Far in the east, 7 thousand kilometers from Moscow, is the large island of Sakhalin. What do we know about him? After reading our article, you will learn a lot of new and interesting about the nature, relief and minerals of Sakhalin.
Meet Sakhalin!
The Japanese call him Karafuto. But we know him under the name Sakhalin. Where is the island located? And what are its sizes?
Sakhalin is located off the eastern coast of Asia. This is the largest island in the Russian Federation. It is part of the Sakhalin Oblast, which also includes a chain of sparsely populated Kuril Islands.
Sakhalin is washed by the waters of two seas - the Japanese and Okhotsk. It is separated from mainland Russia by the Tatar Strait, and from the Japanese island of Hokkaido by the Laperouse Strait. Sakhalin is stretched for 950 km in the meridional direction. The maximum width of the island is 160 km.
The origin of the name of the island is curious. This Manchu word used to denote the Amur River: “Sakhalyan-Ulla”, which means “river of black rocks”. Due to the mistake of cartographers, this name was designated Sakhalin Island. The error was not corrected, but took root. In subsequent editions of Russian maps, the word Sakhalin was already used as the name for the largest island.
So, we have already figured out where Sakhalin is located and why it is so called. Now the time has come to study its relief in detail.
General characteristics of island relief
The relief of Sakhalin is extremely diverse. It is represented by mountains, and low mountains, and hilly plains, and coastal lowlands. The central (widest) part of the island is bordered by west and east, respectively, the West Sakhalin and East Sakhalin mountains. These mountain systems are mid-altitude in height.
The highest point of Sakhalin is Mount Lopatin. Taiga grows on its slopes, and the top is covered with cowberry fields and stones. The height of the mountain is only 1609 meters.
The coastline of the island is slightly indented. Here you can distinguish four peninsulas and only two large bays - Aniva and Patience.
Relief of Sakhalin: regional features
In terms of geomorphology, the island is divided into several areas. About a third of its total area is occupied by the North Sakhalin Plain. This is a vast territory in the north of the island with a well-developed river network and individual low peaks (up to 600 meters). The coastal sections of this plain are characterized by sand spits, dunes and rather large sea lagoons. By the way, it is here (as well as on the shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk) that the largest oil fields are located - the main mineral resource of Sakhalin.
In the extreme north of the island, the Schmidt Peninsula stands out for its mountainous terrain. Its shores are quite steep, rocky and steep.
In the central and southern regions of the island, mountainous terrain prevails. Along the western coast stretch the West Sakhalin mountains, and along the east - the East Sakhalin mountains (this is where Mount Lopatina is located). Between these two mountain systems is the hilly and sometimes marshy Tym-Poranai lowland. It is covered with a thick cover of sedimentary rocks - pebbles and sandstone.
In the southern part of the island, the Susunai Range stands out, stretching for almost 60 kilometers. At its foot is the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - the administrative center of the Sakhalin region. The highest point of the Susunai Range, Pushkinskaya Mountain (1047 m.) Is a popular destination for pedestrian tourists.
The main minerals of Sakhalin
How rich is the nature of this region? The main natural resources of Sakhalin include forest, water and, of course, mineral raw materials. The density of the island's river network is significantly higher than the corresponding average for Russia. The region is extremely rich in forest (forest cover index is over 60%). In the north of Sakhalin, larch forests grow, in the south - broad-leaved (from maple, Mongolian oak, Manchurian ash and other tree species).
The top ten minerals of Sakhalin are as follows:
- oil;
- natural gas;
- chrome ores;
- germanium;
- mercury;
- gold;
- coal;
- peat;
- talc;
- zeolites.
Combustible Sakhalin fossils: oil, gas, peat
Sakhalin is one of the oldest oil and gas producing regions of Russia. "Black gold" on the island was discovered by geologists in 1880. During the twentieth century, local oil and gas reserves were significantly depleted, but new large deposits were discovered in the 1980s. In addition, the total reserves of the Sea of Okhotsk are estimated by experts at about 4 billion tons of oil.
The largest oil deposits of Sakhalin are located in the north-eastern part of the island (Ekhabinskoye, Paromayskoye, Katangliyskoye and others). The pace of production of the Sakhalin "black gold" is only increasing every year. So, by 2019 it is planned to increase oil production on the island by 3.6%, and natural gas - by 20%.
Sakhalin also produces coal, which is of high quality and low sulfur content. It is used in metallurgy, gas production, as well as fuel for ships. It is extracted on the island and peat. Deposits of this mineral resource are widespread within the North Sakhalin Plain and the Tym-Poranai Lowland.
Non-ferrous, rare and noble metals of Sakhalin
Significant reserves of various metal ores lie in the bowels of the island. Among them are gold, germanium, mercury, chromium, iron, manganese, tungsten, zinc, strontium, rhenium and others. Of the rare metals of Sakhalin, Germany is of greatest economic interest, and of non-ferrous metals, gold.
There are deposits of both ore and alluvial gold on the island. The latter prevail. Dozens of gold placers are located within the East Sakhalin Mountains. Their total reserves are estimated by geologists at 59 tons.
On the Tonino-Aniva Peninsula, the richest Novikovskoye deposit of germ-bearing coal and mudstone deposits is being developed. The total reserves of Germany in this section are estimated at 640 tons.
More recently, in the north of Sakhalin (on the Schmidt Peninsula), chromite deposits have been identified. The total projected reserves of these valuable ores were estimated at five million tons.