Sakhalin

Sakhalin is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50' and 54° 24' N, in the Russian Far East. It is a part of the Russian Federation. The capital of Sakhalin is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Flora and fauna

The whole of the island is covered with dense forests, mostly coniferous. The Yezo (or Yeddo) spruce (Picea jezoensis), the Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinsis) and the Daurian larch (Larix gmelinii) are the chief trees; on the upper parts of the mountains are the Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) and the Kurile bamboo (Arundinaria kurilei). Birches, both Siberian silver birch (Betula platyphylla) and Erman's birch (B. ermanii), poplar, elm, Bird cherry (Prunus padus), Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) and several willows are mixed with the conifers; while farther south the maple, rowan and oak, as also the Japanese Panax ricinifolium, the Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense), the Spindle (Euonymus macropterus) and the vine (Vitis thunbergii) make their appearance. The underwoods abound in berry-bearing plants (e.g. cloudberry, cranberry, crowberry, red whortleberry), Red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa), wild raspberry and Spiraea.

Related Topics:
Forest - Conifer - Sakhalin fir - Daurian larch - Siberian dwarf pine - Kurile bamboo - Birch - Siberian silver birch - Erman's birch - Poplar - Elm - Bird cherry - Japanese yew - Maple - Rowan - Oak - Amur cork tree - Spindle - Vine - Cloudberry - Cranberry - Crowberry - Red-berried elder - Raspberry

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Bears, foxes, otters and sables are numerous, as also the reindeer in the north, and the musk deer, hares, squirrels, rats and mice everywhere. The bird fauna is mostly the common east Siberian, but there are some endemic or near-endemic breeding species, notably the endangered Spotted Greenshank (Tringa guttifer) and the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides). The rivers swarm with fish, especially species of salmon (Oncorhynchus). Numerous whales visit the sea-coast. Sea-lions, seals and dolphins are a source of profit.

Related Topics:
Bear - Fox - Otter - Sable - Reindeer - Bird - Endemic - Endangered - Spotted Greenshank - Sakhalin Leaf Warbler - Salmon

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