The Shantar Islands (russian: Шантарские острова, translit=Shantarskiye ostrova) are a group of fifteen islands located off the northwestern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk east of

Uda Gulf Uda Gulf or Uda Bay (russian: Удская губа; ''Udskaya Guba'') is a gulf or bay in Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Federation. Geography Uda Gulf is located in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. It lies just west of the Shantar Islands. The Uda ...

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.

Geography

The island group is administered by

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 ...

as part of Khabarovsk Krai.

Islands

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 largest island in the Shantar group, with an area of 1790 km². It is about 72 km in length and 49 km in width. It has a large brackish lake (Lake Bol'shoe) in its northern end which is connected to the sea through a narrow passage.

Smelts Smelts are a family of small fish, the Osmeridae, found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans, as well as rivers, streams and lakes in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. They are also known as freshwater smelts or typical smelts ...

(''

Hypomesus japonicus ''Hypomesus japonicus'' is a coastal fish species of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Korean Peninsula and northern Japan to the Kuril Islands and Peter the Great Bay. Size The average length of an unsexed male is about 25 centi ...

'' and '' olidus'') are found in this lake. * Feklistova Island, with an area of 372 km². * Malyy Shantar Island, with an area of 100 km². * Medvezhy, located very close to the coast. * Belichy, with an area of 70 km². *Other islands include Prokofyeva, Sakharnaya Golova, Kusova, Ptichy, Utichy and Yuzhnyy.

History

The

Nivkh people The Nivkh, or Gilyak (also Nivkhs or Nivkhi, or Gilyaks; ethnonym: Нивхгу, ''Nʼivxgu'' (Amur) or Ниғвңгун, ''Nʼiɣvŋgun'' (E. Sakhalin) "the people"), are an indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the northern half of Sakhalin Islan ...

populated the Shantar islands until the 1730s. The first recorded exploration of the Shantar Islands was in April 1640, when Russian explorer

Ivan Moskvitin Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin (russian: Иван Юрьевич Москвитин) (? - after 1647) was a Russian explorer, presumably a native of Moscow, who led a Russian reconnaissance party to the Sea of Okhotsk, becoming the first Russian to reac ...

allegedly sailed to the mouth of the Amur River with a group of Cossacks and spotted the Shantar Islands on the way back. Moskvitin reported his discoveries to Prince Shcherbatov, the Muscovite

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a n ...

. Based on Ivan Moskvitin's account, the first Russian map of the Far East was drawn in March 1642. The Shantar Islands were also explored by Russian surveyors between 1711 and 1725.

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 ...

whaleship A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

s cruised for bowhead whales around the Shantar Islands between 1852 and 1907.''Arctic'', of Fairhaven, July-Oct. 1852. In Gelett, C. W. (1917). ''A life on the ocean: Autobiography of Captain Charles Wetherby Gelett''. Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaiian Gazette Co., Ltd. They anchored among the islands to send

whaleboat A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...

s into the bays to the south and west, including Uda, Tugur, and

Ulban Bay Ulban Bay (Russian: ''Ul'bansky Zaliv'') is a bay in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk, just south of the Shantar Islands. It is a southern branch of Academy Bay to the north. The Syran and Ulban rivers flow into its head. Geography Ulban Bay i ...

s. They sought shelter under Bolshoy Shantar, Medvezhy, Malyy Shantar, and Feklistova Islands from strong winds and gales as well as to obtain wood and water. At least four ships were wrecked on the islands: one on the Pinnacle Rocks, one on Medvezhy and two on Bolshoy Shantar during

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Shantar Islands National Park was created by Russian scientists and conservationists with support from WWF and several international organizations to protect the wildlife of the islands.

Ecology

Bowhead whales swimming in Lingolm strait by Vladislav Raevskii

There is no permanent population on the Shantar Islands, but they are often visited by commercial fishermen who use them as a base. Other economic activities undertaken on these islands are fur hunting and trapping as well as logging, which in the past were often done illegally. There are spruce forests on the largest islands. Other trees in the island taiga are the

Siberian spruce ''Picea obovata'', the Siberian spruce, is a spruce native to Siberia, from the Ural Mountains east to Magadan Oblast, and from the Arctic tree line south to the Altay Mountains in northwestern Mongolia. Description and uses It is a medium-size ...

, the

Dahurian larch ''Larix gmelinii'', the Dahurian larch or Gmelin larch, is a species of larch native to eastern Siberia and adjacent northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China ( Heilongjiang), South Korea and North Korea. Description ''Larix gmelinii'' i ...

and the

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and S ...

. There are many endangered birds on these islands, including the

Blakiston's fish owl Blakiston's fish owl (''Bubo blakistoni''), the largest living species of owl, is a fish owl, a sub-group of eagle-owls which specialize in hunting in riparian areas. It is native to China, Japan, and the Russian Far East. This species is a par ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...

red-necked grebe The red-necked grebe (''Podiceps grisegena'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although ...

gyrfalcon The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a resid ...

, solitary snipe,

Steller's sea eagle Steller's sea eagle (''Haliaeetus pelagicus''), also known as Pacific sea eagle or white-shouldered eagle, is a very large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was described first by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. No subspecies are ...

and the

Siberian grouse The Siberian grouse (''Falcipennis falcipennis''), also known as Siberian spruce grouse, Amur grouse, or Asian spruce grouse, is a short, rotund forest-dwelling grouse. A sedentary, non-migratory bird, it is the only member of the genus ''Falcipe ...

. In the spring and summer, a number of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

species nest on the islands, including black-headed and slaty-backed gull,

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

and

thick-billed murre The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot (''Uria lomvia'') 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'' ...

horned A horn is a permanent pointed projection on the head of various animals that consists of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. Horns are distinct from antlers, which are not permanent. In mammals, true horns ...

and

tufted puffin The tufted puffin (''Fratercula cirrhata''), also known as crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family (Alcidae) found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species of puffin that make ...

spectacled guillemot The spectacled guillemot or sooty guillemot (''Cepphus carbo'') is a seabird in the auk family. Description This species is about with red legs, black bill, and a blackish iris. The breeding adult spectacled guillemot is distinctive, mostly p ...

Aleutian tern The Aleutian tern (''Onychoprion aleuticus'') is a migratory bird living in the subarctic region of the globe most of the year. It is frequently associated with the Arctic tern, which it closely resembles. While both species have a black cap, th ...

long-billed murrelet The long-billed murrelet (''Brachyramphus perdix'') is a small seabird from the North Pacific. The genus name ''Brachyramphus'' is from Ancient Greek ''brakhus'', "short", and ''rhamphos'', "bill". The species name ''perdix'' is Latin for "partr ...

, and

pelagic cormorant The pelagic cormorant (''Urile pelagicus''), also known as Baird's cormorant or violet-green cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called the pelagic shag occasi ...

.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. The Kamchatka brown

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

(''Ursus arctos beringianus''), sable and marten, caribou,

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

, and river otter are common on the Shantar Islands.

Reindeer 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 ...

can be seen as well. Rivers on these islands are populated by sturgeon,

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

, and various other fish. The waters around these coastal islands are frozen for about eight months of the year on average.

Pinnipeds Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walru ...

(such as

harbour seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared se ...

s, bearded seals,

common seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared se ...

ribbon seal The ribbon seal (''Histriophoca fasciata'') is a medium-sized pinniped from the true seal family (Phocidae). A seasonally ice-bound species, it is found in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of the North Pacific Ocean, notably in the Bering Sea and ...

s (on sea ice) and Steller sea lions), sea otters, and cetaceans such as

minke whale The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish na ...

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

s, and the critically endangered bowhead whales, western gray whales and belugas can be seen off the islands. Although there is little visible evidence of human impact, the Shantar island ecosystem is under threat. One of the most severe threats to the environment of the Shantar Islands is a proposed tidal hydroelectric power station, which is currently on hold for lack of funds.Russian Conservation; Endangered Ecosystems, The Shantar Islands, page 8
Lack of restrictions on tourism and resorting is also a problem as the number of people visiting the islands is increasing in recent years.

Nearby islands

Menshikov Island Menshikov Island (russian: Остров Меньшикова; Ostrov Men'shikova) is an island in the Sea of Okhotsk located east of the Shantar Islands. Geography Menshikov Island lies 71 km to the east of the eastern shore of Kusov Islan ...

(Остров Меньшикова; Ostrov Men'shikova) lies 71 km to the east of Kusov Island's eastern shore. It is 7 km long and has a maximum width of 1.6 km. *

Reyneke Island Reyneke Island (russian: Остров Рейнеке, ''Ostrov Reyneke'') is an island in the Eugénie Archipelago within the Peter the Great Gulf of the Sea of Japan. It is administratively part of the city of Vladivostok in Primorsky Krai, Russ ...

(Остров Рейнеке; Ostrov Reyneke) lies 45 km to the southeast of Menshikov Island. It is 7 km long and has a maximum width of 1.6 km. It is located close to a headland in the coast, separated from it by a 5 km wide sound. This island should not be confused with

close to

Russky Island Russky Island (russian: Ру́сский о́стров, lit. ''Russian Island'') is an island in Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan, in Primorsky Krai, Russia. It is the largest island in the Eugénie Archipelago, separated from the M ...

in the Vladivostok Bay.

References

External links

Ice ridging

Tracking Steller’s Sea Eagles
{{authority control Islands of the Sea of Okhotsk Islands of the Russian Far East Archipelagoes of Khabarovsk Krai Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Shipwrecks in the Sea of Okhotsk