian: Ана́дырская ни́зменность) are a low alluvial plain located in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Far Eastern Federal District, Russia. Geography The lowlands are crossed by the Anadyr River in the ...

to the east. The village is situated on the northern slopes of the mountain, Gynryretyk (russian: Гынрырэтык, literally meaning "The Guardian").

History

The area in the vicinity of the settlement was populated during neolithic times, and a toggled harpoon head found in a grave indicated that there was a viable walrus hunting economy present in the area around 3000 BCE.Pitul'ko, p.421ff. Furthermore, in the 1950s, the archeologist N.N. Dikov identified a burial site for a previously unknown people, who have been named after the village as the Ust-Belayan culture.Ust Belaya
– Chukotka Electoral Commission Several

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

sites have been discovered in the vicinity of the village, on the banks of the river and at the eastern end of the settlement an ancient cemetery was partially destroyed during the construction of some warehouses. The settlement was established by villagers from Markovo towards the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century,Red Cross Chukotka – Anadyrsky District
(Archived) and is one of the oldest settlements in Chukotka.Rural Settlement of Ust-Belaya
– Anadyrsky Municipal District official website At the beginning of the twentieth century, V.Z. Niulin moved here from the village of Markovo with approximately twenty other families from other camps in the surrounding area. in 1927, Nikulin opened a school in the village and the following year established a hospital. In 1930, a

collective farm Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member ...

was established in the village and named "The First Revolutionary Committee of Chukotka". For the next five years, Ust-Belaya was the administrative centre of Anadyrsky District. The village is located in the immediate area where famous Chukchi reindeer herder Tenevil lived and the main economic driver of the settlement is still traditional reindeer husbandry aided by the fact that more than two thirds of the population of the village are of indigenous origin. Currently, Ust-Belaya has a secondary school, an arts school, kindergarten, post office, communications center, a shop, a bakery and a hotel. There is also a weather station called "Muhomornaya" and a small Orthodox chapel.

Demographics

Population as of 2010 was 856, of whom 436 were male and 420 were female, a slight decrease on a 2005 estimate according to an environmental impact report prepared for the Kupol gold project, which placed the population at 869,Bema Gold Corporation, p.87 down from 936, in 2003.Anadyrsky District
– Official Chukotka Website Of the people living in the village in 2005, 685 were reported to be of indigenous origin.Bema Gold Corporation, p.88

Climate

Ust-Belaya has a continental

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(Köppen climate classification ''Dfc'')McKnight and Hess, pp.232–5 with very long, bitterly cold winters and very short, somewhat cool summers.

References

Notes

Sources

*Bema Gold Corporation
Environmental Impact Assessment, Kupol Gold Project, Far East Russia
June 2005. * * * *Pitul'ko, V. V
''Ancient Humans in Eurasian Arctic Ecosystems: Environmental Dynamics and Changing Ecosystems''
Arctic Archeology. *M Strogoff, P-C Brochet, and D. Auzia
''Petit Futé: Chukotka''
(2006). "Avant-Garde" Publishing House.

External links

Photos of Ust-Belaya
{{Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Rural localities in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug