Sakhalin Gulf (russian: Сахалинский залив) is a gulf in the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

between continental

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

(north of the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

's mouth) and the Schmidt Peninsula, at the northern tip of

Sakhalin Island Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

. The width of the gulf reaches up to 160 km (99 mi). It is covered with ice from mid-November until late April, but north winds can leave the bay blocked with ice until July.United States. (1918). ''Asiatic Pilot, Volume 1: East coast of Siberia, Sakhalin Island and Chosen''. Washington: Hydrographic Office. The port of Moskalvo (Москальво) is located on the eastern shore of the Sakhalin Gulf, close to

Ush Island Ush Island (Остров Уш; Ostrov Ush) is an island in the northern coast of Sakhalin. Ush Island is located between a shallow bay and the Sea of Okhotsk, at the mouth of the Sakhalin Gulf. Ush Island stretches roughly from east to west. It ...

History

Sakhalin Gulf was frequented by American and

n whaleships targeting

bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus '' Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...

s between 1848 and 1874.''Storfursten Constantin'', of Helsinki, June 1860. In Lindholm, O. V., Haes, T. A., & Tyrtoff, D. N. (2008). ''Beyond the frontiers of imperial Russia: From the memoirs of Otto W. Lindholm''. Javea, Spain: A. de Haes OWL Publishing. They also traded with the natives for

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

. On 6–7 September 1854, the ship ''City'' (351 tons), of

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

, grounded and wrecked on the western side of the gulf. Most of her crew made it to Sakhalin Island, but seven men, including the first officer, perished on a raft from the wreck of the bark ''Peruvian''. They were able to reach the Russian village of Petrovsk and boarded a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...

for home.''City'', of New Bedford, Sep. 6-Oct. 1, 1854, NWC.

Wildlife

In the summer

beluga whale The beluga whale () (''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 whi ...

s aggregate at the head of Sakhalin Gulf to feed on

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aqua ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

.Solovyev, B. A., Shpak, O. V., Glazov, D. M., Rozhnov, V. V., & D. M. Kuznetsova. (2015). "Summer distribution of beluga whales (''Delphinapterus leucas'') in the Sea of Okhotsk". ''Russian J. Theriol.'' 14 (2): 201-215.

References

Location
Bodies of water of Sakhalin Oblast Bays of the Sea of Okhotsk Gulfs of Russia Gulfs of the Pacific Ocean Shipwrecks in the Sea of Okhotsk {{FarEast-Russia-geo-stub