Was Sakhalin used to be part of the mainland. Eastern peninsula of southern Sakhalin. Economy and population

Sakhalin makes an indelible impression on the traveler. It is enough to look at the photographs of these places, you fall in love with this amazing land in absentia, the local landscapes are so beautiful. There are sights that are historical heritage, but the main wealth of the Sakhalin region is its natural monuments.

The local history museums of the region present expositions reflecting the life of indigenous peoples. In addition, here you can see exhibitions dedicated to the modern culture of the countries of the East, walk around Chekhov's places. Of course, the museum of railway equipment in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is interesting, which, by right, is considered one of the most visited attractions in the region.

The museum is interesting, first of all, for its unique equipment, as well as the narrow-gauge railway, which has no analogues in the whole world: its gauge is 1067 mm and it is in full working order. So part of the museum's collection is located directly under the open sky. Here you can see a variety of wagons, mini-locomotives of the 30s of the XX century, and other old equipment.

Of interest are such island rarities as the old railway line located between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kholmsk, or the Nogliki-Okha narrow-gauge railway, which operates to this day in the north of Sakhalin and other monuments of the heritage of the Karafuto governorate, as well as lighthouses with centuries of history, an unusual tunnel in the form of a broken line on Cape Zhonkier, not far from Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, laid in hard rocky ground by convicts, sites of an ancient man and much more.

However, the greatest interest is created not by man, but by nature itself. A place that any tourist wants to see is a tiny piece of land in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk east of Sakhalin, which is marked on all maps of the world as Tyuleniy Island. Here is a unique rookery of fur seals, you can see such an accumulation of these marine animals only here and near the Commander Islands in the USA. And although no ship has the right to approach the protected area closer than 30 miles, and aircraft are prohibited from flying over this place, you can get here on an excursion.

The attractions of Sakhalin include its thermal springs: Lesogorsky (near the village of Lesogorsk, along the Lesogorka river), Lunsky (on Lunsky Bay, in the isthmus), Daginsky (in the village of Goryachiye Klyuchi, half a kilometer from the Nogliki-Okha highway).

In the region of Krasnogorsk, you can see a grove of relic yews, not far from the village of Vakhrushev, admire the amazingly beautiful waterfall of the Nitui River, marvel at the huge stone sculptures that look like idols from Easter Island on Cape Stukabis or the rocky arches of Cape Velikan, and not far from the villages of Staradubskoye and Vzmorye collect Sakhalin amber is the color of thick tea with a cherry tint, which is not inferior to the Baltic in its qualities.

This, of course, is not all the wonders of Sakhalin, with which these lands are so generously endowed. You just can't tell everything. Perhaps the last thing I would like to mention is salmon spawning, which is also one of the main natural attractions of the Sakhalin Region. Anyone who has never seen how stubbornly this sea fish goes to spawning grounds, jumping over rapids and overcoming waterfalls that flow into the ocean of streams, it will be extremely interesting to observe this amazing natural phenomenon.

Mountain Sister Sakhalin Island

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SAKHALIN

Sakhalin is the largest island in Russia, washed by the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan, separated from the mainland by the narrow Tatar Strait and the Nevelskoy Strait, and from the island of Hokkaido by the La Perouse Strait.

Until the 19th century, the status of Sakhalin was not defined. For the first time, it was assigned to Russia by the St. Petersburg Treaty of 1875, according to which Sakhalin Island passed to Russia, and the northern Kuril Islands became the property of Japan.

Immediately after the conclusion of this treaty, tsarist Russia identified Sakhalin as a place of exile and hard labor for criminals. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War and the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, Japan received South Sakhalin, but in 1920 the Japanese occupation of North Sakhalin began, which lasted until 1925. After the end of World War II, the entire territory of Sakhalin Island was included in the USSR.

Sakhalin attracts tourists primarily with its unique nature. Mount Vaida (height 900 meters above sea level) and the Vaida Cave are a unique natural complex. In the cave you can admire the bizarre stalactites and stalagmites and other wonders.

In addition to their healing properties, the Dagin thermal springs are also a unique natural monument. This is a very unusual sight - steaming ponds in which wild swans swim, surrounded by pristine nature.

Sakhalin is famous for its mineral springs and therapeutic mud. Near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk there is a unique mineral spring Sinegorsk of carbonic hydrocarbonate-chloride sodium water with a high content of arsenic. This rare type of natural mineral water is used in the treatment of diseases with impaired cellular metabolism and radiation sickness. Procedures with carbonic acid-arsenic waters are also used for the treatment of hematopoietic organs.

On the banks of the Tatar Strait there are balneological health resorts using sea silt sulphide mud. These muds are used to treat slow-healing ulcers of various origins and other skin diseases.

The Dagin thermal springs of Sakhalin treat such severe diseases of the musculoskeletal system as arthrosis, arthritis, polyarthritis, neuritis, sciatica, osteochondrosis, as well as most skin diseases.

On the eastern outskirts of the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk there is a modern, well-equipped ski base "Mountain Air". About 10 kilometers of ski slopes of various difficulty categories are laid along the slopes of Mount Bolshevik. A modern snow park equipped with springboards and rails has been built for snowboarders, and a special chute has been arranged for tubing enthusiasts. The slopes are equipped with a drag lift and a gondola chairlift.

Burunnaya Bay Sakhalin Island

GEOGRAPHY OF SAKHALIN ISLAND, WHERE IT IS, HOW TO GET TO

Sakhalin (Japanese 樺太，Chinese 库页/庫頁) is an island off the east coast of Asia. Part of the Sakhalin region. The largest island in Russia. It is washed by the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan. It is separated from mainland Asia by the Tatar Strait (in the narrowest part, the Nevelskoy Strait, it is 7.3 km wide and freezes in winter); from the Japanese island of Hokkaido - by the La Perouse Strait.

The island got its name from the Manchu name of the Amur River - "Sakhalyan-ulla", which means "Black River" - this name, printed on the map, was erroneously attributed to Sakhalin, and in further editions of the maps it was already printed as the name of the island.

The Japanese call Sakhalin Karafuto, this name goes back to the Ainu "kamuy-kara-puto-ya-mosir", which means "land of the god of the mouth." In 1805, a Russian ship under the command of I.F. Kruzenshtern explored most of the coast of Sakhalin and concluded that Sakhalin was a peninsula. In 1808, Japanese expeditions led by Matsuda Denjuro and Mamiya Rinzo proved that Sakhalin was an island. Most European cartographers were skeptical of the Japanese data. For a long time, on various maps, Sakhalin was designated either as an island or a peninsula. Only in 1849 did the expedition under the command of G. I. Nevelsky put an end to this issue, passing on the military transport ship Baikal between Sakhalin and the mainland. This strait was subsequently named after Nevelskoy.

The island is elongated meridionally from Cape Crillon in the south to Cape Elizabeth in the north. The length is 948 km, the width is from 26 km (the Poyasok isthmus) to 160 km (at the latitude of the village of Lesogorskoye), the area is 76.4 thousand km².

Tikhaya Bay Sakhalin Island

TOURISM ON SAKHALIN

Sakhalin Oblast Tourism

The tourist potential of the Sakhalin region is huge, although it has not been fully developed. The island of Sakhalin and the Kuriles itself is a treasure trove of Far Eastern nature. And the bet on tourism, which is being made today by local authorities and business representatives, will bring it to one of the leading positions in the economy of the islands.

The area, first of all, is of interest to Japanese tourists, which is due to the presence of natural and historical resources. As for the infrastructure, it is poorly developed. However, at the beginning of 2011, there were 57 travel companies operating in the region, including 34 tour operators and 23 travel agents.

The Sakhalin Region is an attractive territory for the development of ecotourism. True, most travel companies are still focused on outbound tourism. 90% of those entering are Japanese citizens who demand a high level of comfort from accommodation, transport, information services that is not inferior to Japanese. Therefore, today many hotels in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk strive to provide high quality services in terms of safety, sanitation and comfort. In many restaurants operating at hotels, a menu is presented, including oriental cuisine, and even separately Japanese.

In addition, with the assistance of the regional leadership, a number of measures have been implemented at the expense of investors, the purpose of which is to support and develop the tourism industry. As part of the work to preserve the monuments of Japanese culture, an action was carried out to improve the territory of the former treasury of the Karafuto jinja temple.

Sakhalin Energy, together with the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Sakhalin Region, carried out a project to equip an ecological route to Chekhov Peak. The construction of a tourist complex in the village continues. Hot Keys of the Nogliki region. Landscaping of the territory of the tourist base "Aquamarine" (village Lesnoye, Korsakovsky district) was carried out. The issue of building a tourist complex on the territory of the Lesogorsk thermal mineral springs is being discussed. A catalog of investment proposals in the field of tourism has been formed, among them a proposal for the development of beach areas in the Sakhalin Region.

And finally, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is currently undergoing a mega-project to create the Sakhalin City Center, which will globally change the focus in the field of tourism, because investors expect that upon completion of the project, Sakhalin will become a tourist mecca, and inbound tourism will bring income.

natural rock arch at Cape Kuznetsov

Today, the Sakhalin Region has one of the best ski resorts in the region. For this type of recreation, the Sakhalin winter provides excellent opportunities. In the south of the island, abundant snow cover lasts for an unusually long time (up to 6 months) not only on medium-high mountain peaks, but also in the valleys, which is in perfect agreement with the standards of outdoor winter Olympic sports. If desired, skiers can extend the season for another couple of months on the slopes of the highest Sakhalin mountain Lopatin, which is located in the middle part of the island.

A wide variety of wellness routes with visits to thermal springs in different parts of the region, where you can use the unique composition of therapeutic mineral waters and muds that meet a wide range of medical needs, from gastrotherapy, neuropathology, to severe skin diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Some travel companies are already ready to provide interesting entertainment and sports programs. This is water tourism, with kayaking, rafting and catamaran rafting, sea travel on yachts, and autotourism, and the most interesting hiking routes around Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, and helicopter trips to completely inaccessible corners of the Sakhalin Region.

Well, exotic. Unique geological monuments of nature, an abundance and variety of seafood, races on relic reindeer teams and ultra-modern snowmobiles, bear hunting, professional fishing, all kinds of water activities, visiting marine animal rookeries and much more.

Sea of ​​Okhotsk

ROUTES IN SAKHALIN

Routes around Sakhalin Island

The Sakhalin land is beautiful and amazing, there are so many interesting things here that you can fall in love with it in absentia. It is difficult to tell about everything, but it is easy to imagine how difficult the choice of a tourist is, because you want to see as much as possible. And this despite the fact that the tourism sector is not fully developed here, especially the Kuril Islands, which are part of the Sakhalin Region. The routes are very different, from quite budgetary ones to projects that are striking in their cost and scope, like helicopter trips to the South Kuril Islands or Sakhalin, for example, to the Upper Lake of Mount Shpamberg, which has no connection with the outside world.

Rather expensive tours include bear hunting and deer hunting. However, most belong to the category of ecological tourism, which includes fishing, picking berries, diving, boat trips on the lakes.

"Imperial Tour" LLC is ready to take you to the Dolinka River on an all-terrain vehicle, to Ainskoye Lake on a GAZ-66 car, to assist you in trips to the Kura River and Bird's Lake.

The travel company Moguchi LLC offers routes for corporate holidays, in particular, delivery to the hard-to-reach Sakhalin peninsula - Cape Crillon. Here, vacationers are waiting for the rocky islands of Hirano, seal rookery, visits to historical sites (Cape Kanabeev, Ho Chi Minh trail, old Japanese bridges, grottoes), numerous waterfalls and weeping rocks. The huntsman-guide will demonstrate how commercial fishing for pink salmon goes, then he will show how to cook five-minute red caviar in field conditions, Sakhalin fish soup, and pink salmon baked in burdock. I must say that seafood and fish will always be on your table, regardless of the direction of the path you choose.

The company organizes trips to the north of Sakhalin, to its Okhinsky district, where you can hunt bears, fur-bearing animals and game birds, go fishing and just watch local birds and animals. From here you will certainly bring unique photographs.

A number of interesting routes are offered by Intur-Sakhalin. The 50th Parallel program is a journey through the Japanese places of the island. The route starts in Korsakov, then tourists visit lakes Tunaycha and Changeable, Poronaysk, the former border between the USSR and Japan, the so-called 50th Parallel, the settlements of Pobedino, Smirnykh, the city of Kholmsk.

The company organizes the route Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Tikhaya Bay, with a stop in the village of Vzmorye and a visit to a Japanese temple. There are many one-day programs in the Intour-Sakhalin arsenal: a tour to the mud volcano Mogutan in the village of Pugachevo and a geological monument in the vicinity of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, nicknamed the “frog” for its shape; tour of the territory of the South Sakhalin ski resort; Boat trip to Cape Windis and Cape Kuznetsov, on the slopes of the sea terraces of which countless cormorants, gulls, guillemots nest and where sea lions and seals can be seen all year round. In the form of one-day routes, you can also get acquainted with other sights of Sakhalin (Moneron Island, Cape Velikan, Cape Crillon).

In winter, it is at the service of those who wish to have a rest in Nekrasovka (Nogliksky district of Sakhalin) with dog sledding through Cape Tatiana to Moskalev and back.

In summer, a 6-day route to the Susunai Valley is good for relaxation (Lake Tunaicha, fishing on the Komissarovka River, in the vicinity of the village of Pervaya Pad and on the Warm Lakes, as well as a visit to Cape Svobodny on the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk). Sakhalin island

In the south of the island, Intur-Sakhalin offers to climb Mount Bolshevik by cable car, climb Chekhov Peak, relax on Lake Tunaicha and the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and go to Starodubskoye to get acquainted with the collection site of amber that the sea throws ashore after the storm.

The route "Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Nogliki" includes a visit to the village of Goryachiye Klyuchi, not far from which healing hot springs are located. An exotic touch to the trip is added by the concert of the folklore ensemble "Nivkhinka".

A trip to Sinegorsk, which is known for its mineral springs and the Sinegorsk Mineral Waters sanatorium, can also be attributed to the health routes. Water from these sources is also used in medical institutions of Dolinsk.

There are routes for outdoor enthusiasts. One of them is the conquest of Mount Lopatina (1609 m).

As part of a 9-day tour, the Mishka Tour travel company offers a walking tour to an unusually beautiful natural monument - the Zhdanko mountain range. Accompanied by qualified guides and certified rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, you can go on a speleological tour to the caves of Mount Vaida or climb the 20-meter Khomutovsky rocks, climb Peak Bold, take an ice climbing course on the unusually beautiful icefalls of the Zhdanko Ridge. Each participant of the excursion receives special equipment, undergoes a mandatory briefing and learns to work with a rope, at height and in caves. The leader of the route always has means to scare away animals (flares), radio stations, satellite telephone, first aid kit, rescue equipment.

An extreme tour in the Dolinsky region involves a rope crossing over the roaring threshold of a mountain river and a deep canyon. You will have the opportunity to walk around the area and see the unique beauty of the place.

Also, with experienced instructors of the travel agency, you can dive in the area of ​​Cape Yunona or in the place of the sea lion rookery in the Nevelsk area to observe the life of these animals under water, explore the seabed near the village of Prigorodnoye (Snorkeling), see gray whales from the lighthouse of Cape Piltun, challenge Sakhalin lakes, having mastered kayaking.

For lovers of extreme sports, a one-day rafting trip along the upper reaches of the Krasnoarmeyka River, with the passage of the Bykovsky threshold, one of the most difficult and beautiful in the south of Sakhalin. Another extreme route is a 3-day catamaran rafting on Lyutoga. Each participant of the excursion is provided with high-quality equipment. At other times and in a different way, you can come to the upper reaches of the Lyutoga to watch salmon spawning.

In addition, "Mishka Tour" provides one-day boat trips along hard-to-reach capes and bays off the western coast of the Tonino-Aniva Peninsula, along the ancient volcanoes of the Zhdanko ridge, a trip to Cape Burunny, to Cape Kuznetsov.

Ostrov travel agency specializes in fishing and hunting tours. It offers its clients routes to the Nyisky and Nabil bays, to the Dagi, Tym, Lyutoga, Poronay rivers, rafting on the Evay River with fishing in the Chaivo Bay, hunting in the central and southern parts of the island.

With the Tourist Company “Island Journey “Sivuch” LLC, you can see the most beautiful waterfalls of the island. Visit the shore of waterfalls on Cape Bird, admire the Uyunovsky and Aikhor waterfalls, as well as the waterfall on Olkhovatka, go to the Imperial Lake.

Zametny Island, Tikhaya Bay

RELIEF OF SAKHALIN ISLAND

The relief of the island is composed of medium-altitude mountains, low mountains and low plains. The southern and central parts of the island are characterized by mountainous relief and consist of two meridionally oriented mountain systems - the West Sakhalin (up to 1327 m high - the city of Onor) and the East Sakhalin mountains (up to 1609 m high - the city of Lopatina), separated by the longitudinal Tym- Poronai lowland. The north of the island (with the exception of the Schmidt Peninsula) is a gentle hilly plain.

The shores of the island are slightly indented; large bays - Aniva and Patience (widely open to the south) are located respectively in the southern and middle parts of the island. There are two large bays and four peninsulas in the coastline.

In the relief of Sakhalin, the following 11 regions are distinguished:

The Schmidt Peninsula (about 1.4 thousand km²) is a mountainous peninsula in the far north of the island with steep, sometimes steep coasts and two meridional ridges - Western and Eastern; the highest point is Mount Three Brothers (623 m); connected to the North Sakhalin Plain by the Okha Isthmus, the width of which at its narrowest point is just over 6 km;

The North Sakhalin Plain (about 28 thousand km²) is a gently undulating area south of the Schmidt Peninsula with a widely branched river network, weakly expressed watersheds and individual low mountain ranges, stretching from Baikal Bay in the north to the confluence of the Nysh and Tym rivers in the south, the highest point - the city of Daakhuria (601 m); the northeastern coast of the island stands out as a subarea, which is characterized by large lagoons (the largest are Piltun, Chaivo, Nyisky, Nabilsky, Lunsky bays), separated from the sea by narrow strips of alluvial spits, dunes, low sea terraces - it is in this subarea that the main Sakhalin oil and gas fields are located on the adjacent shelf of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk;

The West Sakhalin Mountains stretch for almost 630 km from the latitude with. Hoe (51º19 "N) in the north to the Crillon Peninsula in the extreme south of the island; the average width of the mountains is 40-50 km, the largest (at the latitude of Cape Lamanon) is about 70 km; the axial part is formed by Kamyshovy (north of the isthmus Belt) and South Kamyshovy ridges;

The Tym-Poronai lowland is located in the middle part of the island and is a hilly-ridged lowland stretching for about 250 km in the meridional direction - from Terpeniya Bay in the south to the confluence of the Tym and Nysh rivers in the north; the maximum width (up to 90 km) reaches at the mouth of the Poronai River, the minimum (6-8 km) - in the valley of the Tym River; in the north it passes into the Nabil lowland; covered with a thick cover of Cenozoic sediments, composed of sedimentary deposits of the Quaternary period: sandstones, pebbles; the heavily swampy southern part of the lowland is called the Poronai "tundra";

The Susunai lowland is located in the southern part of the island and stretches for about 100 km from Aniva Bay in the south to the Naiba River in the north; from the west, the lowland is bounded by the West Sakhalin Mountains, from the east by the Susunai Ridge and the Korsakov Plateau; in the southern part, the width of the lowland reaches 20 km, in the center - 6 km, in the north - 10 km; absolute heights in the north and south do not exceed 20 m above sea level, in the central part, on the watershed of the Susuya and Bolshoi Takaya river basins, they reach 60 m; refers to the type of internal lowlands and is a tectonic depression filled with a large thickness of Quaternary deposits; within the Susunai lowland are the cities of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Aniva, Dolinsk and about half of the island's population lives;

The East Sakhalin Mountains are represented in the north by the Lopatinsky mountain junction (the highest point is the city of Lopatina, 1609 m) with ridges extending radially from it; two spurs of the opposite direction represent the Nabil Range; in the south, the Nabilsky Range passes into the Central Range, in the north, sharply lowering, into the North Sakhalin Plain;

The lowlands of the Patience Peninsula, the smallest of the districts, occupies most of the Patience Peninsula east of Patience Bay;

The Susunai Range stretches from north to south for 70 km and has a width of 18-120 km; the highest points are Mount Pushkinskaya (1047 m) and Chekhov Peak (1045 m); composed of Paleozoic deposits, at the foot of the western macroslope of the ridge is the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk;

The Korsakov plateau is bounded from the west by the Susunai lowland, from the north by the Susunaysky ridge, from the east by the Muravyovskaya lowland, from the south by the Aniva Bay, it has a slightly undulating surface formed by a system of flat-topped ridges elongated in a northeasterly direction; on the southern tip of the plateau on the shores of Aniva Bay is the city of Korsakov;

Muravyovskaya lowland (illustrated) is located between Aniva bays in the south and Mordvinov bays in the north, has a ridged relief with flat tops of ridges; within the lowlands there are many lakes, including the so-called "Warm Lakes", where South Sakhalin residents like to go on vacation;

The Tonino-Aniva Range stretches from north to south, from Cape Svobodny to Cape Aniva, for almost 90 km, the highest point is Mount Kruzenshtern (670 m); composed of Cretaceous and Jurassic deposits.

Cape Velikan, Sakhalin

SIGHTS OF SAKHALIN ISLAND

bird lake

A beautiful and amazing lake in the south of Sakhalin Island

Devil's bridge on Sakhalin

A unique building on Sakhalin, which is currently in a semi-dismantled state.

Waterfall Bird

The largest waterfall of Kunashir Island, which annually attracts a large number of tourists.

Volcano Golovnin

An active volcano on the island of Kunashir with two amazing lakes at the bottom of the crater

Cape and Lighthouse Aniva

Cape in the South-East of Sakhalin Island with the lighthouse of the same name

White rocks of Sakhalin

Amazing white rocks on the shore of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk

Lake Tunaicha

One of the most favorite vacation spots of Sakhalin residents

Aihor waterfall Sakhalin

Volcano Tyatya

A huge active volcano located on Kunashir Island, Kuril Islands.

Iturup Island

The southern island of the Kuril ridge, a real treasure of natural attractions and a great place for outdoor recreation.

Cape Stolbchaty

Unique rock formation on Kunashir Island.

Hot springs of Sakhalin

A unique source of medicinal water in the north of Sakhalin.

Cape Crillon

Cape Crillon - the southernmost point of Sakhalin Island

Waterfall Ilya Muromets

One of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in Russia.

Tatar Strait Sakhalin

CLIMATE OF SAKHALIN

The climate of Sakhalin is moderately monsoonal (the average temperature in January is from -6ºС in the south to -24ºС in the north, in August - from +19ºС to +10ºС, respectively), maritime with long cold snowy winters and average warm summers. The average annual temperature in the north of the island (according to long-term data) is about -1.5ºС, in the south - +2.2ºС.

The following factors influence the climate:

Geographical position between 46º and 54º N. latitude. determines the arrival of solar radiation from 410 kJ/year in the north to 450 kJ/year in the south.

In winter, the weather is largely determined by the Siberian anticyclone: ​​at this time, northern and northwestern winds prevail, severe frosts can occur, especially in the central part of the island with a temperate continental microclimate. At the same time, winter cyclones (which are practically non-existent in the continental regions of the Russian Far East) can come from the south, causing strong and frequent snowstorms. So, in the winter of 1970, a series of snowy cyclones, accompanied by numerous avalanches, hit the region. The wind reached hurricane force (individual gusts - up to 50 m / s), snow cover in the southern part of Sakhalin exceeded the norm by 3-4 times, reaching 6-8 m in some places. Snowstorms paralyzed the work of all types of transport, seaports, industrial enterprises .

The position between the Eurasian continent and the Pacific Ocean determines the monsoonal nature of the climate. A humid and warm, rather rainy Sakhalin summer is associated with it. Summer starts in June and ends in September.

Mountainous terrain affects the direction and speed of the wind. A decrease in wind speed in intermountain basins (in particular, in the relatively large Tym-Poronai and Susunai lowlands) contributes to cooling the air in winter and warming it in summer, it is here that the greatest temperature contrasts are observed; while the mountains protect these lowlands, as well as the western coast, from the effects of the cold air of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk.

In summer, the contrast between the western and eastern coasts of the island is enhanced by the respectively warm Tsushima Current of the Sea of ​​Japan, which reaches the southwestern tip of Sakhalin, and the cold East Sakhalin Current of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, which runs along the eastern coast from north to south.

The cold Sea of ​​Okhotsk affects the climate of the island as a giant thermal accumulator, determining a protracted cold spring and a relatively warm autumn: snow in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk sometimes lasts until mid-May (and in 1963 heavy snowfall was observed on June 1), while flower beds in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk may bloom until early November. If we compare Sakhalin with similar (in terms of climatic indicators) territories of European Russia, then the seasons on the island succeed each other with a delay of about three weeks. For the same reason, the warmest month of the year on Sakhalin is August, and the coldest is February. The average temperature in September is almost always higher than the average in June.

city ​​of Nevelsk

Air temperature

The maximum temperature on Sakhalin (+39ºС) was noted in July 1977 in the village. Border on the east coast (Nogliki district). The minimum temperature on Sakhalin (-50ºС) was recorded in January 1980 in the village. Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky district). The registered temperature minimum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is -36ºС (January 1961), the maximum is +34.7ºС (August 1999).

The highest average annual precipitation (990 mm) falls in the city of Aniva, the lowest (476 mm) - at the Kuegda meteorological station (Okhinsky district). The average annual precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (according to long-term data) is 753 mm.

The earliest stable snow cover appears at Cape Elizaveta (Okhinsky District) and in the village of Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky District) on October 31 on average, and the latest in Korsakov (on average December 1). The average dates of snow cover melting are from April 22 (Kholmsk) to May 28 (Cape Elizabeth). In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, stable snow cover appears on average on November 22 and disappears on April 29.

Frequent cyclones are often accompanied by floods. The latter passed in the southern part of the island already in 2009. Both in June and July 2009, three monthly rainfall fell in the south of Sakhalin, on July 15-16, the amount of precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk reached 107 mm, that is, almost two monthly norms. Many rivers overflowed their banks, twice because of the destruction of the railway track, traffic on the Sakhalin railway, which connects the south and north of the island, was stopped.

The most powerful typhoon in the last 100 years, Phyllis, moving from the Pacific Ocean to the northwest, hit the island in August 1981. The maximum precipitation then fell on August 5-6, and a total of 322 fell in the south of Sakhalin from August 4 to 7 mm of precipitation (about three monthly norms). The typhoon was accompanied by catastrophic floods. The water in some rivers rose by 6.5 m, landslides and mudflows were observed. The situation was aggravated by stormy southeast winds, causing seawater surge on the coasts of Aniva and Patience bays. The flood caused human casualties, more than two thousand families were left without a roof over their heads. Anivsky, Smirnykhovsky and Poronaysky districts were especially affected.

Typhoon "Georgia" hit the south of Sakhalin on September 18-19, 1970. In a matter of hours, a monthly rainfall fell, the water rose by 5 m on the rivers, crops were flooded, a large number of livestock died, roads and railways were washed out. Hurricane winds led to massive destruction of power lines. There were human casualties.

The year 2002 turned out to be fruitful for powerful typhoons: from July 11 to July 15, typhoon Chataan and tropical depression Nerry caused very heavy rains in the south of Sakhalin, mudflows, landslides. Roads were washed out, houses were flooded. On September 2, Typhoon Rusa again brought heavy rainfall to the south of the island. The water in the rivers rose by 2.5-4.5 m. 449 houses were flooded, 9 bridges were destroyed. 80 mudflows descended in the Nevelsk region. Finally, on October 2-3, Typhoon Higos, moving from the Japanese Islands, crossed the southern part of Sakhalin and caused very heavy rains and storm winds. As a result of numerous accidents on power lines, there was no electricity in twenty settlements, and roads were washed out. A ship sank in the Gulf of Patience. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a strong wind knocked down more than a thousand trees, several people were injured from their fall.

There are 16120 lakes on Sakhalin with a total area of ​​about 1000 km². The areas of their greatest concentration are the north and southeast of the island. The two largest lakes of Sakhalin are Nevsky with a mirror area of ​​178 km² (Poronaisky district, near the mouth of the Poronai River) and Tunaicha (174 km²) (Korsakovsky district, in the north of the Muravyovskaya lowland); both lakes belong to the lagoon type.

Aniva Bay

NATURAL RESOURCES

Sakhalin is characterized by a very high potential of natural resources. In addition to biological resources, in terms of the reserves of which Sakhalin is one of the first places in Russia, the island and its shelf have very large reserves of hydrocarbons and coal. In terms of the volume of explored reserves of gas condensate, the Sakhalin Region ranks 4th in Russia, gas - 7th, coal - 12th (illustrated) and oil - 13th place, while within the region the reserves of these minerals are almost are entirely concentrated on Sakhalin and its shelf. Other natural resources of the island include timber, gold, mercury, platinum, germanium, chromium, talc, and zeolites.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Both the flora and fauna of the island are depleted both in comparison with the adjacent areas of the mainland, and in comparison with the island of Hokkaido located to the south.

The history of the floristic study of Sakhalin, probably begun by Fyodor Bogdanovich Schmidt in 1859, has been going on for more than 150 years.

As of the beginning of 2004, the flora of the island includes 1521 species of vascular plants belonging to 575 genera from 132 families, with 7 families and 101 genera represented only by invasive species. The total number of alien species on the island is 288, or 18.9% of the composition of the entire flora. According to the main systematic groups, vascular plants of the flora of Sakhalin are distributed as follows (excluding adventitious ones): vascular spores - 79 species (including lycopods - 14, horsetails - 8, ferns - 57), gymnosperms - 9 species, angiosperms - 1146 species (including including monocots - 383, dicots - 763). The leading families of vascular plants in the flora of Sakhalin are sedges (Cyperaceae) (121 species excluding aliens - 122 species including aliens), Asteraceae (120–175), grasses (Poaceae) (108–152), rosaceae (Rosaceae) (58 - 68), buttercup (Ranunculaceae) (54 - 57), heather (Ericaceae) (39 - 39), clove (Caryophyllaceae) (38 - 54), buckwheat (Polygonaceae) (37 - 57), orchid (Orchidaceae) (35 - 35), cruciferous (Brassicaceae) (33 - 53).

According to life forms, the vascular plants of Sakhalin are distributed as follows: trees - 44 species, lianas - 9, shrubs - 82, shrubs - 54, semi-shrubs and semi-shrubs - 4, perennial grasses - 961, annual and biennial grasses - 79 (all figures are given without taking into account alien species).

The main forest-forming species of the coniferous forests of Sakhalin are the Gmelin larch (Larix gmelinii) and the thin-scaled larch (Larix leptolepis) introduced from Japan, the Ajan spruce (Picea ajanensis) and the Glena (Picea glehnii), the Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinensis), the introduced Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris). ). The predominant hardwoods are stone birch (Betula ermanii) and white birch (Betula alba), downy alder (Alnus hirsuta), aspen (Populus tremula), fragrant poplar (Populus suaveolens), dew willow (Salix rorida), goat willow (Salix caprea) and heart-leaved (Salix cardiophylla), chosenia (Chosenia arbutifolia), Japanese elm (Ulmus japonica) and lobed elm (Ulmus laciniata), yellow maple (Acer ukurunduense).

There are 44 species of mammals on the island, the most well-known of which are the bear, sable, otter, American mink, reindeer, wolverine, musk deer, represented here by a special Sakhalin subspecies, raccoon dog, sea lion and others. Approximately half of the Sakhalin theriofauna species are rodents.

378 species of birds have been recorded on Sakhalin; 201 of them (53.1%) breed on the island. The largest number of species (352) was recorded in the southern part of the island, 320 species were recorded in the central part, and 282 species in the northern part. Most nesting birds (88 species) are passerines; in addition, the avifauna contains a large proportion of shorebirds (33 nesting species), lamellar-billed birds (22 nesting species), owls and diurnal birds of prey (11 nesting species each).

seal rookery

RED BOOK

The fauna, flora and mycobiota of the island include many rare protected species of animals, plants and fungi. 18 mammal species recorded on Sakhalin, 97 bird species (including 50 breeding species), seven fish species, 20 invertebrate species, 113 vascular plant species, 13 bryophyte species, seven algae species, 14 fungi species and 20 lichen species (i.e. 136 animal species, 133 plant species and 34 fungi species - 303 species in total) have protected status, that is, they are listed in the Red Book of the Sakhalin Region, while about a third of them are simultaneously included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Of the "federal Red Book" flowering plants, the flora of Sakhalin includes the heart-shaped aralia (Aralia cordata), bulbous calypso (Calypso bulbosa), Glen's cardiocrinum (Cardiocrinum glehnii), Japanese sedge (Carex japonica) and lead gray sedge (Carex livida), real lady's slippers ( Cypripedium calceolus) and large-flowered (Cypripedium macranthum), Gray's two-leafed (Diphylleia grayi), leafless chin (Epipogium aphyllum), Japanese kandyk (Erythronium japonicum), high pot-bellied (Gastrodia elata), xiphoid iris (Iris ensata), ailantolifolia nut (Juglans ailanthifolia ), seven-lobed calopanax (Kalopanax septemlobum), tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium), Tolmachev's honeysuckle (Lonicera tolmatchevii), long-legged winged seed (Macropodium pterospermum), whole-leaved miyakia (Miyakea integrifolia) (miyakia is the only endemic genus of vascular plants on Sakhalin), nest flower (Neottianthe cucullata), obovate peonies (Paeonia obovata) and mountain peonies (Paeonia or eogeton), rough bluegrass (Poa radula) and Wright's viburnum (Viburnum wrightii), i.e. 23 species. In addition, eight more "federal Red Book" plants are found on the island: two types of gymnosperms - Sargent's juniper (Juniperus sargentii) and spiky yew (Taxus cuspidata), three species of ferns - Asian half-flowered (Isoëtes asiatica), Mikel's leptorumora (Leptorumohra miqueliana) and Wright's mecodium (Mecodium wrightii), two species and one variety of mosses - Japanese bryoxiphium (Bryoxiphium norvegicum var. japonicum), northern necker (Neckera borealis), and dull plagiothecium (Plagiothecium obtusissimum).

POPULATION

Sakhalin is the largest island in the Russian Federation in terms of population. As of January 1, 2010, the population of Sakhalin and the Kuriles was 510.9 thousand people, the population of Sakhalin Island is about 493 thousand people.

According to the 2002 census, 527,268 people lived on the island, including 253,304 men and 273,964 women. About 84% of the population are ethnic Russians, the rest are Koreans (5.6%), Ukrainians (4.0%), Tatars (1.2%), Belarusians (1.0%), Mordovians (0.5%), less than 1% of the population are representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North - Nivkhs (0.5%) and Oroks (0.06%). From 2002 to 2009 the population of Sakhalin continued to slowly (by about 1% per year) decline: mortality still prevails over births, and the number of migrants arriving on the island from the mainland and from countries neighboring Russia (China, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan ), lower than the number of Sakhalin residents leaving the island.

The largest city of Sakhalin is the regional center Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (190,227 people), other relatively large cities are Korsakov (33,148 people), Kholmsk (29,563 people), Okha (21,830 people), Poronaysk (15,476 people). .), Dolinsk (11,885 people), Nevelsk (10,965 people).

HISTORY OF SAKHALIN

Archaeological finds indicate that people could appear on Sakhalin in the early Paleolithic era, approximately 250-300 thousand years ago. During the Pleistocene era, as a result of periodic glaciations, the level of the World Ocean dropped several times and land "bridges" appeared between Sakhalin and the mainland, as well as Sakhalin, Hokkaido and Kunashir. During the late Pleistocene period, Homo sapiens penetrated Sakhalin: sites of modern man, aged 20-12 thousand years, were found in the southern and middle parts of the island, at the same time along another land "bridge" between Asia and America, located on the site of the modern Bering Strait , Homo sapiens moved to the Americas). In the Neolithic (10-2.5 thousand years ago), the entire territory of Sakhalin Island was inhabited. Fishing and hunting for sea animals formed the basis of the material culture of the people of that time, who led a sedentary lifestyle along the sea coast.

The ancestors of modern Paleo-Asian peoples - the Nivkhs (in the north of the island) and the Ainu (in the south) - appeared on the island during the Middle Ages. At the same time, the Nivkhs migrated between Sakhalin and the lower Amur, and the Ainu migrated between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Their material culture was similar in many respects, and their livelihood was provided by fishing, hunting and gathering. At the end of the Middle Ages (in the 16th-17th centuries), Tungus-speaking peoples migrated to Sakhalin from the mainland - the Evenks (nomadic reindeer herders) and the Oroks (Uilta), who, under the influence of the Evenks, also began to engage in reindeer herding.

Cape Kuznetsov

How Sakhalin was discovered

At the end of the 16th century, as a result of Yermak's campaign beyond the Urals, vast lands spread along the Tura, Tobol and Irtysh rivers were annexed to the Muscovite state. The Russians established themselves in these lands. The stories that reached them about the unprecedented riches of Siberia, about the innumerable abundance of the precious fur-bearing animal, attracted service people - Cossacks and brave industrialists further to the east. Moving in small detachments along the rivers and portages, crossing the virgin Siberian taiga, fighting against the militant local peoples, overcoming inhuman difficulties, cold and hardships, the Cossacks and industrialists for several decades traveled a long way from the Ob to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They discovered new lands, produced as detailed descriptions of them as possible, and, by the right of discovery, annexed them to Russia. The names of Dezhnev, Khabarov, Atlasov, Poyarkov and many other explorers became glorious milestones in the history of our country.

In July 1643, Cossack foreman Poyarkov left Yakutsk with a small detachment to discover and explore new lands. He climbed with his detachment up the Aldan River, crossed the watershed ridge and went to the Zeya River, along which he descended to the Amur. The following year, 1644, Poyarkov reached the mouth of the Amur and went to sea. In the summer of 1646, Poyarkov returned to Yakutsk and brought back the first descriptions of the Amur, the Shantar Islands, and Sakhalin.

In subsequent years, Russians visited Sakhalin more than once. In 1742, a member of Vitus Bering's expedition, Lieutenant Shelting, on the double-boat Nadezhda, sailed along the eastern coast of Sakhalin and entered the strait, later called the La Perouse Strait, in honor of the famous French navigator, who in 1787 on the frigates Bussol and Astrolabe visited Sahalia. La Perouse gave French names to several points of the island, including the Douai River, as well as the bay de Castries discovered by him on the mainland.

In 1805, the first Russian round-the-world expedition of Krusenstern explored the shores of Sakhalin. The following year, 1806, Russian officers Khvostov and Davydov visited southern Sakhalin and raised the Russian flag there.

However, for a long time the geography of the lower reaches of the Amur and the island of Sakhalia remained unclear. Navigators who visited Sakhalin or passed near it believed that Sakhalin was a peninsula connected by an isthmus to the mainland. This conclusion was made both by La Perouse and Krusenstern and by the commander of the Russian brig "Konstantin" - Gavrilov, who was sent in 1846 to study the mouth of the Amur and Sakhalin. Only in 1849, the research of Captain G. I. Nevelsky on the Baikal transport proved that Sakhalin was an island.

[As it turned out later, the Japanese scientist Mamiya-Rinzo established back in 1808 that Sakhalin was an island, but the data on his journey, published in Japanese, were not known to Europeans.]

The narrow part of the strait that separates Sakhalin from the mainland now bears the name of Captain Nevelskoy.

Origin of the name Sakhalin Island

In the 18th century, on maps published in Western Europe, off the coast of the Pacific Ocean, north of China, the huge country of Tataria was depicted. The French navigator La Perouse was also convinced of the existence of this mysterious Tartary. Having reached on his ships the strait separating Sakhalin from the mainland, La Perouse, without hesitation for a long time, called it Tatar. As a result of this misunderstanding, the strait still bears an accidental and unjustified name to this day.

The Tatar Strait is the name given to the entire body of water separating the island from the mainland. The narrowest part of the strait bears the name of Nevelskoy. The part of the strait lying in the north merges closely with the Amur Estuary. Therefore, many, speaking of the Amur Estuary, mean the northern part of the strait.

No less accidental is the name of the island itself. The Amur River was called "Sakhalyan-ulla" in Mongolian. On one of the maps of "Tataria", published in Western Europe and depicting Sakhalin as a peninsula, an inscription was made at the place of the mouth of the Amur: "Sachalien anga-hata", which in Mongolian means "rocks of the black river". After Captain Nevelsky established that Sakhalin is an island, the compilers of the maps attributed this inscription to the new island, which has since become known as Sakhalin.

The Japanese call Sahalia Karafuto or Kabafuto, which means "Birch Island".

The first steps in the development of the island

After the discovery of Nevelskoye, work on the study and development of Sakhalin was carried out quite intensively.

In 1852, midshipman Boshnyak was sent to Sakhalin, who was supposed to check information about the presence of coal deposits there. Boshnyak rode along the western bank to Douai, crossed the island and reached its eastern bank at the mouth of the Tym River. Boshnyak's research confirmed the information about the richness of Sakhalin in coal.

The following year, in 1853, a military unit with artillery was landed in the southern part of the island and the Russian flag was again raised over the island. On the southern coast of the island, the Korsakovskiy military post was created, and on the western shore, the Ilinskiy post.

In the same year, Rimsky-Korsakov on the schooner "Vostok" made a detailed survey of the western shores of the island and identified places suitable for parking ships.

Soon, small-scale mining of hard coal began at the so-called "Chikhachevsky breaks" in Douai.

In 1854, 1855 and 1856 the island was explored by the zoologist L.I. Shrenk. He made several long and very difficult trips around the island, covered the physical geography of Sakhalin in some detail, described its indigenous population, flora and fauna.

The island was visited by members of the large expedition of the Russian Geographical Society F.B. Schmidt, P.P. Glen, Lieutenant Rashkov, topographer Shebunin and Dr. Brylkin. As a result of their work, a map of Sakhalin was compiled.

In 1867-1868 the mining engineer Lopatin carried out geological studies of the island.

As a result of all these studies, the fossil, plant and fish riches of Sakhalin were more and more fully revealed, and the great strategic importance of the island became more and more obvious, which is a natural outpost of the Russian state in the Far East and covers Russia's outlets to the Pacific Ocean.

Sakhalin was inhabited by Ainu, Tungus, Gilyak and Orochons. They were engaged in hunting, fishing and reindeer herding. By the time of the first visits to the island by Russians, the indigenous inhabitants of Sakhalin were completely independent of any state whatsoever.

The Japanese did not settle on Sakhalin until the end of the 18th century. They came to the island only for the fishing season. Then, after the appearance of Russian Cossacks and industrialists, the Japanese began to gradually seize the island in their hands. In 1787, the Japanese built two small villages on the island. In subsequent years, they spread throughout the southern half of the island. Uninvited aliens exploited the Ainu, in fact turned them into their serfs, forced the Ainu to do the most difficult and exhausting work for free.

It took quite a long time until the tsarist government finally understood the importance of Sakhalin for Russia and sent the first military post there (in 1853). By this time, uninvited guests had already settled on the island. The appearance of Russian guards not only did not weaken the resettlement of the Japanese there, but, on the contrary, increased Japanese expansion. Russian detachments could not prevent the penetration of the Japanese. Japan soon laid claim to its "rights" to the island. According to the Shimoda Treaty of 1854, Japan achieved joint ownership of this island with Russia.

The capture of Sakhalin by the Japanese clearly threatened the Russian Far Eastern possessions and exits from the Amur. In addition, the Japanese rapaciously destroyed the natural resources of Sakhalin. Japan readily agreed to renounce its imaginary "rights" to Sakhalin on the condition that Russia transfer the Kuril Islands to her in "exchange". In 1875, this deal took place. Sakhalin completely passed into the possession of Russia, and Japan, as a result of this extremely beneficial deal for her, acquired the Kuril Islands, relying on which she could control Russia's outlets to the Pacific Ocean.

However, Japan did not refuse to exploit the natural resources of Sakhalin. The short-sighted tsarist government allowed the Japanese to keep fisheries in southern Sakhalin. At the end of the 19th century, Japan annually harvested 40-45 thousand tons of fish in Sakhalin. Fish catch by Russians did not exceed 13-15 thousand tons in those years.

Having bought off the Japanese at a high price, the tsarist government set about colonizing the island and developing its natural resources, showing no more ingenuity in this matter than in the "trade" of the islands.

Sakhalin penal servitude

The tsarist government found a peculiar use for Sakhalin - penal servitude was created on a distant island. The harsh natural conditions of Sakhalin, combined with the hard labor regime, were a severe punishment for the convicts. It was decided to use the labor of convicts in the development of coal, logging, etc. The flight of prisoners from the island, separated from the mainland by the stormy Tatar Strait, according to the organizers of hard labor, was impossible.

Convicts who had served their terms of imprisonment were supposed to be placed in a forced permanent settlement here, on the island, so that they were mainly engaged in agriculture.

In 1869, the first batch of convicts, consisting of 800 people, was delivered to Sakhalin. Since that time, the dark pages of the history of Sakhalin began. One after another, parties of convicts arrived. Hundreds, thousands of people. At first, only men. Then women also appeared: some of the convicts were voluntarily followed by their wives and children into exile on Sakhalin.

Shackled in hand and foot shackles, and sometimes chained in addition to a wheelbarrow, the convicts worked mainly in the coal mines in the areas adjacent to Aleksandrovsk.

The inept organization of mining operations, the absence of any tools other than a pick and a shovel, and the hard labor regime did not at all contribute to the development of the coal industry. The amount of coal mined was small. The coal was not sorted and went to the consumer along with the rock. From the mines, coal was taken out on stretchers or in bags, which is why it was crushed. All this sharply reduced the quality of coal and made it difficult to sell.

The heavy hard labor regime and the arbitrariness of the administration led to a mass exodus of convicts. Some fugitives managed to cross the Tatar Strait and return to European Russia. But many remained within the island. In order to earn their living, they robbed settlers who had already served their sentences.

The life of the settlers differed little from the life of convicts.

The complete arbitrariness of the tsarist administration also affected the organization of settlements. The convict, who had served his sentence, was given an ax, a hoe, a shovel, two pounds of rope, one saw for five people, and indicated the place where he was to settle. Places for settlement were chosen without any plan, without taking into account the surrounding conditions. It also happened that settlements were built in places completely unsuitable for agriculture, damp, flooded with water, etc. At the cost of enormous effort, literally bloody labor, the settler built himself a hut and created some sort of economy. But it did not bring him relief. He led a miserable existence. In addition, the exiled settlers did not have civil rights and lived on the basis of a special charter. At the first opportunity, the exiled settlers abandoned their huts and "farm" and fled to the mainland.

Despite the mass exodus of convicts and exiled settlers, the population of Sakhalin continuously increased due to new parties of convicts sent here. By 1904, there were about 40 thousand prisoners, exiled settlers and free residents on Sakhalin.

The exploration of Sakhalin did not stop during the hard labor. Meteorological stations were established in the village of Aleksandrovsky and the village of Rykovsky. Great work was carried out to study the seas washing the shores of Sakhalin, to study its bowels, soils, vegetation and animals.

First Japanese intervention. The liquidation of hard labor. Capture of South Sakhalin by the Japanese

In 1904, Japan treacherously attacked Russia. The Japanese called Sakhalin. Having landed on the island, from where the Russian administration had already been evacuated, the Japanese began to manage in their own way. They shot most of the convicts held in prisons, established new rules for the exiled settlers. They soon felt that life under the Japanese was even worse than hard labor and masses rushed to the mainland. The number of Russians on the island decreased from 40 to 5-6 thousand.

After the end of the war, unsuccessful for Russia, Japan imposed the Treaty of Portsmouth on Russia, according to which the southern half of Sakhalin went to Japan. The border between the parts of Sakhalin that remained with Russia and the parts of Sakhalin captured by Japan ran along the fiftieth parallel. Along the border, across the island, a giant clearing was cut in the taiga and border posts were installed.

With the capture of the southern half of Sakhalin, Japan closed the island ring, with which she surrounded the Russian possessions off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Russia was left with only the northern half of the island. By the time the war ended [Russian-Japanese - approx. mine] there were almost no convicts left on it. Some of them were killed by the Japanese, some fled. The tsarist government did not try to renew hard labor here. And it was hardly possible with such close proximity to the Japanese.

Japanese colonization of southern Sakhalin.

After the division of Sakhalin under the Treaty of Portsmouth, the Japanese began to intensively populate the southern part of the island. Seaports, moorings, roads were built on southern Sakhalin. Characteristically, the settlement of southern Sakhalin went mainly at the expense of reservists trained in military affairs. Along with strategic construction, the Japanese organized fishing and forestry, vigorously engaged in reindeer herding and fur trade. The population of the Japanese part of the island in 1906 was 12 thousand people, in 1912 - 42 thousand, in 1923 - 140 thousand and in 1939 - over 300 thousand.

The Russian government, for its part, also took measures to settle Northern Sakhalin. But these measures were as little successful as in the days of the Sakhalin penal servitude. Sakhalin has won a sad reputation. Stories about the horrors of Sakhalin life were passed from mouth to mouth. The tragedy of the Sakhalin penal servitude was intertwined in these stories with the tragedy of the Russo-Japanese war. Of course, there was also a share of fiction in the stories, nature was portrayed in them as exaggeratedly harsh. But it is quite clear that there were few people who wanted to go to a distant island, standing "at the end of the world". And those who decided to go there had to sip a lot of grief.

Resettlement to Sakhalin was far from easy. The government did not take care to build a port on the island, or at least a convenient berth for ships. The steamboat, which anchored a few kilometers from the shore, disembarked passengers, with all their property, into boats, which, along the stormy waves of the strait, delivered the settlers to the deserted coast.

The gloomy Sakhalin taiga met the settlers unfriendly. The peasant, who moved from the central, steppe regions of Russia to the taiga Sakhalin, found himself in unusual conditions. In order to plow the plot, it was first necessary to uproot the taiga, and this required a lot of work. The terms and methods of cultivating the land, the timing of sowing and harvesting have not been studied by anyone. The settlers had to learn them on their own, hard experience.

Information about the conditions of life on Sakhalin, coming from the first settlers, did not at all contribute to the influx of new population. Therefore, until the establishment of Soviet power, population growth on Sakhalin was extremely weak. During the period from 1908 to 1917, the Russian population of the island increased by only 1600-1800 people. The tsarist government poorly understood that Northern Sakhalin, with its harsh climatic conditions and its enormous natural wealth, required not agricultural, but above all carefully thought out and prepared industrial colonization. As before, as in the days of hard labor, the tsarist government cared little about the development of the economy of the island and even less about creating normal living conditions for the settlers.

As a result, Northern Sakhalin, until the establishment of Soviet power, remained a sparsely populated outskirts, with a poorly developed economy and impassability characteristic of the outskirts.

The agriculture of the island did not develop. His products were not enough even for the small population of the island. Peasants usually combined agriculture with local crafts - hunting for fur-bearing animals and fishing. The coal and timber industry developed slowly due to the lack of a port and moorings. The question of the construction of the Sakhalin port did not move beyond numerous projects. Fisheries were significant, but in terms of technical equipment and profitability they were far inferior to Japanese ones.

Nevertheless, as a result of the colonization carried out by the tsarist government, a fairly large number of permanent settlements were created on Sakhalin, as a rule, not crowded. Roads were also laid, albeit very primitive ones, allowing wheeled communication between settlements and the coast of the island. The population little by little began to get used to the nature of the island. On the basis of experience, the necessary skills and rules of agriculture were developed. The times of hard labor were gradually forgotten, further and further they went into the depths of the past.

Work on the study of the island continued. New information about the natural resources of Sakhalin has appeared in the scientific literature. An instrumental survey of the coast and some inland parts of Northern Sakhalin was carried out, and maps were compiled. Exploration for oil began at a number of points. In the Okha region, oil was discovered by the Russians back in the 1980s.

The expedition of the Geological Committee, in which mining engineer P.I. Polevoy and geologist N.N. Tikhonovich took part, in 1908-1910 began to study the geological structure and minerals of the island. Representatives of the resettlement department studied the soil, climate and vegetation of the island, identified areas suitable for settlement.

Russian merchants and industrialists showed great interest in developing the natural resources of Sakhalin. With the assistance of the government, the economy of Northern Sakhalin could develop rapidly. But the tsarist administration not only did not provide this assistance, on the contrary, it created such conditions under which all attempts by the population and entrepreneurs to promote the development of the Sakhalin industry remained futile.

For Tsarist Russia, the backwardness of Sakhalin was no exception. The Kola Peninsula, possessing fabulous riches, located relatively close to St. Petersburg, was just as empty and deserted. The shores of the Pechora, rich in minerals, and many other outskirts of what was then Russia were also deserted.

As a result of the victory over Japan during World War II, the entire territory of Sakhalin Island (as well as all the Kuril Islands) was included in the Soviet Union (RSFSR).

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk was founded as part of the Russian Empire in 1882 under the name Vladimirovka. After the victory of the USSR and its allies in World War II, together with the entire island, it passed to the USSR.

Zhdanko Ridge, western Sakhalin

Transport

The public railway network covers most of the island (the farthest communication is from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to the village of Nogliki), there is also a sea ferry railway crossing to the mainland. The Sakhalin Railway is interesting in that it has a gauge of 1067 mm, unusual for Russia, which was inherited from Japan. In the USSR, diesel locomotives TG16 and TG22 were designed and mass-produced specifically for Sakhalin. Since 2004, work has been underway to remake the track to the standard Russian gauge of 1520 mm. They are planned to be completed, according to various forecasts, by 2016-2020.

Non-public railways (departmental narrow-gauge) carry out transportation in those areas where there are no public railways. Most of them have been dismantled, leaving a functioning narrow-gauge railway in the Uglegorsk region.

Roads connect almost all settlements of the region. The quality of the roads is poor, and there is asphalt pavement only in the southern part.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is connected by air with Moscow, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with cities and towns of the Sakhalin Region (Okha, Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Burevestnik (on Iturup Island)), and also with Japan (Tokyo, Sapporo, Hakodate), South Korea (Seoul) and China (Harbin, and more recently Beijing). It is interesting that from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (regional center) there is no direct communication with the regional center Severo-Kurilsky, and you have to get there in a roundabout way - through Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:

Team Nomads.

Lutsky S. L. Sakhalin Island

Sakhalin - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Petukhov A. V., Kordyukov A. V., Baranchuk-Chervonny L. N. Atlas of vascular plants in the environs of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk // In the book: Introduction. (ISBN 978-5-904209-05-6) - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: Eikon, 2010. - P. 9

Barkalov V. Yu., Taran A. A. List of species of vascular plants of Sakhalin Island // In the book: Flora and fauna of Sakhalin Island (Materials of the International Sakhalin Project). Part 1. (ISBN 5-8044-0467-9) - Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2004. - S. 39-66.

http://www.photosight.ru/photos/5591256/

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Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2013. - M.: Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat, 2013. - 528 p. (Table 33. Population of urban districts, municipal districts, urban and rural settlements, urban settlements, rural settlements).

Occupation of Northern Sakhalin and Japanese concessions

Wikipedia site.

Aleksandrov S. M. Sakhalin Island. — M.: Nauka, 1973. — 183 p.

Vasilevsky A. A. Stone Age of Sakhalin Island. - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: Sakhalin book publishing house, 2008. - 411 p.

Isachenko A. G., Shlyapnikov A. A. Sakhalin // Nature of the world: Landscapes. — M.: Thought, 1989. — 504 p.

Southern part of the Far East. — M.: Nauka, 1969. — 422 p.

http://ilp-p.narod.ru/sakhalin/ostrov/ostrov1.htm

Europeans discovered Sakhalin in the 17th century. The first to visit the island in 1640 were the Cossacks, led by the ataman and explorer Ivan Moskvitin. Three years later, the expedition of the Dutch navigator Martin de Vries went there. However, Freese erroneously considered Sakhalin to be a peninsula connected to Hokkaido. Disputes about whether it connects to the mainland or other islands continued until the middle of the 19th century. In 1849, Admiral Gennady Nevelskoy crossed the strait between the island and the mainland on the military ship Baikal. Sakhalin was marked on maps as an island, and the strait was later given the name of Nevelskoy.

In 1869, those who were sentenced to penal servitude, most often for life, began to be exiled here. Initially, prisons for them were built only in the northern part of the island, but then settlements appeared in the south. Gradually, convicts became the main part of the population of Sakhalin.

At the end of the 19th century, Anton Chekhov came to the island. He got acquainted with the life of convicts, wrote down petitions and memoirs of Sakhalin residents, and conducted a population census here. Later, the writer published the artistic and publicistic book "Sakhalin Island", in which he described in detail the local nature, the way of life of the indigenous people and the exiles, included here fragments of documents, statistical data, records of scientists and travelers who had been on the island before. A whole museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is dedicated to this book: its exposition includes exhibits related to the life and work of Chekhov (including his personal belongings). Several settlements of the Sakhalin region are named after the writer. Monuments to Chekhov have been erected in several cities of the island, and the Literary and Art Museum of A.P. Chekhov "Sakhalin Island".

The indigenous people of Sakhalin are the Nivkhs and the Ainu. However, today they make up less than 1% of all inhabitants of the island. In addition to Russians, Koreans, Ukrainians, and Tatars live in the Sakhalin Region.

Historical and cultural monuments of Sakhalin

Sakhalin passed from Russia to Japan and back several times, and many monuments of Japanese culture have been preserved on the island. One of them is the building of the Museum of Local Lore in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It was built in traditional Japanese style in 1937. The modern exposition of the museum includes more than 170 thousand exhibits: they include samples of flora and fauna, household items of the indigenous inhabitants of the island, historical documents, ancient weapons.

Another monument of Japanese architecture is a ritual torii gate made of white marble near the village of Vzmorye. Previously, there was a temple of Tomarioru Jinja behind them, but it has not survived to this day.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Japanese built the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk-Polyakovo railway line on the island. Nowadays, it is not used for its intended purpose and has become a historical monument. From the Devil's Bridge - the highest in the Sakhalin Region - a beautiful view of the surroundings of the railway opens up.

Island nature

The flora and fauna of Sakhalin is poorer than on the mainland, but dense forests grow here and there are animals and plants listed in the Red Book. In addition, scientists have recorded a phenomenon that is unique to this region: herbaceous plants on Sakhalin often grow to gigantic sizes. Nettle, buckwheat, bear's pipe and other herbs can reach 3-5 meters in height.

Different species of birds nest on Lake Tunaicha, and on Seal Island near Sakhalin there is a large seal rookery and huge bird colonies. In the vicinity of the highest point of the island - Mount Vajda - there are karst caves. From the top of the Zhdanko mountain range, a view of the picturesque surroundings opens up. On Cape Velikan, you can see natural arches, grottoes and pillars that arose under the influence of wind and salty sea water. Sakhalin has an active mud volcano, as well as mineral and thermal springs.

Geographical characteristics of Sakhalin

It is washed by the waters of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan. It is separated from the mainland by the Tatar Strait, the width of which at its narrowest point (Nevelskoy Strait) is 7.3 km, in the south of about. Hokkaido (Japan) is separated by the La Perouse Strait. Stretched meridionally from Cape Crillon in the south to Cape Elizabeth in the north. The length is 948 km, with an average width of about 100 km, on the isthmuses of Sakhalin it narrows: on Okha to 6 km, on Poyask to 27 km. The area is 76.4 thousand km 2.

A photograph of Sakhalin Island from space. Enlarged Image

Geologically, Sakhalin is part of the Cenozoic folded region within the Pacific folded geosynclinal belt. In the structure of Sakhalig, two meridional anticlinoria are distinguished - East Sakhalin and West Sakhalin, separated by Central Sakhalin. In the core of the East Sakhalin anticlinorium, Paleozoic rocks are exposed, in the core of the West Sakhalin, Upper Cretaceous; Central Sakhalin is composed of Neogene deposits. Strong seismicity indicates ongoing mountain building processes.

Climate of Sakhalin

Sakhalin, separated from the mainland by the Tatar Strait, stretches from north to south for almost 1,000 km. Its central and, especially, its southern parts are predominantly mountainous. Along the coast there are wide low-lying strips.

The main watershed of Sakhalin is the Western Sakhalin Ridge, dividing the river network into two groups, one of which belongs to the Okhotsk basin, the other to the Sea of ​​​​Japan basin. (top, Nevelskoy, 2013 m) which is the highest for the entire island. The climate of Sakhalin is severe. Winter here is long and cold, frosts reach -48°. The average monthly air temperature of the coldest month - January - is -23° in the north and -8° in the south. Summer is short and cool: The average monthly air temperature of the warmest month - July - does not exceed 15-17 °.

Water resources of Sakhalin

The main rivers of Sakhalin are the Tym and Porona. They carved their valleys in the central tectonic depression between the Western and Eastern ranges. The lengths of the rivers are about; 250 km, the catchment areas are approximately equal to 8000 km2. Both rivers are distinguished by significant water content: their average annual flow exceeds 100 m 3 /sec, and the modules reach 12-19 l/sec km 2. Other Sakhalin rivers are short, mountainous watercourses, which are also distinguished by high water content.

The regime of the Sakhalin rivers is complex. The flood on them passes in three waves. In the spring there is a flood; from the melting of snow within the flat parts of the basins, at the beginning of summer there is a flood, formed due to melting, snow in the mountains, and, finally, in the middle of summer (July-August), floods occur due to monsoon showers.

The coast of the island is replete with lakes, such as lagoons; they are shallow and separated from the sea by narrow spits; separate groups of lakes stretch along the coast for tens of kilometers. Most of them have communication and water exchange with the sea through narrow straits. Some lakes separated from the sea and turned into freshwater bodies.

Sakhalin Island from the satellite

Sakhalin has not always been separated from the mainland. At the dawn of civilization, the water level in the world's oceans steadily decreased, as a result of which so-called "bridges" arose in the strait. Presumably, it was along them that the first people moved here (about 300 thousand years ago). In the Middle Ages, the main inhabitants of Sakhalin were the Nivkhs and Ainu - small peoples who constantly migrated between the island and the Asian part of the mainland. Later, Tungus-speaking tribes were added to them. The very name "Sakhalin" appeared due to a geographical error. Due to an oversight, the Manchu name of the Amur River - Sakhalyan-Ulla - was correlated with the territory of the island. By the way, the literal translation of the word is “Rocks of the Black River”.

Until about the 50s of the 19th century, China ruled Sakhalin Island. At the same time, officially the territory did not belong to the Celestial Empire. In 1855, the governments of Japan and Russia signed the Treaty of Shimoda, according to which both states declared Sakhalin joint possession. However, after 20 years, Russia annexed the island, paying for it with Japan with the northern Kuriles. However, the joy of expanding possessions was short-lived. After losing in the Russian-Japanese campaign, the southern part of the island again went to the Land of the Rising Sun. It was possible to finally decide the fate of Sakhalin only after the Second World War, when Russia completely regained the island, and with it the previously lost Kuriles.

Economy and population

A little less than 500 thousand people live on Sakhalin, about 200 thousand of which are residents of the regional center, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The vast majority of the population is Russian, although among the local inhabitants you can meet both Koreans and people from the former Soviet republics. But there are very few representatives of indigenous peoples here: only 1% of the total.

The economy of the region is unevenly developed, which is why the standard of living of the population in different parts of Sakhalin differs. For example, the northern part of the island, including Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, exists due to oil production, while the remote and western regions, where production stopped during the collapse of the Soviet Union, are literally forced to struggle for existence. Ultimately, unemployment and a low standard of living led to the fact that most of the inhabitants of the Sakhalin periphery turned to poachers. Illegal shooting of wild animals, extraction of red caviar by barbaric methods are slowly but surely causing irreparable damage to the nature of the great island...

Climate and nature

Going on a trip to Sakhalin, it is better to prepare in advance for weather surprises. Since the climate of the island is temperate monsoon, the weather here is not stable. Local snowy and frosty winters are actively "helped" by atmospheric whirlwinds, bringing strong snowstorms with them. Spring here is long and cold, but summer is relatively warm, but short and often rainy. Another weather problem on Sakhalin is frequent and unpredictable cyclones, bringing with them devastating typhoons and floods.

Sakhalin is an island with a unique ecosystem that was formed in a certain isolation. The terrain is formed by small mountains, low mountains and, to a lesser extent, low-lying plains, while 2/3 of the territory is occupied by taiga. By the way, there is no shortage of fresh water on Sakhalin: 17 rivers and over 16 thousand lakes provide abundant life-giving moisture for the flora and fauna of the island. Despite the fact that the flora and fauna of Sakhalin is somewhat poorer compared to the mainland or the nearest Japanese island of Hokkaido, it has something to surprise wildlife lovers. About 136 species of animals and almost 133 species of local plants are listed in the Red Book. In addition, here you can meet endemic (growing or living only in a specific place) representatives of the animal and plant world.

Sakhalin has become a true paradise for fans of fishing and hunting. The abundance of fish and game in local forests and reservoirs is difficult to describe in words. The Sakhalin taiga is also rich in mushrooms and berries. To collect a tasty "tribute", it is not necessary to delve into the impenetrable jungle. Lingonberries, blueberries, cranberries, redberries can be found here almost under every bush. However, it is not entirely reasonable to go to the other side of the country solely for the gifts of the forest, especially since the natural resources of the island are not limited to berries and fishing spots. There are also thermal springs, bathing in which can get rid of chronic diseases, and fabulous caves filled with stalactite crystals, and sites of ancient people. True, it is worth noting that most of the local entertainment is suitable for those who are easy-going and ready to show at least minimal physical activity. Rafting, windsurfing, skiing and snowboarding, kayaking, climbing and paragliding, descending into mountain caves and unforgettable bike rides - this is not a complete list of activities that Sakhalin is ready to offer to supporters of an active lifestyle.

Sights of Sakhalin

The main and most valuable attraction of Sakhalin is its amazing nature. It is customary to come here not for high-quality European service and glossy sights, but for a delightful atmosphere of complete unity with nature, active recreation and an amazing feeling of complete freedom.

reserves

The most convenient and correct way to get acquainted with the wildlife of Sakhalin Island is local reserves, the most interesting of which is the Vostochny State Nature Reserve. You can get here only with a special permit issued by the Department of Forests, but the red tape with a pass is more than paid off by the impressions of the visit. It is here that you can meet such a rare phenomenon for the island as dark coniferous taiga, see how pink salmon, chum salmon and coho salmon spawn and take pictures of clumsy sea lions resting on coastal rocks. To get acquainted with the Sakhalin wild grouse and reindeer, it is better to go to the "Nogliksky" reserve. In autumn, reindeer races are held here, so if your visit to the island coincided with the autumn season, do not miss the opportunity to visit this unusual event. Well, the most interesting thing to watch bird "bazaars" is in the Poronaisky nature reserve, which occupies the eastern part of Sakhalin and the Patience Peninsula.

Volcanoes

Infernal vents filled with lava splashing in all directions are not about Sakhalin volcanoes. Here, craters spew out… land mixed with water. The Pugachevsky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk mud volcanoes even look non-trivial. Regular circles, devoid of vegetation and dotted with miniature "pores" of craters, resemble space landscapes from a fantastic blockbuster. By the way, the last major ejection from the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk volcano occurred in 2011, as a result of which a new mud field formed in its vicinity.

thermal springs

Sakhalin nature not only pleases the eye, but also heals the body. If you find yourself on the island, be sure to swim in the Sinegorsk mineral springs, because water with such a unique composition is found only on Sakhalin and Adler. Today, there are 4 mineral wells in the Sinegorskoye deposit, the water from which is used for drinking, as well as for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems.

In the north-east of Sakhalin Island, in the Nogliki district, there is another unusual place - the Dagin thermal springs, which are funnel-shaped depressions in silty soil. Healing water with a high content of alkali, as well as silicic acid and a temperature of up to +40 ... +45 ° C, helps in the treatment of infertility and joint diseases. Once on the adjacent territory there was a balneary, but then the place gradually fell into disrepair. Today, only a modest dressing house reminds of the former glory of the natural resort. However, this did not make the springs less healing, and the place is still popular with both the local population and tourists.

lakes

One of the largest lakes on Sakhalin Island is Tunaicha. Located in the vicinity of the village of Okhotskoye, this beautiful reservoir is famous for the fact that about 29 species of fish live in it. In addition, it is in Tunaichu that the Sakhalin salmon comes to spawn. Officially, industrial fishing is prohibited here, but from August to September, amateurs are allowed to sit on the shores of the lake with a fishing rod.

Those who like more secluded places should book a tour to the South Reed Range, where the fabulous lakes of Mount Spamberg are lost on a picturesque plateau. 18 of the purest reservoirs, born as a result of rock falls, have their own, partially isolated ecosystem. The plateau area is also known for the fact that numerous springs and waterfalls of the Sakhalin region originate from here. Here you can also find the main waterfall of the island - Shuisky.

caves

Sakhalin is one of the most successful places for beginner speleologists. Acquaintance with local caves should be started from Mount Wajda. Fantastic multi-level dungeons, decorated with bizarre sinter formations, abound here. The intricate network of wells, underground passages and halls of Vaida has been assigned an average level of difficulty, so during the caving tour you will hardly have to complain about the mediocrity and monotony of the excursion. A trip to the cave of "Bear Tragedies" will bring no less impressions. The gloomy stone hall, which has become a kind of cemetery of bear remains, will remain in your memory for a long time. Once upon a time, during archaeological excavations, objects of an ancient cult, as well as tools of labor of the first people, were found here.

Moneron Island is located 43 km from Sakhalin, in the Tatar Strait. Today these lands are empty, although the first settlers appeared here in the first millennium BC. For some time, the island belonged to the Japanese, who seriously deteriorated its ecology, destroying most of the coniferous forests. A reminder of this era is the lighthouse, which remained here in memory of the Japanese colonization. Today Moneron has the status of a natural park and is actively visited by travelers. About 37 species of plants listed in the Red Book grow on the island, but Moneron is better known among tourists as a place of bird "bazaars", as well as rookeries of sea lions and seals.

Hunters and fishermen

At the disposal of tourists who come to Sakhalin to sit with a fishing rod and shoot local game, there are several recreation centers at once. As a rule, these are hotel-type houses, located in especially picturesque and at the same time inaccessible places on the island. You often have to use special equipment to get to them, but for real adventurers this is by no means an obstacle. "Upper", "Moguchi", "Lower" - each of the bases offers a similar range of services, including fishing, hunting, a Russian bath and other "brutal" pleasures. You can also get hold of hunting trophies in special farms. For example, the hunting tribal economy "Geeva" in the village. Nogliki invites his guests to "go" for a bear or an elk. 50 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the Okhotsk farm, where anyone can shoot at hares and ducks, as well as try to catch chum salmon, pink salmon or taimen.

Skiers

On the outskirts of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the main ski slope of the island is located - the tourist complex "Mountain Air". You can relax here with the whole family and at any time of the year, however, the base gathers the maximum number of guests during the winter months. Skiing, snowboarding, tubing - for each sport there is its own type of equipped trails with a total length of about 10 km. On the territory of the complex there is a rental of sports equipment, in addition, all the slopes of the camp site are equipped with special lifts. In the summer it is customary to come here to paraglide or rent a bike to explore the surroundings.

Remnant Frog on Sakhalin Island

Mineral springs, volcanoes, ski slopes - all this is certainly interesting, but not entirely original. If you are one of those who crave unusual sights, welcome to the Krasnogorsk yew forest. Such a green massif, entirely consisting of century-old yews, is not found in any other corner of the planet. You can get a lot of positive emotions and as many spectacular photos on Tyuleniy Island, where the largest rookery of marine mammals is located. Fans of anomalous places, covered with mystical legends, should look into the remnant of the Frog. Well, you can taste the delicious gifts of Sakhalin nature at Uspenovskie cranberries. A vast treeless space, completely covered with a berry carpet, will appear in your dreams for a long time to come.

Museums

Despite the fact that Sakhalin is considered to be the land of nature tourism, some cultural entertainment is also available here. Art connoisseurs will be interested in visiting the exposition of the art museum, which is located on Lenin Street in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. You can get acquainted with the history, as well as the flora and fauna of the island in the local history museum, located in a colorful Japanese house on Communist Avenue. If you are traveling with children, be sure to take the time to visit the zoobotanical park, where you can see rare and endangered species of local animals. An interesting and informative excursion is offered to its guests by the Museum of the History of the Sakhalin Railway, which contains the rarest examples of railway equipment.

How to get there

You can get to Sakhalin relatively quickly and comfortably by plane. The Russian company Aeroflot operates several direct flights from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. A standard flight usually takes from 8 to 9 hours. An option for those who are not looking for an easy way is the Vanino-Kholmsk ferry crossing. To get to the port of Vanino (Khabarovsk Territory), you must pre-purchase a train ticket on the route: Moscow-Khabarovsk or Moscow-Vladivostok (the trip lasts from 5 to 6 days). It is better to get from the Khabarovsk railway station to Vanino by taxi. The final stage of the journey is boarding the ferry and a 14-hour voyage through the Tatarsky Strait.