Ugolnye Kopi (, lit. ''coal mines'') is an urban locality (an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

) in

Anadyrsky District Anadyrsky District (; Chukchi language, Chukchi: , ''Kagyrgyn rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #33-OZ and municipalLaw #148-OZ district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Rus ...

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka ( ; ), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a border wi ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located east of

Anadyr Anadyr may refer to: *Anadyr (town), a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Anadyr District * Anadyr Estuary * Anadyr (river), a river in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Anadyr Highlands * Anadyr Lowlands * A ...

, the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of the

autonomous okrug Autonomous okrugs, () which are also referred to as "autonomous districts" or "autonomous areas" are a type of federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russia, Russian Federation and simultaneously an administrative division type of ...

, on the opposite side of the

Anadyr River The Anadyr (; Yukaghir: Онандырь; ) is a river in the far northeast of Siberia which flows into the Gulf of Anadyr of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its basin corresponds to the Anadyrsky ...

. It served as the administrative center of Anadyrsky District until June 2011. Population: with an estimated population as of January 1, 2015 of 3,666. It is a mainly mining town that also hosts the region's main airport.

History

Pre-history

Traces of fossil flora and fauna dating to the late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

and

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

were discovered on the territory of modern Ugolnye Kopi in 2003, in the area known as the Golden Ridge, in the Ugolnoye and Pervomaysky fields. These areas exhibit extensive fossil flora and fauna composition; the fossilized plant remains are well-preserved. There are currently about 130 items in the Chukotka Heritage Museum in

. Pollen grains extracted from the shells show that for about two million years ago coniferous and deciduous forests existed on the Gold Ridge. In the sediments of the Golden Ridge, fossil remains of teeth, vertebrae, and jaw fragments have been found.

Modern history

It was founded at the beginning of the 20th century to provide accommodation and facilities for those working in or administering the nearby mines, hence the name,Futé, pp. 88f and later to provide the same services to those working in the air industry at the local airport.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Ugolnye Kopi is directly subordinated to

.Directive #517-rp As a municipal division, the

of Ugolnye Kopi is incorporated within Anadyrsky Municipal District as Ugolnye Kopi Urban Settlement.Law #148-OZ

Demographics

Ugolnye Kopi is located on the road between the

Ugolny Airport Ugolny Airport () (also Leninka, Ugolnyye Kopi, Ugolnoye) is a mixed-use military and civil airfield in the Russian Far East located 11 km east of Anadyr (town), Anadyr, separated from the town by the waters of Anadyrsky Liman. The airfiel ...

and Shakhtyorsky. Unlike a large number of localities in the region, Ugolnye Kopi's demographics is mainly Caucasian.Red Cross of Chukotka – Anadyrsky District (Archived)
/ref> The

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

reports that only eighty-four people in Ugolnye Kopi are of indigenous origin; the remainder are of Slavic origin. This is as a result of the settlement's reason for existence being to provide accommodation and services to the local miners, servicemen, and aircraftmen, rather than it initially being an indigenous settlement that was turned into a collective farm such as, for example,

Chuvanskoye Chuvanskoye () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') in Anadyrsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Russia, located west of Markovo, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Markovo on the banks of the Ye ...

Economy

Infrastructure

The settlement houses all district institutions and several military units. There are various stores, a post-office, a library, a hostel for children, the District Center of Children's Art, a youth sports school, a daycare center, Chukotka Economic Lyceum, a high school, the Municipal Center of Education, and a cultural center.

Transportation

The settlement is also home to the main airport in the autonomous okrug, the

. This is the main transport hub for the region offering vital links to all airports within the district with

Chukotavia ChukotAVIA (, short for Чукотские авиалинии; ) is an airline based in Anadyr, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It operates passenger, cargo, and utility services. Its main base is Anadyr Ugolny Airport. As of february 2025, i ...

as well as

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

through Bering Air. In summer, those arriving to the airport and heading to

may do so using a ferry crossing; however, winter arrivals need to use the

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Int ...

across the

which leads straight into the town.

Energy

In 2003, power cables were finally laid across the water from the Anadyr power station to these settlements. The use of natural gas as basic fuel will allow for the considerable improvement of the ecological situation in the autonomous okrug by decreasing the level of emissions in the atmosphere caused by coal burning. Hence the cost of power will drop, and reliability and quality of power supply will be higher.

Climate

Ugolnye Kopi has a

polar climate The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month a polar climate has an average temperature of less than . Regions with a polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''ET'')McKnightand Hess, pp. 235–237 because the warmest month has an average temperature between .

References

Notes

Sources

* * * *Petit Futé, ''Chukotka''

External links

Ugolnye Kopi Photo GalleryMore photos of Ugolnye Kopi
{{Authority control Urban-type settlements in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug