Where is the Kunashirsky Strait? And it is located in the northern hemisphere. Belongs to the Pacific basin. Geographically located in the Far East of the Russian Federation. Together with the Strait of Treason and South Kuril, it forms the state sea border between the Japanese island of Hokkaido in the south and the Russian island . Kunashir in the north connects the Sea of Okhotsk and the Strait of Treason. The photo, where you can see the Kunashir Strait on a map of Russia, see below.
Characteristic (briefly)
The length of the strait is about 75 km, the width varies from the south side about 20 km, but from the north about 43 km. In this water area, great depths are observed. In some places, they can reach the mark of 2500 meters. The Kunashir Strait is part of the shipping corridor important for the Russian Federation, connecting the Sea of Okhotsk with the Pacific Ocean.
Neighborhood
The following capes are located on the shores of the bay: Ivanovsky, Alekhine, Znamenka. Many islands flow from the islands into the strait. These are the watercourses Fast, Dark, Kryvonozhka, Alekhine and others. In the area of the coastline, stones can be seen rising from the water. Near the coast, the bottom is quite dangerous. There are a lot of pitfalls here.
It is difficult to call the Kunashir Strait habitable. Functioning settlements are currently present mainly on the Japanese side. These are the villages of Sibetsu and Raus. There are also small settlements on the island of Hokkaido. On the Russian coast of the strait, on the island of Kunashir, there is only a small village Golovino. The population in it is very small, about 100 people.
Strait Features
The Kunashir Strait, like most waters of the Kuril ridge, is a flooded saddle between volcanic cones (islands). It is located in close proximity to the active Golovin volcano, which is located in the very south of Kunashir Island. In the local water area, strong tidal currents are often observed. Their average value varies within 1 m.
Climate
One of the warm currents of the Sea of Japan , Soya, passes through the strait; therefore, winter is somewhat warmer here than directly on the Pacific coast. Although in winter, due to the cold East Sakhalin current, the Kunashir Strait is filled with ice.
The average annual air temperature in this area is about + 5 ° C. In summer, usually beginning in August and in autumn, powerful tropical cyclones are observed in these latitudes, accompanied by heavy rainfall with powerful gusts of storm winds up to 40 m / s.
Animal world
The Kunashir Strait and adjacent territories are the habitat of some species of seals (Steller Sea Lions). Sea beavers, dolphins, minke whales and killer whales live here. In this area you can find Pacific cod, herring, capelin, and pollock. Thanks to the warm current of Soya, the conditions necessary for the favorable development and reproduction of some species of subtropical mollusks are created in the area of the strait.