Location of the Chukchi Peninsula, climate and attractions

About the geographical location, climate and features of the Chukchi Peninsula, most of us have heard in the middle classes of the general education school. Much, unfortunately, was forgotten, and now you can recall that it is very cold in this place for most of the year, and life there is complicated and very different from ours.

This article is written in order to not only mention the geographical position of the Chukchi Peninsula, but also to acquaint the reader with the peculiarities of this part of Russia, its sights, animals and flora.

general information

First of all, it must be noted that Chukotka is really a big, remote and cold region of Russia. Almost the entire territory of the region lies beyond the Arctic Circle, so the winter lasts almost 10 months. During the polar night in Chukotka, the sun does not show at all, but in summer it does not enter at all.

In general, this region is incredibly beautiful and differs from most of Russia not only with its rich animal and vegetable world, but also with unique, distinctive sights.

Unfortunately, to date, the territory of the Chukotka Peninsula has poorly developed infrastructure, and already rare flights, which are constantly being carried here, are being carried over due to strong winds and constant snowfalls.

The capital of the region is the amazing and unusual city of Anadyr. It is here, albeit with a delay and not as often as we would like, fly planes from all corners of our vast country.

If you remember where the Chukchi Peninsula is located, it becomes clear why it is famous primarily for its national parks, lakes and a nature reserve called "Wrangel Island".

Arctic harsh climate contributed to the development of a fairly diverse flora and fauna of the region. To date, there can be found more than 35 species of mammals, 170 species of birds and more than 630 species of lichens and mosses.

Geography of Chukotka

The Chukchi Peninsula, whose photo shows the beauty of the harsh land, is an autonomous district of Russia, located in the extreme north-east.

It stretches over an area of more than 720 thousand km ² . In general, we can say that Chukotka starts from the lower reaches of the Kolyma, stretches to the Bering Strait and goes to the Arctic Ocean.

The district occupies twenty-fourth part of the whole territory of Russia. In the south, the edge of the province runs along the Anadyr River and the rivers of the Okhotsk Sea basin, bordering the Kamchatka region. In the west, it adjoins the Magadan Region and Yakutia. In the eastern part of the district, the state border runs along the sea.

The composition of the Chukchi Peninsula today also includes the islands of Ratmanov, Wrangel, Herald, and others.

Features of the relief

The relief of Chukotka consists mainly of plateaus over which huge ridges rise.

In the north there is the same highland, consisting mainly of parallel ridges, the maximum height of which reaches 1,843 m above sea level. It is a watershed of the rivers of the Pacific and the Arctic Ocean basins. In addition, in the region there are also the Anyui highlands with altitudes up to 1,853 m, the Anadyr plateau with elevations of up to 1082 m, the Kolyma and Koryak highlands.

The relief of the Chukchi Peninsula also consists of domed elevations (hills) with a height of up to 700 m.

The lowlands of this region adjoin the sea bays, abound in lakes and are heavily waterlogged.

From the geological point of view, the relief of Chukotka was formed as a result of neotectonic movements, which, incidentally, continue to this day.

Chukchi Peninsula: the climate and its features

The climate of the region determines the monsoon circulation. It is because of this in Chukotka, only two seasons - a short warm and long frosty period, lasting from October to May. In the cold time, the continent is strongly cooled, and from the Pacific Ocean, sharp warmings erupt with snowstorms and snowstorms.

In warm weather, on the contrary, cold wet masses move from the ocean to the continent, forming a summer monsoon. The average July air temperature is +13 ⁰ C, and only on some days it rises to +30 ⁰ C. The coast is much colder, the average daily temperature of the coast of the Chukchi Sea is rarely higher than +5 ⁰ С.

The proximity of the vast water cover of the two oceans creates increased humidity, fogs and cloudy weather, and, the closer to the coast, the more severe the weather becomes.

Winter is very frosty, but sunny and dry, and for the northern part of Chukotka, polar days and nights are also characteristic.

Nature of the Chukchi Peninsula

Chukotka is located in 4 natural zones, therefore it has a diverse vegetation cover. The zone of arctic tundra is composed of cold deserts and semi-deserts, the vegetation cover of which consists of shrub-moss and sedge-kochkar representatives of the flora.

In addition, the territory of Chukotka is located in the zone of the southern hypoarctic tundra, forest-tundra, and deciduous taiga.

In summer, only the upper layer of the earth surface thaws in this area, supplying the desired moisture to the plants and protecting them from the pernicious influence of permafrost.

The Chukchi coast is the richest in terms of flora in the Arctic region. Almost half of the area is occupied by high-mountain tundras, stone deserts and semi-deserts. Vegetation covers only a third of the surface and is represented by several dozen species of plants, including a huge number of flowers.

The lowlands of the region are covered by shallow thermokarst lakes. For example, Lake Krasnoe has an area of 600 km ² and a maximum depth of 4 m. Along the rivers stretch bands of meadows, marshes and shrubs.

Memorable places of the region

The sights of the Chukchi peninsula are represented by five main objects:

1. The Bay of Providence is a museum of local lore, surrounded by a fantastic nature, storing a story about the life of the Chukchi indigenous population - the Chukchi, Eskimos and Evenks.
2. The whale alley is a sanctuary, a mysterious monument of the ancient Eskimo culture.
3. Cape Navarin is the pearl of Chukotka, the most beautiful, unusual and majestic corner of the peninsula.
4. Naukan is an ancient village, founded by the Eskimos in the XIV century. Now it is deserted and abandoned.
5. Elgygytgyn is a mysterious romantic lake, formed more than three million years ago.

Curious facts

In the 1930s, Soviet power forced the Chukchi and Evenki to wash with soap, after which the death rate increased significantly in this region. It turns out that in this way they completely washed off from themselves and the beneficial bacteria, from birth, protecting them from dangerous viruses.

Chukotka is famous for its huge amount of climatic records, including the smallest radiation balance and minimum sunlight.

Chukchi residents have the exclusive right to a visa-free trip to Alaska (USA), but they, as citizens of the Russian Federation, need to get permission from the border guard service to get there.

Tundra Chukchi is divided into two peoples: chavchu and ankalyn, and together they are called "luoravetlans".

For all history animals on the Chukchi Peninsula and in the adjacent ocean waters lived the most diverse. Whales, walruses, seals, polar bears, musk oxs are just large mammals. Apparently, therefore, the seaside Chukchi became so famous for their carving on the bone.