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.

Geography

Sakhalin is separated from the mainland by the narrow and shallow Mamiya Strait or Strait of Tartary, which often freezes in winter in its narrower part, and from Hokkaido (Japan) by the Soya Strait or Strait of La Pérouse. Sakhalin is the largest island of the Russian Federation, being 948 km (589 miles) long, and 25 to 170 km (16 to 105 miles) wide, with an area of 78,000 km² (30,100 mi²).

Related Topics:
Mamiya Strait - Strait of Tartary - Hokkaido - Japan - Soya Strait - Strait of La Pérouse - Russian Federation - Km - Mile - 78,000 km² (30,100 mi²)

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Its orography and geological structure are imperfectly known. Nearly two-thirds of Sakhalin is mountainous. Two parallel ranges of mountains traverse it from north to south, reaching 600–1500 m (2000–5000 ft). The Western Sakhalin Mountains peak in Mt. Ichara, 1481 m (4860 ft), while the Eastern Sakhalin Mountains's highest peak is Mt. Lopatin 1609 m (5279 ft) is also the island's highest mountain. Tym-Poronaiskaya Valley separates the two ranges. Susuanaisky and Tonino-Anivsky ranges traverse the island in the south, while the swampy Northern-Sakhalin plain occupies most of its north.

Related Topics:
Orography - Geological - M - Ft - Mt. Ichara - Mt. Lopatin

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Crystalline rocks crop out at several capes; Cretaceous limestones, containing an abundant and specific fauna of gigantic ammonites, occur at Dui on the west coast, and Tertiary conglomerates, sandstones, marls and clays, folded by subsequent upheavals, in many parts of the island. The clays, which contain layers of good coal and an abundant fossil vegetation, show that during the Miocene period Sakhalin formed part of a continent which comprised north Asia, Alaska and Japan, and enjoyed a comparatively warm climate. The Pliocene deposits contain a mollusc fauna more arctic than that which exists at the present time, indicating probably that the connection between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans was broader than it is now.

Related Topics:
Cretaceous - Limestone - Ammonite - Dui - Tertiary - Conglomerate - Sandstone - Marl - Clay - Asia - Alaska - Japan - Pliocene - Mollusc - Fauna - Pacific - Arctic Ocean

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Main rivers: the Tym, 400 km (250 miles) long and navigable by rafts and light boats for 80 km (50 miles), flows north and north-east with numerous rapids and shallows, and enters the Sea of Okhotsk. The Poronai flows south-south-east to the Gulf of Patience or Shichiro Bay, on the south-east coast. Three other small streams enter the wide semicircular Gulf of Aniva or Higashifushimi Bay at the southern extremity of the island.

Related Topics:
River - Tym - Sea of Okhotsk - Poronai - Shichiro Bay - Gulf of Aniva

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