East Siberian Sea
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The East Siberian Sea ( rus, Восто́чно-Сиби́рское мо́ре, r=Vostochno-Sibirskoye more) is a
marginal sea This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. Terminology * Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocea ...
in the
Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
. It is located between the
Arctic Cape The Arctic Cape (russian: Мыс Арктический, ''Mys Arkticheskiy'') is a headland in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia. With a distance of 990.8 km to the North Pole, the Arctic Cape is sometimes used as starting point for expeditions to ...
to the north, the coast of
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
to the south, the
New Siberian Islands The New Siberian Islands ( rus, Новосиби́рские Oстрова, r=Novosibirskiye Ostrova; sah, Саҥа Сибиир Aрыылара, translit=Saña Sibiir Arıılara) are an archipelago in the Extreme North of Russia, to the north o ...
to the west and
Cape Billings Cape Billings (russian: Мыс Биллингса - ''Mys Billingsa''), is a headland on the northern coast of Chukotka, Russian Federation to the west of Cape Schmidt. Geography The shore in the area around Cape Billings is bounded by narrow lan ...
, close to Chukotka, and
Wrangel Island Wrangel Island ( rus, О́стров Вра́нгеля, r=Ostrov Vrangelya, p=ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə; ckt, Умӄиԓир, translit=Umqiḷir) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 91st largest island in the w ...
to the east. This sea borders on the
Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...
to the west and the Chukchi Sea to the east. This sea is one of the least studied in the Arctic area. It is characterized by severe
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
, low water
salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...
, and a scarcity of flora, fauna and human population, as well as shallow depths (mostly less than 50 m), slow
sea current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, ...
s, low
tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...
s (below 25 cm), frequent fogs, especially in summer, and an abundance of
ice field An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...
s which fully melt only in August–September. The sea shores were inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous tribes of
Yukaghirs The Yukaghirs, or Yukagirs ( (), russian: юкаги́ры) are a Siberian ethnic group people in the Russian Far East, living in the basin of the Kolyma River. Geographic distribution The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region ...
, Chukchi and then
Evens The Evens ( eve, эвэн; pl. , in Even and , in Russian; formerly called ''Lamuts'') are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of th ...
and
Evenks The Evenks (also spelled Ewenki or Evenki based on their endonym )Autonym: (); russian: Эвенки (); (); formerly known as Tungus or Tunguz; mn, Хамниган () or Aiwenji () are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Eve ...
, which were engaged in fishing, hunting and
reindeer husbandry Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
. They were then absorbed by
Yakuts The Yakuts, or the Sakha ( sah, саха, ; , ), are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly live in the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation, with some extending to the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin regions, and the Taymyr and Evenk Districts ...
and later by
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
. Major industrial activities in the area are mining and navigation within the
Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (russian: Се́верный морско́й путь, ''Severnyy morskoy put'', shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route officially defined by Russian legislation as lying east of No ...
; commercial fishing is poorly developed. The largest city and port is
Pevek Pevek (russian: Певе́к; Chukchi: , ''Pèèkin'' / ''Pèèk'') is an Arctic port town and the administrative center of Chaunsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Chaunskaya Bay (part of the East Siberian Sea) on a pe ...
, the northernmost city of mainland Russia.


Name

The present name was assigned to the sea on 27 June 1935 by Decree of the Soviet Government. Before that, the sea had no distinct name, and a variety of names were interchangeably used to refer to it in Russia, including ''Indigirskoe'', ''Kolymskoe'', ''Severnoe'' (Northern), ''Sibirskoe'' and ''Ledovitoe'' (Icy).


Geography


Extent

The
International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...
defines the limits of the East Siberian Sea as follows:
''On the West.'' The Eastern limit of
Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...
Kotelni_Island_–_through_Kotelni_Island_to_Cape_Madvejyi._Then_through_ Kotelni_Island_–_through_Kotelni_Island_to_Cape_Madvejyi._Then_through_Little_Lyakhovsky_Island">Malyi_Island,_to_Cape_Vaguin_on_Bolshoy_Lyakhovsky_Island.html" ;"title="Little_Lyakhovsky_Island.html" ;"title="Kotelny/Faddeyevsky Island">Kotelni Island – through Kotelni Island to Cape Madvejyi. Then through Malyi_Island,_to_Cape_Vaguin_on_Bolshoy_Lyakhovsky_Island">Great_Liakhov_Island._Thence_to_Cape_Sviaroy_Noss_on_the_main_land.html" ;"title="Little Lyakhovsky Island">Malyi Island, to Cape Vaguin on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island">Great Liakhov Island. Thence to Cape Sviaroy Noss on the main land">Little Lyakhovsky Island">Malyi Island, to Cape Vaguin on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island">Great Liakhov Island. Thence to Cape Sviaroy Noss on the main land ''On the North.'' A line from the Northernmost point of
Wrangel Island Wrangel Island ( rus, О́стров Вра́нгеля, r=Ostrov Vrangelya, p=ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə; ckt, Умӄиԓир, translit=Umqiḷir) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 91st largest island in the w ...
(179°30'W) to the Northern sides of the De Long Islands (including Henrietta Island, Henrietta and Jeannette Islands) and Bennett Island, thence to the Northern extremity of Kotelni Island. ''On the East.'' From the Northernmost point of Wrangel Island through this island to Cape Blossom thence to
Cape Yakan Cape Yakan (russian: Мыс Якан – ''Mys Yakan'') is a headland on the northern coast of Chukotka, Russian Federation. This conspicuous cape, whose name in the Chukchi language means "use", was mentioned by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in his ...
on the main land (176°40'E).


Topography

Because it is open towards the Arctic Ocean in the north, the main gulfs of the East Siberian Sea, like the
Kolyma Bay The Kolyma Bay (russian: Колымская Губа; Kolymskaya Guba) is one of the main gulfs of the East Siberian Sea. The bay gets its name from the Kolyma Lowlands, whose coastline forms the whole eastern half of this bay. The Kolyma Lowlan ...
, the
Kolyma Gulf The Kolyma Gulf ( Yakut: Халыма хомото, ''Xalıma xomoto''; Russian: Колымский залив, ''Kolymskiy Zaliv'') is the largest gulf of the East Siberian Sea. Geography The gulf is more than 300 km wide. Its limits are th ...
and the
Chaunskaya Bay The Chaunskaya Bay or Chaun Bay (russian: Чаунская губа) is an Arctic bay in the East Siberian Sea, in the Chaunsky District of Chukotka, northeast Siberia. There is Port of Pevek. Geography The bay is open to the north and is 140&n ...
, are all located in its southern limits. There are no islands in the middle of the East Siberian Sea, but there are a few islands and island groups in its coastal waters, like
Ayon Island Ayon Island is an island in the coast of Chukotka in the East Siberian Sea. The island itself consists mainly of low-lying tundra, and is primarily populated by the Chukchi people, who use the tundra as pasture for their reindeer herds. Geograp ...
and the Medvyezhi island group. The total area of the islands is only 80 km2.Allan R. Robinson, Kenneth H. Brin
The Global Coastal Ocean: Regional Studies and Syntheses
Harvard University Press, 2005 pp.775–783
Some islands mostly consist of sand and ice and gradually erode. The total catchment area is 1,342,000 km2. Among the rivers flowing into the East Siberian Sea, the Indigirka,
Alazeya The Alazeya ( rus, Алазея, r=; sah, Алаһыай, translit=Alahıay) is a river in the northeastern part of Yakutia, Russia which flows into the Arctic between the basins of the larger Indigirka to the west and the Kolyma to the east. Mou ...
, Chukochya, Kolyma, Rauchua, Chaun, and Pegtymel are the most important. Only a few rivers are navigable.National Geospatial-intelligence Agenc
Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 North Coast of Russia Enroute
, pp. 137–143
The coastline of the sea is 3,016 km long. It makes large bends, sometimes stretching deep into the land, and has a rather different topography in the eastern and western parts. Fine bends are rare and occur only in the river
deltas A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rarel ...
. The coastal section between the New Siberian Islands and the mouth of the Kolyma River is uniform, with low and slowly varying slopes. It extends landwards to the marshy
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 ...
filled with numerous small lakes. In contrast, the coast to the east of the Kolyma River is mountainous, with steep cliffs. The underwater topography of the shelf that forms the seabed is a plain, sloping from southwest to northeast, covered in a mixture of silt, sand and stones and lacking significant depressions and elevations. About 70% of the sea is shallower than 50 m, with predominant depths of 20–25 m. North-east to the mouth of the Kolyma and Indigirka rivers, there are deep trenches on the seabed, which are attributed to the ancient river valleys, now submerged by the sea. The region of small depths in the western part forms the Novosibirsk shoal. The greatest depths of about 150 m are found in the north-eastern part of the sea.William Elliott Butle
Northeast arctic passage
(1978) , pp. 35–36
The East Siberian Sea is bound to the south by the East Siberian Lowland, an alluvial plain mainly composed of sediments of marine origin dating back to the time when the whole area was occupied by the
Verkhoyansk Sea Verkhoyansk ( rus, Верхоянск, p=vʲɪrxɐˈjansk; sah, Верхоянскай, ''Verkhoyanskay'') is a town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Yana River in the Arctic Circle, from Batagay, the ...
, an ancient sea at the edge of the
Siberian Craton Siberia, also known as Angaraland (or simply Angara) and Angarida, is an ancient craton in the heart of Siberia. Today forming the Central Siberian Plateau, it was an independent continent before the Permian period. The Verkhoyansk Sea, a passive ...
in the
Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...
period. As centuries went by, gradually, most of the area limiting the sea, as well as the contiguous Laptev Sea to the south became filled with the alluvial deposits of modern rivers.Sea basins and land of the East Siberian Lowland
/ref>


Climate

The climate is polar and is influenced by the continent and Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In winter, it is mostly affected by the continent. South-westerly and southerly winds having the speeds of 6–7 m/s (15 mph, 25 km/h) bring cold air from Siberia, so the average temperature in January is approximately −30 °C. The weather is calm, clear and stable with occasional intrusions by cyclones. Atlantic cyclones increase the wind speed and air temperature whereas Pacific ones bring clouds, storms and blizzards. The winds blow from the north in summer; they are weak in June, strengthen to 6–7 m/s (15 mph, 25 km/h) in July and reach 10–15 m/s (33 mph, 50 km/h) in August, making the western part of the sea one of the most violent areas on the northern Russian coast. The southeastern part is however much calmer. Northerly winds result in the low average temperatures of 0–1 °C in the open sea and 2–3 °C on the coast in July. Skies are usually cloudy, with frequent drizzling rains or wet snow. Along the coasts, fogs occur 90–100 days per year, mostly in summer (68–75 days). Precipitation is low at 100–200 mm per year, but it is still larger than the evaporation volume.


Hydrology

The continental runoff into the East Siberian Sea is relatively small at about 250 km3/year that makes only 10% of the total runoff in all the Arctic seas of Russia. The largest contribution is from the Kolyma River at 132 km3, followed by the Indigirka River at 59 km3. Most runoff (90%) occurs in summer; it is concentrated near the coast, owing to the weak river currents, and therefore does not significantly affect the sea hydrology. The water exchange between the neighboring seas is as follows. The annual outflow to the Laptev Sea, Chukchi Sea and Arctic Ocean is 3,240, 6,600 and 11,430 km3, respectively; while the respective inflow values are 3,240, 8,800 and 9,230 km3. The surface water temperature decreases from south to north. In winter it varies between −0.2 and 0.6 °C at the river deltas and from −1.7 to −1.8 °C in the northern sea part. In summer, it warms to 7–8 °C in the bays and inlets and to 2–3 °C in the ice-free sea zones. Surface water salinity increases from southwest to northeast. In winter and spring, it is 4–5‰ (parts per thousand) near the deltas of the Kolyma and Indigirka rivers. It increases to 28–30‰ in the sea centre, reaching 31–32‰ at its northern outskirts. Salinity decreases in summer by some 5‰ due to the snow melting. It also decreases by some 5–7‰ from the sea bottom to the surface. There are constant currents at the sea surface directed from west to east. They are weak and thus can temporarily change direction due to the wind. The
tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...
s are semidiurnal (rising twice a day) with the amplitude between 5 and 25 cm. The tidal wave weakens toward the coast due to shallow waters. The sea level is maximal in summer, due to the river runoff, and in autumn due to the winds. It is the lowest in March–April, with the total annual fluctuations within about 70 cm. Winds bring storms with waves reaching 3–5 m in the western part whereas the eastern regions are relatively calm. The storms typically last 1–2 days in summer; they are more frequent in winter and may extend up to 3–5 days. The sea freezes over between October–November and June–July. The ice is continuous and stationary near the coast, reaching the thickness of 2 m by the end of winter; The thickness decreases from west to east. Further into the sea, the ice cover transforms into drifting ice having the thickness of 2–3 m. The southern winter winds shift this ice northwards, making
polynya A polynya () is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as a geographical term for an area of unfrozen seawater within otherwise contiguous pack ice or fast ice. It is a loanword from the Russian полынья (), which r ...
s near the sea centre. There are no icebergs in the sea. Ice melting typically starts around May, first around the delta of the major Kolyma River. In absence of industry, sea water is rather clean. Minor contaminations are found near the Novosibirsk and Wrangel islands (up to 80 µg/L), due to occasional oil spills,S. Heileman and I. Belki
East Siberian Sea: LME #56
, NOAA.gov
and in Chaunskaya Bay due to the local
thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...
and activities at the major port Pevek.


Flora and fauna

Flora and fauna are relatively scarce due to the harsh climate. The summer
plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...
bloom is short but intense, producing 5 million tonnes of plankton in August and September, whereas the annual production is 7 million tonnes. The nutrients in water are mostly provided by river discharges and
coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...
. The plankton species are dominated by the Pacific species of copepods. The sea shores and icefields host
ringed seal The ringed seal (''Pusa hispida'') is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The ringed seal is a relatively small seal, rarely greater than 1.5 m in length, with a distinctive patterning of dark spots surrounded by light ...
s (''Phoca hispida''), bearded seals (''Erignathus barbatus'') and
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...
es (''Odobenus rosmarus'') along with their predator, polar bear (''Ursus maritimus''). Birds include seagulls,
uria ''Uria'' is a genus of seabirds in the auk family known in Britain as guillemots, in most of North America as murres, and in Newfoundland and Labrador as turr. These are medium-sized birds with mainly brown or black plumage in the breeding s ...
and cormorants. Sea waters are often visited by bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus''), gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''),
beluga The beluga whale (/bɪˈluːɡə/) (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the wh ...
(''Delphinapterus leucas'') and narwhal (''Monodon monoceros''). Major fish species are grayling and ''
Coregonus ''Coregonus'' is a diverse genus of fish in the salmon family ( Salmonidae). The ''Coregonus'' species are known as whitefishes. The genus contains at least 68 described extant taxa, but the true number of species is a matter of debate. The typ ...
'' (whitefishes), such as
muksun The muksun ''(Coregonus muksun)'' is a type of whitefish widespread in the Siberian Arctic waters. It is mostly found in the freshened areas of the Kara and Laptev Seas and up the major rivers, as well as in Lake Taymyr. Like all whitefishes, ...
(''Coregonus muksun''),
broad whitefish The broad whitefish (''Coregonus nasus'') is a freshwater whitefish species. Dark silvery in colour, and like a herring in its shape, its distinctive features include a convex head, short gill rakers, and a mild overbite. It is found in the Arcti ...
(''Coregonus nasus'') and
omul The omul, ''Coregonus migratorius'', also known as Baikal omul (russian: байкальский омуль), is a whitefish species of the salmon family endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. It is considered a delicacy and is the object o ...
(''Coregonus autumnalis''). Also common are polar
smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''Ath ...
,
saffron cod The saffron cod ''(Eleginus gracilis)'' is a commercially harvested fish closely related to true cods (genus '' Gadus''). It is dark grey-green to brown, with spots on its sides and pale towards the belly. It may grow to 55 cm and weigh up t ...
,
polar cod ''Boreogadus saida'', known as the polar cod or as the Arctic cod, is a fish of the cod family Gadidae, related to the true cod (genus ''Gadus''). Another fish species for which both the common names Arctic cod and polar cod are used is ''Arct ...
, flounder and
Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns in freshwater and populat ...
.


History

The coast of the East Siberian Sea was inhabited for ages by the native peoples of northern Siberia such as
Yukaghirs The Yukaghirs, or Yukagirs ( (), russian: юкаги́ры) are a Siberian ethnic group people in the Russian Far East, living in the basin of the Kolyma River. Geographic distribution The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region ...
and Chukchi (eastern areas). Those tribes were engaged in fishing, hunting and
reindeer husbandry Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
, as reindeer sleds were essential for transportation and hunting. They were joined and absorbed by
Evens The Evens ( eve, эвэн; pl. , in Even and , in Russian; formerly called ''Lamuts'') are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of th ...
and
Evenks The Evenks (also spelled Ewenki or Evenki based on their endonym )Autonym: (); russian: Эвенки (); (); formerly known as Tungus or Tunguz; mn, Хамниган () or Aiwenji () are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Eve ...
around the second century and later, between ninth and 15th centuries, by much more numerous
Yakuts The Yakuts, or the Sakha ( sah, саха, ; , ), are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly live in the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation, with some extending to the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin regions, and the Taymyr and Evenk Districts ...
. All those tribes moved north from the
Baikal Lake Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сиб ...
area avoiding confrontations with Mongols. Whereas they all practised shamanism, they spoke different languages. The sea was navigated by Russian sea-farers, moving from one river mouth to another in their kochs as early as the 17th century. In 1648,
Semyon Dezhnev Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnyov ( rus, Семён Ива́нович Дежнёв, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ dʲɪˈʐnʲɵf; sometimes spelled Dezhnyov; c. 1605 – 1673) was a Russian explorer of Siberia and the first European to sail through t ...
and Fedot Alekseev sailed the coast of the East Siberian Sea from the Kolyma to river
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 ...
in the Bering Sea. Systematic exploration and mapping of the sea and its coasts was carried out by a series of expeditions in 1735–42, 1820–24, 1822, 1909 and 1911–14. In the 1930s, the coastal settlement of
Ambarchik Ambarchik (russian: Амба́рчик) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and a port in Pokhodsky Rural Okrug of Nizhnekolymsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located from Chersky, the administrative center of the district and from ...
, located at the delta of the Kolyma River, was used as a transient labor camp from which prisoners were transported to other northern camps of the
Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
system. While stationed at Ambarchik, prisoners were employed to build most of the port infrastructure and to unload the incoming ships. Later, due to shallow waters, the shipping was gradually transferred to Chersky in the lower reaches of the Kolyma, in order to accommodate larger vessels. As a result of this transfer, the port and settlement have been abandoned. Nowadays, Ambarchik only hosts a meteorological station operated by a few staff members. Another two labour camps of the Gulag system were later opened near Pevek, namely Chaunlag (1951–1953) and Chaunchukotlag (1949–1957). Both contained about 10,000 inmates used in the mine and construction works.


Human activities

The southern coast of the sea is shared by the Sakha Republic on the west and
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 ...
of Russia on the east. The coastal settlements are few and small, with the typical population below 100. The only city is
Pevek Pevek (russian: Певе́к; Chukchi: , ''Pèèkin'' / ''Pèèk'') is an Arctic port town and the administrative center of Chaunsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Chaunskaya Bay (part of the East Siberian Sea) on a pe ...
(population 5,206), which is the northernmost city in Russia. There are gold mines near Leningradsky and Pevek, but many mines have been closed recently, for example,
tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
mines at Pevek in the 1990s, that resulted in outflow of population. So, the
Logashkino Logashkino (russian: Лога́шкино) was a settlement in Nizhnekolymsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia, which was abolished in 1998.Resolution #443 of September 29, 1998 ''On Exclusion of Inhabited Localities from the Records of ...
settlement, which used to be a notable East Siberian Sea port, was abolished in 1998.Resolution #443 of September 29, 1998 ''On Exclusion of Inhabited Localities from the Records of Administrative and Territorial Division of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic'' The sea is used mostly for transportation of goods across the northern coast of Russia during August–September. The navigation is hindered even in summer by the remaining floating ice which is also brought down to the southern shores by occasional winds. Fishery and hunting of marine animals is still practised as traditional activities, but has only local importance. Fishery mostly targets salmon, halibut and crab. Data exist on fish production, which in 2005 was distributed, in thousand tonnes as follows:
sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...
(1.6),
Arctic cisco Arctic cisco (''Coregonus autumnalis''), also known as omul russian: Омуль, is an anadromous species of freshwater whitefish that inhabits the Arctic parts of Siberia, Alaska and Canada. It has a close freshwater relative in several lakes of ...
(1.8),
Bering cisco The Bering cisco or Lauretta whitefish (''Coregonus laurettae'') is a freshwater whitefish found in Alaska and part of Russia. It is often considered to be the same species as the more common Arctic cisco (''Coregonus autumnalis''). Description ...
(2.2),
broad whitefish The broad whitefish (''Coregonus nasus'') is a freshwater whitefish species. Dark silvery in colour, and like a herring in its shape, its distinctive features include a convex head, short gill rakers, and a mild overbite. It is found in the Arcti ...
(2.7),
Muksun The muksun ''(Coregonus muksun)'' is a type of whitefish widespread in the Siberian Arctic waters. It is mostly found in the freshened areas of the Kara and Laptev Seas and up the major rivers, as well as in Lake Taymyr. Like all whitefishes, ...
(2.8) and others (3.6). The principal port is
Pevek Pevek (russian: Певе́к; Chukchi: , ''Pèèkin'' / ''Pèèk'') is an Arctic port town and the administrative center of Chaunsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Chaunskaya Bay (part of the East Siberian Sea) on a pe ...
(in the Chaunskaya Bay) After the breakup of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, commercial navigation in the Arctic went into decline. Nowadays more or less regular shipping occurs only between Pevek and
Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
. Ports in the northern Siberian coast located between
Dudinka Dudinka (russian: Дуди́нка; Nenets: Тут'ын, ''Tutꜧyn'') is a town on the Yenisei River and the administrative center of Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It used to be the administrative center of Ta ...
and Pevek see next to no shipping at all. Since 1944, most electricity for the region is provided by the 30 MW
thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...
of Pevek. It is ageing and consumes much oil which has to be brought from far away. Therefore, there was a project to replace the station by a floating 70 MW atomic power station by 2015. (failed) "Golden" station
(in Russian)


See also

*
Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route The Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (russian: Главное Управление Северного Морского Пути , translit=Glavnoe upravlenie Severnogo morskogo puti), also known as Glavsevmorput or GUSMP (russian: ГУ ...
*
Eduard Toll Eduard Gustav Freiherr von Toll (russian: Эдуа́рд Васи́льевич Толль, translit=Eduárd Vasíl'evič Toll'; 1902), better known in Russia as Eduard Vasilyevich Toll and often referred to as Baron von Toll, was a Russian ge ...
*
Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (russian: Се́верный морско́й путь, ''Severnyy morskoy put'', shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route officially defined by Russian legislation as lying east of No ...
* List of seas *
Siberian Shelf The Siberian Shelf is a coastal shelf in the Arctic Ocean and is the largest continental shelf of the Earth, a part of the continental shelf of Russia. It extends from the continent of Eurasia in the general area of North Siberia (hence the name) ...
*
Reindeer in Russia Reindeer in Russia include tundra and forest reindeer and are subspecies of ''Rangifer tarandus''. Tundra reindeer include the Novaya Zemlya (''R.t.pearsoni'') and Sápmi (''R.t. tarandus'') subspecies and the Siberian tundra reindeer (''R.t. sibir ...


References


External links


Weather forecast for Pevek
(in Russian)
Weather in Pevek for a month
(in Russian) * {{Authority control Marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean Seas of Russia Geography of Siberia Bodies of water of Krasnoyarsk Krai Bodies of water of the Sakha Republic Bodies of water of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug