Few people know where Kolguev Island is. This place does not attract many tourists, and its infrastructure is undeveloped, so not many people want to live here either. However, it is still useful to know where Kolguev Island is located and why it is remarkable. For scientists, it is of great interest, and everyone will be curious to learn about the living conditions of people, very far from those to which we are accustomed.
Kolguev is an island located in the Arctic Ocean, in the eastern part of the Barents Sea. It can be found 80 km from the Kaninsky Peninsula. Is Kolguev Island located to the east or west of the Kaninsky Peninsula? The correct answer is east. Kolguev is washed by the Barents Sea from the north, and in the southeast and south, respectively, by the Pechora Sea and the Pomor Strait.
Origin of the name
Kolguev is an island, the origin of the name of which is debatable. Starorusskoe(Kalguev) only one letter differs from the modern one. There are several versions of why this island is called that way. According to one of them, once Ivan Kaglov, a local noble fisherman, disappeared without a trace in the waters washing it. That's in honor of whom the island of Kolguev is named, according to one version. According to another opinion, this word comes from "collague", which is translated from Old Finnish as "triangular", or "triangle".
Territorial affiliation
Kolguev is an island with an area of just over 3.2 thousand square meters. km. It is located on the territory of the Russian Federation, belongs to the Arkhangelsk region and is part of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
History of the island
The first people on this island, according to archaeologists, appeared somewhere in the 2nd century AD. e. They came to Kolguev, most likely from the mainland during the migration of the tribes that were the progenitors of today's Nenets.
Novgorod merchants knew about the island of Kolguev around the 10th century. There are references to this in the annals relating to this period. True, these documents do not say anything about the population of Kolguev, which testifies more in favor of the fact that it was uninhabited at that time, or the population of the island was not numerous.
Hugh Willoughby, envoy of the English king, became the first European to describe Kolguev. In the summer of 1553, he was on his way to the islands of Novaya Zemlya and Vaigach, and along the way he stumbled upon him. Kolguev in the 15th century was included in theGreat Moscow principality. There is documentary evidence of this fact. However, Russian merchants rarely visited him at first. Only since the 18th century did they begin to regularly travel to Kolguev in order to buy furs from the local population.
Only in 1941 began mapping and detailed study of the island. However, it immediately ended as the Second World War began. Only in the early 1950s, the study was continued. Geological expeditions carried out in the 1970s discovered the Peschanoozerskoye oil field on the territory of Kolguev. Its development began in the early 1980s.
Today this island is used by the authorities only for oil extraction. This leads to a rapid deterioration of its ecology, causing great damage to the flora and fauna.
Geography and origin of the island
Kolguev is an island, which in its shape is almost a regular circle. The line of its coastline is fairly straight, but it still forms in some places several bays protruding into the land. Among them, it should be noted the Promoynaya Bay located in the south-west, and the Remenka Bay in the south. Several small spits and islets are located off the southern coast of Kolguev. Prolivnoy and Chayachiy islands stand out among them, as well as the Eastern Ploshaya and Ploskie Koshki spits.
As for the relief, it is almost flat and low. However, in the central part there are low hills and hills. The highest point of the island is the town of Artel Sarlopy. Its height is 151 m abovesea level.
Small s alt and fresh lakes, as well as swamps cover almost the entire island. The following lakes are the largest in area: Gusinoe, Sandy, Krivoe, Solenoe, Khyyropskoe, etc. In addition, there are many rivers on Kolguev. The largest in length are Velikaya, Podzemnaya, Yurochka, Bolshaya Pearchikha, Krivaya, Veskina, Kitovaya, Vostochnaya and Zapadnaya Gusinaya.
Let's say a few words about the geological structure of this island. It is represented by shales, limestones and sandstones. Researchers have discovered here small deposits of brown and hard coal, as well as a fairly large oil field located in the eastern part.
Kolguev is an island whose origin is mainland. Experts believe that its formation took place approximately 25-26 million years ago. This fact makes Kolguev the same age as Novaya Zemlya and Vaygach.
Climatic features
On the island we are interested in, the climate is humid, subarctic. It is quite damp here, as there are many rivers, lakes and swamps. The weather on Kolguev Island is cold in winter. Minimum temperatures can reach -45 °C. In summer, heat can reach up to +30 °C. On Kolguev, the polar day and night are pronounced, since the duration of the day in December is only 3 hours, and in June it reaches 22 hours. Kolguev is an island where it is constantly windy, especially from January to early May. Mostly winds blow from the northeast and southwest. Precipitationfall here in the form of rain, snow and fog. Their average number is about 350 mm during the year.
Population
On the island today there are 2 villages - Severny and Bugrino. In total, about 450 people live here, which is the entire population of Kolguev. Its administrative center, so to speak, is the village of Bugrino. It is located in the southern part of Kolguev, on the coast of the Pomor Strait. The second village, Severny, is located, as you might guess, in the north. This settlement is a lighthouse and a meteorological station.
Ethnically, about half of the local population are Nenets - an indigenous people engaged in reindeer herding, seal hunting and fishing. The other half are employees of CJSC ArktikNeft, who service the Peschanoozerskoye oil field located here. These workers live in the northeastern part of Kolguev, 60 km from Bugrino. There are about 250 of them, and they change every 52 days.
Bugrino settlement
On the territory of this village there is a kindergarten, a secondary school, a House of Culture, an outpatient clinic, a TV station "Moskva", a power station and shops. There are about 100 houses in the village. Since the local outpatient clinic is now in a very deplorable state, it was decided to build a new building intended for it. JSC "Zarubezhneft" is financing this project. This company signed an agreement to allocate 71 million rubles for these purposes in 2014year.
According to official data, there are 1 km 200 m of roads in Bugrino. However, this is more likely not a road, but a place along which tractors are dragging loads on sleighs from the coast. It remains almost always impassable and broken. Roads are more like wooden sidewalks that run through the village.
Reindeer herding on the island
Reindeer herding is the main occupation of the local population. It should be said that SPK "Kolguev" is a breeding farm, which annually delivers a large amount of meat of these animals to the market of the district. Scientists identify the Kolguev deer breed, which is one of the largest reindeer in Russia. Due to the lack of feed in 2013-2014, there was a massive loss of livestock. The number of deer has decreased from 12 thousand to 200-400 individuals.
Kolguev's flora
The flora of the island is quite typical for the arctic, subarctic and arctic-alpine natural and climatic zones. The main part of Kolguev is occupied by tundra. For the most part, it is represented by herbs and shrubs. On the island, the southern tundra is distinguished, located in the south and east; and northern, located in the west and north. The shrub stratum includes Betula nana (dwarf birch) as well as several willow species (Salix glauca, Salix lanata and Salix phylicifolia).
Most of the rare species growing on the island are located on the western, eastern and northern borders of the distribution area. Note that the tundra is a very sensitive environment. A significant disturbance of the vegetation cover, depending on the type of soil, is restored by about 90% only after 3-5 years for mosses and grasses, and only by 20% for various shrubs. And soils that remain bare are highly susceptible to erosion by precipitation and winds.
Kolguev fauna
As for the fauna, due to the distance from the mainland and the severity of the climate, it is not very diverse. The fauna is represented mainly by foxes, polar bears, arctic foxes, walruses and seals. Several species of fish are found in coastal waters, more than half of which are commercial. In summer, whales visit the coast, but recently, due to pollution of the island, such visits are quite rare. It must be admitted that the Russian authorities are conducting uncontrolled oil production here.
For ornithologists, this island is a true paradise for bird watchers, as many species of birds nest here, including barnacle goose, lesser tundra swan, buzzard, peregrine falcon, gray geese (white-fronted and bean goose), black-throated diver, and others.
Tourism and transport links
In terms of tourism, this island is absolutely unpromising. The main role in this is played not even by the severity of the climate and the scarcity of nature, but by the remoteness of Kolguev from the continent. You can get here either to the village of Bugrino by helicopter, or to the Peschanoozerskoye deposit by light aircraft. Thus, transport communication is carried out by air transport. You can get to the village of Bugrino by Mi-8 helicopters. They regularly fly toisland. In emergency cases, in addition, you can get here by helicopter, delivering oil workers who work on a rotational basis. The provision of various cargoes, including the necessary products, is carried out by sea during the navigation period. They are brought from Arkhangelsk.
Tourist accommodation is also quite problematic. Therefore, Kolguev Island, the photo of which was presented in this article, is still visited only by oil workers and naturalists, to which the Russian military has recently been added. In addition, hunters sometimes fly to the island.
