Yamal is a peninsula located in the very north of Siberia and washed by the Kara Sea. Its length is seven hundred kilometers, and its width is up to two hundred and forty. Why is this piece of sushi interesting?
Geographical information and natural resources
The Yamal Peninsula has a flat relief, its average height is fifty meters.
It is noteworthy that a large number of natural gas fields are concentrated here - about twenty percent of all Russian reserves. Most of it is mined in the largest of them: Kharasavey, Bovanenkovsky, Kruzenshternovsky, South Tambey and North Tambey. Natural gas located on the Yamal Peninsula is distinguished by its exceptionally high quality.
Climate
The climate of Yamal is quite cold. The main part of the peninsula is located in the subarctic zone, and the northern coast is in the Arctic. Average temperatures are -24 ° in January and + 5 ° in July. Precipitation falls a little - about 400 millimeters per year.
Water resources
The Yamal Peninsula has a large number of shallow lakes, the largest of which is called Yambuto. In mid-October, all water bodies freeze, and in early June they open up from the ice.
Yamal nature
This peninsula is located immediately in two natural zones - the tundra and forest-tundra. The soil here is represented by pick-ups, glezems and peat soils. Most of the territory is constrained by permafrost.
Flora and fauna
Of the plants, the most common are mosses and lichens.
The fauna of the peninsula is quite diverse. In Yamal, you can meet reindeer, lemmings, arctic foxes. And of the birds - a white owl, partridge, buzzard buzzard, sandpiper, red-throated goose, grouse, bunting, pink gull and others. Pike, whitefish, muksuns, burbots, lenoks, graylings, sturgeons, and perches live in coastal waters.
Population
More than half of the population of the Yamal Peninsula are Russians. The second place is occupied by Ukrainians, the third - by the Nenets and Tatars. This is due to the fact that the Yamal Peninsula has long been part of the first Moscow kingdom, then the Russian Empire, the USSR, and now it is part of the Russian Federation.
The main occupations of the inhabitants of the peninsula are reindeer herding and fishing. They have no opportunity to cultivate the land due to the fact that the soil here is extremely barren.
By the way, the name of the peninsula is made up of two words - "I" and "small", which in translation into the language of the local population means "end of the world."
sights
If you decide to visit the Yamal Peninsula, then first make sure that the calendar is winter. Yes exactly! After all, to be in Yamal in the summer is absolutely impossible - huge hordes of mosquitoes live there.
Yamal old-timers say that it is much easier to survive winter than summer - after all, you can hide from the cold in warm houses, and there is no escape from mosquitoes.
In the summer, the indigenous inhabitants of Yamal take their deer herds closer to the sea, because mosquitoes bite not only people, but also animals. But researchers, geologists and oil workers have to stay in their habitable places.
What interesting sights can be seen on the peninsula? If you get to Salekhard, the center of the Yamalo-Nenets Okrug, you can visit the Ice Palace, the Museum of Aviation and look at the life-size mammoth sculpture. But most importantly - you will get a rare opportunity to enjoy the magnificent view of the northern lights - a real calling card of this city.