Prokofyeva Island

Last updated
Prokofyeva
Shantar1z.png
The Shantar Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk
Russia Khabarovsk Krai location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Prokofyeva
Geography
Location Sea of Okhotsk
Coordinates 55°04′N138°23′E / 55.067°N 138.383°E / 55.067; 138.383
Archipelago Shantar Islands
Administration
Federal Subject Khabarovsk Krai

Prokofyeva (Russian: Ostrov Prokofyeva) is a small island in the Sea of Okhotsk. It is one of the Shantar Islands. It lies to the northeast of Bolshoy Shantar Island.

Russian language East Slavic language

Russian is an East Slavic language, which is official in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as being widely used throughout Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was the de facto language of the Soviet Union until its dissolution on 25 December 1991. Although nearly three decades have passed since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russian is used in official capacity or in public life in all the post-Soviet nation-states, as well as in Israel and Mongolia.

Sea of Okhotsk A marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, the island of Hokkaido, the island of Sakhalin, and eastern Siberian coast

The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaido to the south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and north. The northeast corner is the Shelikhov Gulf. The sea is named after Okhotsk, the first Russian settlement in the Far East.

Shantar Islands Island group in Far Eastern Federal District, Russian Federation

The Shantar Islands are a group of fifteen islands located off the northwestern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk east of Uda Gulf and north of Academy Bay. Most of the islands have rugged cliffs, but they are of moderate height; the highest point in the island group is 720 metres. The name of the island group has its origins in the Nivkh language from the word ч’андь/č’and’’ meaning "to be white". The islands are currently uninhabited.

Contents

History

Prokofyeva was frequented by American whaleships cruising for bowhead whales between 1855 and 1885. [1]

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Whaler specialized ship designed for whaling

A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized ship, designed, or adapted, for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. The former includes the whale catcher – a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bow. The latter includes such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early 20th centuries and the floating factory or factory ship of the modern era. There have also been vessels which combined the two activities, such as the bottlenose whalers of the late 19th and early 20th century, and catcher/factory ships of the modern era.

Bowhead whale Species of mammal

The bowhead whale is a species of the family Balaenidae, in parvorder Mysticeti, and genus Balaena, which once included the right whale.

Fauna

In the spring and summer there is a small nesting colony of thick-billed murre on the island. [2]

Thick-billed murre species of bird

The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies Uria lomvia arra is also called Pallas' murre after its describer. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ouria, a waterbird mentioned by Athenaeus. The species term lomvia is a Swedish word for an auk or diver. The English "guillemot" is from French guillemot probably derived from Guillaume, "William". "Murre" is of uncertain origins, but may imitate the call of the common guillemot.

Related Research Articles

Shelikhov Gulf bay

Shelikhov Gulf is a large gulf off the northwestern coast of Kamchatka, Russia. It is located in the northeastern corner of the Sea of Okhotsk and it branches into two main arms, Gizhigin Bay to the west and Penzhina Bay to the east. Its southwest corner is formed by the P'yagin Peninsula, Yam Gulf and the Yamsky Islands.

Sakhalin Gulf is a gulf in the Sea of Okhotsk between continental Russia and the northern tip of Sakhalin Island. The width of the gulf reaches up to 160 km. It is covered with ice from mid-November until late April, but north winds can leave the bay blocked with ice until July.

Bolshoy Shantar Island island

Bolshoy Shantar is an island in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia. It is the main island of the Shantar Islands. Its area is 1766 km². It is about 72 km (44.7 mi) in length and 49 km (30.4 mi) in width. It has a large brackish lake on its north side which is connected to the sea through a narrow passage. Yakshin Bay indents the southwest side of the island.

Feklistova Island Island in Far Eastern Federal District, Russian Federation

Feklistova or Feklistov Island is one of the Shantar Islands in Sea of Okhotsk. With an area of 372 km², it is the second largest in the archipelago.

Iony Island Island in Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Federation

Iony Island, or Jonas' Island, formerly Ostrov Svyatogo Iony, is a small island in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Taui Bay Bay in Far Eastern Federal District, Russian Federation

Taui Bay is a body of water in the Sea of Okhotsk off the coast of the Magadan Oblast in Russia. The bay opens to the south.

Konstantina Bay is a small bay in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk, just south of the Shantar Islands. It is a western branch of the larger Academy Bay to the east. The bay is about 9.6 km (6 mi) in diameter and its entrance is about 4.8 km (3 mi) wide. Spring tides rise 3.8 m (12.5 ft), while neaps rise 2.7 m (9 ft).

Nikolaya Bay, formerly Usalginsky Bay, is a small, narrow bay in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk, just south of the Shantar Islands. It is a southeastern branch of the larger Academy Bay to the north. Its northern and southern points, Lamsdorf Point and Cape Grote, are separated by only 8 km (5 mi), while the bay itself is about 59.5 km (37 mi) deep in a southerly direction. The Tokara Peninsula separates it from Ulban Bay to the west. The Usalgin River runs into its head. Spring tides rise 5.5 m (18 ft), while neaps rise 2.4–3 m (8–10 ft). There is ice in the bay from mid-November to mid-July.

Tugur Bay

Tugur Bay or Tugursky Bay is a large bay in the Tuguro-Chumikansky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Federation.

Maly Shantar Island Island in Far Eastern Federal District, Russian Federation

Maly Shantar Island is a small, narrow island in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk, one of the Shantar Islands.

Medvezhy Island Island in Far Eastern Federal District, Russian Federation

Medvezhy Island is a long, narrow island in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk, the westernmost of the Shantar Islands. It lies on the eastern side of Uda Gulf. It is 12.9 km long. It is separated from the mainland by Shevchenko Straight.

Lindholm Strait is a strait in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. It separates Malyy Shantar and Belichiy Islands to the north from the Tugur Peninsula to the south. At its narrowest it is only 3.2 km wide. Tides are semidiurnal. Springs rise 4.9 m, while neaps rise 3.6 m. The flood current sets west, while the stronger ebb current flows in the opposite direction. The former creates large eddies and whirlpools. Tidal currents vary from 3.5 to 6 knots.

Ptichy Island (Shantar Islands)

Ptichy Island is a small island in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Sakharnaya Golova Island

Sakharnaya Golova is a small island in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. It is part of the Shantar Islands National Park.

Academy Bay (Sea of Okhotsk)

Academy Bay is a large bay in the Tuguro-Chumikansky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Federation.

Lebyazhya Bay is a small bay that indents the south side of Feklistova Island, one of the Shantar Islands, in the western Sea of Okhotsk. Its entrance is 11.3 kilometers (7.0 mi) wide and it is 5.6 kilometers (3.5 mi) deep. There are three small bays at its head: Enegelma Road to the west, Soboleva to the north, and Rosseta to the east. A small island, Sukhotina, lies to its southeast. In the spring and summer it is host to a small nesting colony of thick-billed murre. A number of streams of fresh water flow down the hills into the bay. Spring tides rise 6.5 meters (21 ft) while neaps rise 2.4 meters.

Abrek Bay is a small bay on the southeast coast of Maly Shantar Island, one of the Shantar Islands, in the western Sea of Okhotsk. It is 2.4 km (1.5 mi) wide at its entrance and about 1.6 km (1 mi) deep. Spring tides rise about 4.5 m (15 ft) and neaps about 2.7 m (9 ft).

Cape Bolshoy Dugandzha

Cape Bol'shoy Dugandzha is a headland in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia.

Commercial open-boat whaling by American and European ships occurred in the Sea of Okhotsk from the 1830s to the early 1900s. They primarily caught right and bowhead whales. Both populations of these species declined drastically, with the latter once thought to be extinct by western historians. Peak catches were made in the 1840s and 1850s. It's estimated that as many as 15,200 bowheads and 2,400 rights were taken in the sea.

References

  1. ↑ Mary Frazier, of New Bedford, July 2, 1855, Nicholson Whaling Collection (NWC); Louisa, of New Bedford, July 4, 1858, NWC; Navy, of New Bedford, July 11, 1861, Kendall Whaling Museum (KWM); Sea Breeze, of New Bedford, Sept. 2, 1866, Old Dartmouth Historical Society; Mary and Helen II, of San Francisco, Aug. 9, Aug. 23, 1885, KWM.
  2. ↑ Kondratyev, A. Y., Litvinenko, N. M., Shibaev, Y. V., Vyatkin, P. S., & Kondratyeva, L. F. (2000). "The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East". Seabirds of the Russian Far East, 37-81.

Coordinates: 55°04′N138°23′E / 55.067°N 138.383°E / 55.067; 138.383

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.