The nature and climate of the Primorsky Territory is truly unique. This is a region that is covered by forest. This is the region where taiga trees grow in the neighborhood of vines, and in the middle of the salt sea springs with fresh water beat.
About the region as a whole
Primorsky Territory was formed in 1938 due to the fragmentation of the Far Eastern Territory. The region borders on two states - China and the DPRK. The population of the Primorsky Territory is almost two million people. Moreover, about 80% of them live in cities.
The geographical location on the eastern edge of Eurasia largely determines the nature of the climate and local weather. Primorsky Krai is stretched from north to south for almost 900 kilometers. Significant expanses of the region are occupied by low mountains: Manchurian-Korean, as well as Sikhote-Alin. The highest point of the region is Mount Anik, 1933 meters high. The largest river is Ussuri.
The natural landscapes of the Primorsky Territory are striking in their diversity. Some of them evoke thoughts of distant overseas countries, they really do not look like typical Russian landscapes. Such, for example, include the landscapes of the Gamov Peninsula, which is called the "Russian edge of the world."
The administrative center of the region is the city of Vladivostok. Primorsky Krai is administratively divided into 22 districts and 12 urban districts.
Geographical position
Primorsky Krai with an area of 165 thousand square kilometers occupies almost 1% of Russian territory. The region is located on the southeastern outskirts of the Russian Federation. Its eastern shores are washed by the waters of the Sea of Japan.
The coastline of the region is rather strongly dissected, forming a series of bays, islands and bays. The largest bays are Peter the Great, Amursky, East; Islands - Russian, Askold, Putyatin and others.
The total length of the borders of the Primorsky Territory is about 3,000 kilometers. Half of them pass by sea.
The extreme points of Primorye are as follows:
- northern - the source of the Dagda river (48 ° 28 'north lat.);
- southern - the mouth of the Tumangan river (42 ° 18 'north lat.);
- western - the source of the Novgorodovka River (130 ° 24 'east);
- eastern - Cape Zolotoy (139 ° 02 'eastern longitude).
Weather and climate of Primorsky Krai
In the minds of many residents of Russia, Primorsky Krai is a distant, northern and very cold region. Few people know that the extreme southern point of Primorye is located south of Monte Carlo or the once popular resort of Sukhumi. However, the climate of the Primorsky Territory is much more severe. In winter, frosts in some of its areas can reach 30-35 degrees below zero.
The climate type of the Primorsky Territory is moderate monsoon. Winters are clear, dry and fairly cold. In spring, significant temperature differences are observed. Summer is cool and rainy: up to 80% of annual precipitation falls in these parts over the three summer months. Autumn in Primorye is usually moderately warm and dry.
Frequent fogs, heavy rainfall and typhoons are the usual summer weather for this region. Primorsky Krai in the warm season often "visit" tropical cyclones. The consequences of these “visits” are often very unpleasant, up to the serious destruction of buildings and communications.
Average July temperatures in Primorye: + 18 ... +26 degrees, January: –8 ... –18 degrees. Despite its severity, the climate of Primorsky Krai allows you to grow a number of crops. For example, Amur grapes.
Flora, fauna and natural areas
The flora of Primorye is unusually diverse. Botanists within it include about 250 species of trees and shrubs, a thousand species of algae and mushrooms, several hundred mosses and lichens. There are many endemic plants in the region: iron birch, alangium, girl’s grape, hearth hornbeam and others.
The fauna of the region is no less rich. There are 103 species of mammals, 483 birds, 377 fish, and at least 22,000 species of insects, including the world's largest hornet. Typical representatives of the wildlife of Primorye are a wolf, a lynx, a brown bear, an elk, a roe, a squirrel, a crane, a fox, a sika deer. There are also exotic species for Russia: raccoon dog, Himalayan bear, Manchu leopard, Amur tiger. The habitat of the latter, by the way, practically coincides with the administrative borders of the Primorsky Territory.
Three natural zones can be identified within this region:
- taiga (in the north);
- alternating wet (monsoon type) forests - in the south and in the western part;
- high altitude zone (Sikhote-Alin and the spurs of the Manchurian-Korean mountains).
It should be noted that the natural zones of the Primorsky Territory have a submeridional configuration. That is, they are all extended from north to south.
Forests of natural origin cover up to 80% of the territory. Spruce-fir and cedar-broad-leaved forests grow here. In the south of the region, more heat-loving species of trees are gradually mixed with them. On the sea coast and in river valleys you can see amazing natural complexes - thickets of ash, elm and Manchurian walnut, entwined with real vines.
Another natural zone that is found fragmentarily in Primorye is the forest-steppe. True, it arose here as a result of human activities (long-term deforestation) and large-scale fires.
Population and ethnic composition
Today, the population of Primorsky Krai is just over 1.9 million people. 77% of them live in cities. The average density is 12 people / sq. km, but the population is distributed very unevenly. Most of the residents are concentrated in the southern part of the region. About a third of the territory has no permanent population at all.
Russians are the leaders in the ethnic structure of the region (85%). They are followed by Ukrainians (2.5%) and Koreans (about 1%). The indigenous peoples of the Primorsky Territory are Udege, Tazy and Nanais. However, they are very small. Their total share in the ethnic composition of the region’s population does not exceed one percent.
Administrative divisions and cities
Primorsky Krai includes 22 districts and 12 urban districts. The capital is the city of Vladivostok, in which about a third of the entire population of Primorye lives. The areas of the Primorsky Territory are uneven in size. The largest of them are located in the north (Krasnoarmeysky, Pozharsky and Terneysky), and the smallest - in the south.
In Primorsky Krai, there are 12 cities. The largest of them are Vladivostok, Ussuriysk and Nakhodka. Most of the cities in this region were formed at the end of the 19th or first half of the 20th century.
Vladivostok (Primorsky Territory) - a city of fogs, ships and bridges
The largest and oldest city in the region is Vladivostok. It was founded in 1860 as a military post of the Russian Empire. Literally, the name of the city is interpreted as "own the east", which fully corresponds to the purpose of its appearance on the map of Eurasia.
Vladivostok city district includes 50 islands. In 2012, two beautiful bridges were built in the city (on the occasion of the APEC summit here). One of them is thrown across the Golden Horn bay , the other - to the Russian island. Since October 2015, Vladivostok has the status of a port-free city (“free port”).
About 90% of urban housing development - multi-storey buildings. Public transport is represented by buses, trolleybuses, trams, ferries and even a cable car. By the way, the Vladivostok tram system appeared in 1912 and is the oldest in the Asian part of Russia.
Many compare this Far Eastern city with the American San Francisco. True, the well-known Russian blogger Ilya Varlamov calls it the “complete opposite” of the Misty city of Frisco. There are really a lot of problems in Vladivostok. The most acute of them are constant traffic jams, the lack of normal treatment facilities, and high food prices.
The main natural attractions of the region
Tourism is poorly developed in the Primorsky Territory. Perhaps the inhabitants of South Korea, Japan or China, this region is even more interesting than Russian. Tourists from these countries come here regularly. And they are attracted here primarily by nature.
The following are the 10 most beautiful, most famous and most impressive natural attractions of the region:
- Big Amgin waterfall.
- Gamow Peninsula.
- Krabbe Peninsula.
- Cape De Livron.
- Scythe Nazimova.
- Anna Bay
- Rock Devil's Finger.
- Triozerye - a picturesque bay and three freshwater lakes.
- Popova Island.
- Reef bay with beautiful and huge sandy beaches.
Interesting facts about the Primorsky Territory
Finally, we bring to your attention the 12 most interesting facts about the nature and population of this amazing region:
- In the territory of the region you can meet both the real taiga and subtropical forests.
- The warmest month of the year here is August.
- About 75% of the Primorsky Territory is forested.
- The Far Eastern leopard lives in Primorye - a unique representative of felines, which is not found anywhere else on the planet.
- The most windy place in the region is the city of Vladivostok.
- Primorsky Krai is almost the only place on Earth where both bears and tigers can live in the same forest.
- On the small island of Petrova in the waters of the Sea of Japan there is a mysterious yew grove, whose age is at least a thousand years.
- On the territory of the Primorsky Territory there are many settlements with very colorful names: Kievka, Chernihivka, Poltavka, New Moscow, etc. All these villages were founded by settlers from the European part of Russia.
- Until 1880, there was not a single city.
- The region produces a wide range of minerals - from brown coal to silver and gold.
- There are many atheists in Primorsky Krai - about 35% of the population (this is a record figure for Russia).
- This region has its own Bosphorus-East Strait.