Vankarem (russian: Ванкарем; Chukchi: , ''Vanḳarèman'') is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

('' selo'') in

Iultinsky District Iultinsky District (russian: Иу́льтинский райо́н; Chukchi: , ''Ivyltin rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #33-OZ and municipalLaw #149-OZ district (raion), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located in the ...

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 ...

, in the

Far Eastern The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...

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 ...

, situated on

Cape Vankarem Cape Vankarem is a cape in the Chukchi Sea on the northern coast of Chukotka between Cape Schmidt to the west and Kolyuchinskaya Bay to the east. It projects from a sandspit across the mouth of a lagoon into which flows the Vankarem River. A ...

on the coast of the

Chukchi Sea Chukchi Sea ( rus, Чуко́тское мо́ре, r=Chukotskoye more, p=tɕʊˈkotskəjə ˈmorʲɪ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west b ...

. Population: Municipally, Vankarem is subordinated to Iultinsky Municipal District and incorporated as Vankarem Rural Settlement.

Demographics

It is largely inhabited by indigenous Chukchi and

Siberian Yupik people Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits (russian: Юиты), are a Yupik people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far northeast of the Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Central Siberian Yupik ...

and has a population according to the most recent census results of 184, of whom 98 were male and 86 female, a reduction on an estimate made in 2006 of 210 people.Strogoff, p.126

History

The origins of the name of the settlement are disputed. Some people believe that the name is associated with the traditional beliefs commonly held by indigenous Asian Arctic peoples which equate sea creatures closely with humans and that the name comes from the Chukchi word "Vankaremen" meaning Tusk People, as indigenous hunters referred to their prey as "Walrus People". Other sources think that the name means "Temporarily Abandoned Bone Dwellings", a thought which has arisen due to puzzlement over the precise history of the settlement.Geography of Iultinsky District
– Iultinsky Municipal District official website The Chukchi who arrived in the area in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries found well preserved homes built by a culture which they had previously not encountered and about which they knew nothing, and it is speculated that the settlement might have been abandoned because the previous inhabitants died from some form of epidemic. Indeed,

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (18 November 183212 August 1901) was a Finland-Swedish aristocrat, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic explorer. He was a member of the Fenno-Swedish Nordenskiöld family of scientists and held the title of a friher ...

's expedition in the 1870s found a number of recently abandoned houses in the nearby village of

Ryrkaypiy Ryrkaypiy (russian: Рыркайпий; Chukchi: , ''Ryrkampan'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') just to the west of Mys Shmidta in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Municipally, Ryrkaypiy is incorporated as Ryrkaypiy R ...

which were full of ivory carvings. The inhabitants of the village played a key role in the rescue of the passengers and crew aboard the

SS Chelyuskin SS ''Chelyuskin'' ( rus, «Челю́скин», p=tɕɪˈlʲuskʲɪn) was a Soviet steamship, reinforced to navigate through polar ice, that became ice-bound in Arctic waters during navigation along the Northern Maritime Route from Murmansk to ...

, when it was crushed by ices near

Kolyuchin Island Kolyuchin Island or Koliuchin Island (russian: Остров Колючин, ) is a small island in the Chukchi Sea. It is not far from the coast, being only from the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula. Its latitude is 67° 28' N and its long ...

in 1934.

Wildlife

In 2006, participants of the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

Bear Patrol project reported that the village was as besieged by polar bears, with up to thirty polar bears visiting the village every night.

Economy

The region's ancient coastal hunting and fishing cultures are preserved by the local population.

Transport

There is an airfield in the village however, Vankarem is not connected to any other part of the world by road. There is however a road network within the village including the following streets:Pochtovik Mail Delivery Service
Iultinsky District *улица Ленина (Ulitsa Lenina, lit. ''Lenin Street'') *улица Прибойный (Ulitsa Priboyiniy) *улица Рынтыргина (Ulitsa Ryntyrgina) *улица Северная (Ulitsa Severnaya, lit. ''North Street'') *улица Челюскинцев (Ulitsa Chelyuskintsev, lit. ''Chelyuskin Street'') *улица Южная (Ulitsa Yuzhnaya, lit. ''South Street'')

Climate

Vankarem has a

Tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

climate (''ET'')McKnight and Hess, pp.235–7 because the warmest month has an average temperature between and .

Photo gallery

File:Kap Vankarem 1 2014-08-18.jpg, Cape Vankarem File:Vankarem 3 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem File:Vankarem 4 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
main road File:Vankarem 5 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
street scene File:Vankarem 6 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
street scene File:Vankarem 7 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
health center File:Vankarem 8 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
greenhouse File:Vankarem 9 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
still life File:Vankarem 10 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
telecommunication center File:Vankarem 11 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
schoolhouse File:Vankarem 12 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
house of culture File:Vankarem 13 2013-07-26.jpg, Vankarem,
district heating pipe

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *M Strogoff, P-C Brochet, and D. Auzia
''Petit Futé: Chukotka''
(2006). "Avant-Garde" Publishing House. {{Settlements in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Rural localities in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukchi Sea Populated places of Arctic Russia