Yakshin Bay ( Russian: ''Guba Yakshina'') is a small bight in the western

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 ...

. It is 29 km (about 18 mi) wide and indents the southwest side of

Bolshoy Shantar Island 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 bracki ...

. The bay is entered between Capes Raduzhnyy to the west and Filippa to the east. The Yakshin River flows into the head of the bay. There is ice in the bay from December to July. Tides rise 4.9 m (16 ft) at springs, with the flood current flowing in a counterclockwise direction round the bay and the ebb in the reverse direction. These tidal currents may reach 3.5 to 4

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

near the entrance of the bay but are less than 2 knots at its head.National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. (2014). ''Sailing Directions (Enroute): East Coast of Russia''. U.S. Government, Springfield, Virginia.

History

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 ...

whaleships targeting

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 visited Yakshin Bay from 1858 to 1889. They called it Big Shantar Bight or the Forks of Big Shantar. Ships anchored in the bay to send boats out to cruise for whales, to get wood and water or seek shelter from strong winds, and to smoke the ship for

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s. Boats were also sent ashore to collect berries and gather

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s and clams.''Favorite'', of Fairhaven, September 20, 1860, KWM. The rusting remains of a 19th-century whaling station (perhaps American), including a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

and a meat grinder, exist at the head of the bay.

References

Bays of the Sea of Okhotsk Bays of Khabarovsk Krai {{KhabarovskKrai-geo-stub