The Chaunskaya Bay or Chaun Bay () is an Arctic bay in the
East Siberian Sea
The East Siberian Sea (; ) is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the Arctic Cape to the north, the coast of Siberia to the south, the New Siberian Islands to the west and Cape Billings, close to Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka, ...
, in
Chaunsky District
Chaunsky District (; Chukchi: , ''Čaan rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #33-OZ and municipalLaw #46-OZ district (raion), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is on the northern shore of the autonomous okrug and borders with I ...
Port of Pevek
Port of Pevek (port code RU PWE, ) is a seaport situated on the northern coast of microdistrict Kosa, Pevek, Russia, located in southeastern area of Pevek Strait ( Chaun Bay). It is the most northern seaport of Russia.
GoogleEarth
Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...
Its mouth is defined by
Cape Shelagsky
Cape Shelagsky or Cape Shelag (; ), also known as Erri by the Siberian Yupik, is a headland situated in eastern Siberia, Russia on the shores of the East Siberian Sea.Google Earth
The cape was named after the Shelags, a little-known ethnic gro ...
, the end of the
Shelag Range
The Shelag Range, Shelag Ridge () is a range of mountains in far Russian Far East, North-eastern Russia. Administratively the range is part of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Federal subjects of Russia, Russian Federation. The area of the ran ...
, to the east and an unnamed part of
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.
Geograph ...
to the west. It narrows where the
Pevek
Pevek (; Chukchi language, Chukchi: , ''Pèèkin'' / ''Pèèk'') is an Arctic port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Chaunsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Chaunskaya Bay (pa ...
Peninsula on the east approaches Ayon Island.
Owing to its northerly location, Chaunskaya Bay is covered with ice most of the year.
This bay is the center of one of the larger lowlands in Chukotka. A number of rivers flow into the southeastern corner:
Chaun River
The Chaun () is a stream in Far East Siberia. It flows roughly northwards, passing through the sparsely populated areas of the Siberian tundra. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
Course
The Chaun originates in rivers flowing from the Ilirn ...
Lake Elgygytgyn
Lake Elgygytgyn, also transcripted El'gygytgyn, ( Russian and Chukchi: Эльгыгытгын) is a crater lake in Anadyrsky District, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in northeast Siberia, about southeast of Chaunskaya Bay.
The word "Elgygytgyn" ...
is about 160 km southeast and the town of
Bilibino
Bilibino () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Bilibinsky District in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located northwest of Anadyr (town), Anadyr, the administrative center of the autonomo ...
about 160 km southwest.
History
The first Russian to reach the area was probably
Mikhail Stadukhin
Mikhail Vasilyevich Stadukhin () (died 1666) was a Russian explorer of far northeast Siberia, one of the first to reach the Kolyma, Anadyr, Penzhina and Gizhiga Rivers and the northern Sea of Okhotsk. He was a Pomor, probably born in the village o ...