The Kamchatka Peninsula has become a household word because of its remoteness. Few Russians come here to relax and admire the beauties of harsh nature. But there are a lot of them here. It is here that the Olyutorsky Bay is located, famous for being home to the Olyutorsky herring - a coveted dish on the tables of gourmets around the world. Kamchatka is also famous for its volcanoes, of which there are about 300, unique flora and fauna, and most importantly, people who live in these far from paradise conditions.
In our article we will talk about a small corner of Kamchatka - the Olyutorsky Bay, named after the ancient people of the Alyutors, who lived in these parts, but have already disappeared as an independent ethnic group.
Olyutorsky Bay where is it?
As you know, Kamchatka is a fairly large peninsula in the east of our country, a bit like a fish stretching its body from north to south. From the side of the continent it is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk, and from the opposite side by the Bering Sea. It is in hiswater area and the Olyutorsky Bay is located. It is located in the northeastern part of Kamchatka, between two peninsulas: Govena and Olyutorsky. There are two settlements not far from the bay: the small village of Apuka and the slightly larger village of Pakhachi.
Geographic characteristics
Travelers are impressed by its harsh and at the same time bright, memorable beauty of Olyutorsky Bay. Let's start the description of its features with mean numbers. The bay has the shape of an arc turned to the south. Inland, it crashed 83 km, has a width of 228 km, and a depth of up to 1 km. Its shores are cut by small and large capes, of which there are about a dozen.
The most famous are Baptized by Fire, Remains, Grozny, Vravr. Their shores are mostly rocky, impregnable in many places and only in some places covered with sparse vegetation. About a dozen rivers and streams carry their waters into the bay. The largest are Pahacha and Apuka. In the upper reaches they are mountainous, but in the middle and lower reaches they become flat rivers. Apuka in its floodplain forms oxbow lakes and lakes. The coastline of the Olyutorsky Bay is heterogeneous. So, in the eastern part it is more low-lying.
There are two estuaries here - Pakhachinsky and Evekun, and two lagoons - Anana and Kavacha. The western part is more rocky and impregnable, bordered by the Pylginsky ridge up to 1357 meters high. There are several small bays here - Lavrova, South deep and Doubts. Also in the western part there are several lagoons, including Kaukt and Tantikun.
Climate
Olyutorsky Baylies in the subarctic climate zone of the Dfc type (according to Köppen). In summer, the temperature near the water surface rises to +10°C, at a depth of more than 50 m it never rises above minus 1.7°C. In winter, the temperature is the same in the upper water layers.
Salinity in the Olyutorsky Bay is about 22 ppm. The rivers flowing into it are covered with ice already from October, and do not open until April, forming floods. In the bay itself, by the first days of December, a special type of coastal ice appears - fast ice, which lasts until the end of April. Fogs are often present on land in the bay area. Summer here is short, about two to three months with average temperatures of +10°C, winter is long, with frosts down to -20°C.
Flora and fauna
Kamchatka has become a home for dozens of species of animals and plants. Olyutorsky Bay, for example, is known for a special type of herring found only here. They called it simply - Olyutorskaya. Previously, fishing for this fish was uncontrolled, which is why its numbers approached a critical threshold. Now herring is mined in strict accordance with the laws.
To protect nature in the north of the peninsula, a reserve was created, called Koryaksky. Its territory also includes part of the Olyutorsky Bay, namely the Govena Peninsula and Lavrov Bay, and in total there are about 340 thousand hectares of protected land in the named area.
Colonies of dozens of birds nest on the rocks of the bay, many of which are in the Russian Red Book. Here you can meet peregrine falcon, lesser white-fronted gull, pink, gray-winged and white gulls,geese, gyrfalcons. In the waters of the bay, in addition to herring, other marine inhabitants live - flatfish, chanterelles, slingshots. The sea hare, spotted seal live in Lavrov Bay, and in summer walruses and sea lions come here. In the rivers flowing into the Olyutorsky Bay, several species of red fish spawn - chum salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, coho, chinook salmon. Kamchatka brown bears often come to get it. Also among the terrestrial fauna there are foxes, wolves, ermines, wolverines, hares and ground squirrels.
The flora of the coast of the Olyutorsky Bay is not rich and consists mainly of lichens and shrub willows, birches, and alders. In summer, herbs buoy here, and in autumn lingonberries, cloudberries, princesses, blueberries and a lot of mushrooms ripen.
Business activities
Olyutorsky Bay is the main place of production of the herring of the same name. There used to be several fish canning factories on the coast, but they have now closed. This immediately affected the population.
Thus, not far from the bay are the small village of Apuka, in which there are only 252 inhabitants, and Pakhachi, which was considered to be an urban-type settlement until 1994. Not so long ago, the infrastructure was actively developing here, new streets appeared, houses were built, even the local airfield worked. But as soon as the fish cannery was closed, the population decreased tenfold. Now there are 388 people left here. By the way, they can only get to the regional center by helicopter.
The ship named after the bay
In the national economythere are special vessels that transport refrigerated cargo - fish oil, meal, packing materials for fishing vessels, as well as fuel, water and provisions. One of them is the Olyutorsky Bay transport refrigerator.
Built it in 1985 in the GDR. The ship is registered in Vladivostok. It is 153 meters long, 22 meters wide, has a displacement of 17,375 tons, and a speed of 14.5 knots. This ship received dubious fame due to illegal activities, regarded as smuggling. The bottom line was that the captain of the vessel transported 1,283 tons of fuel and 606 tons of fuel oil through customs in the port of Nakhodka as a cargo not subject to customs duties, and, bypassing the laws, sold it all to other ships. As a result, illegal profits amounted to more than 16 million rubles. Now the transport prosecutor's office of Nakhodka is dealing with this case.
