Few people know where Kolguyev Island is located. This place does not attract many tourists, and its infrastructure is undeveloped, so not many people strive to live here. However, it’s still useful to know where Kolguev Island is and how remarkable it is. It is of great interest to scientists, and everyone will be curious to learn about the living conditions of people who are very far from those to which we are accustomed.
Kolguyev 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 east or west of the Kaninsky Peninsula? The correct answer is east. Kolguyev is washed by the Barents Sea from the north, and in the southeast and south, respectively, by the Pechora Sea and the Pomeranian Strait.
origin of name
Kolguyev is an island whose origin is debatable. Starorusskoe (Kalguyev) differs in only one letter from the modern one. There are several versions of why this island is called that way. According to one of them, once in the waters washing him, Ivan Kaglov, a local noble fisherman, went missing. Here in honor of whom Kolguev Island is named, according to one version. According to another opinion, this word came from "collaguet", which translates from Old Finnish as "triangular", or "triangle."
Territorial affiliation
Kolguyev 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.
Island history
The first people on this island, according to archaeologists, appeared somewhere in the 2nd century BC. e. They came to Kolguyev, most likely from the mainland during the migration of the tribes that were the progenitor of today's Nenets.
Novgorod merchants were known about Kolguev Island about the 10th century. This is mentioned in the annals relating to this period. These documents, however, did not say anything about the population of Kolguyev, which testifies to a greater extent in favor of the fact that he was uninhabited at that time, or the population of the island was small.
Hugh Willoughby, the envoy of the English king, became the first European to describe Kolguev. In the summer of 1553, he followed the islands of Novaya Zemlya and Vaigach and stumbled upon it along the way. Kolguev in the 15th century was included in the Great Moscow Principality. There is documentary evidence of this fact. However, Russian merchants at first rarely visited him. Only in the 18th century they began to regularly travel to Kolguev in order to buy furs from the local population.
Only in 1941 did the mapping and detailed study of the island begin. However, it immediately ended, as the Second World War began. Only in the early 1950s, the study was continued. Geological expeditions completed 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 production. This leads to a rapid deterioration of its ecology, causing great damage to the flora and fauna.
Geography and origin of the island
Kolguyev is an island that is almost a regular circle in its form. The line of its coast is quite straight, however, it nevertheless forms in some places several bays that protrude into the land. Among them, Promoynaya Bay located in the south-west, and Remenka Bay in the south. Several small braids and islets are located off the southern coast of Kolguev. Among them, the islands of Strait and Chayachy stand out, as well as the East Flat Spit and Flat Cats.
As for the relief, it is almost flat and low-lying. However, in the central part there are low hills and hills. The highest point of the island is the town of Sarlop Artel. Its height is 151 m above sea level.
Almost the entire island is covered with small salt and fresh lakes, as well as swamps. The following lakes are the largest in area: Gusinoye, Peschanoye, Krivoye, Solenoye, Khiyropskoye and others. In addition, there are many rivers on Kolguev. The largest in length are the Great, Underground, Yurochnaya, Bolshaya Pearchikha, Krivaya, Veskina, Kitova, Eastern and Western Goose.
Let's say a few words about the geological structure of this island. It is represented by shales, limestones and sandstones. Researchers have found here small deposits of brown and coal, as well as a rather large oil field, located in the eastern part.
Kolguyev is an island whose origin is mainland. Experts believe that his education occurred about 25-26 million years ago. This fact makes Kolguev the same age as islands such as Novaya Zemlya and Vaigach.
Climatic features
On the island of interest to us, the climate is humid, subarctic. It is rather damp here, as there are many rivers, lakes and swamps. Weather on Kolguev Island in winter is cold. Minimum temperatures can reach -45 ° C. In summer, heat can be set up to +30 ° C. On Kolguev, polar day and night are pronounced, since the day in December is only 3 hours, and in June it reaches 22 hours. Kolguyev is an island where it is constantly windy, especially from January to early May. Mostly winds blow from the north-east and south-west. Precipitation here falls in the form of rain, snow and fog. Their average amount 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 makes up 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 shores of the Pomeranian Strait. The second village, North, is located, as you might guess, in the north. This settlement is a lighthouse and a weather station.
Ethnically, about half of the local population is the Nenets, an indigenous people engaged in reindeer herding, seal hunting and fishing. The second half is the employees of ArcticNeft CJSC, who service the Peschanoozerskoye oil field located here. These workers live in the north-eastern part of Kolguev, 60 km from Bugrino. There are about 250 of them, and every 52 days they are replaced.
The village of Bugrino
On the territory of this village there is a kindergarten, a secondary school, a cultural center, an outpatient clinic, a television station "Moscow", a power station and shops. There are about 100 houses in the village. Since the local dispensary is now in very poor condition, it was decided to build a new building designed for it. Zarubezhneft OJSC is financing this project. This company signed an agreement on the allocation of 71 million rubles for these purposes in 2014.
According to official figures, in Bugrino there are 1 km 200 m of roads. However, this is more likely not a road, but a place along which tractors drag cargo from the shore on a sleigh. It remains almost always impassable and broken. Roads are, rather, wooden sidewalks that permeate the village along and across.
Reindeer husbandry on the island
Reindeer husbandry is the main occupation of the local population. It should be said that Kolkuev SPK is a pedigree farm that annually delivers a large amount of meat from these animals to the okrug market. Scientists distinguish the breed of Kolguev deer, which are one of the largest reindeer in Russia. Due to the lack of feed in 2013-2014, there was a massive death of livestock. The number of deer decreased from 12 thousand to 200-400 individuals.
Flora of Kolguyev
The flora of the island is very typical of the Arctic, subarctic and Arctic-Alpine natural and climatic zones. The main part of Kolguev is occupied by the tundra. For the most part, it is represented by herbs and shrubs. On the island distinguish the southern tundra, 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 species of willow (Salix glauca, Salix lanata and Salix phylicifolia).
Most 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 very sensitive to erosion caused by precipitation and winds.
Fauna Kolgueva
As for the fauna, due to its remoteness 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 types of fish are found in coastal waters, more than half of which are commercial. In the summer, whales visit the coast, however, recently due to pollution of the island such visits are quite rare. It must be recognized that the Russian authorities are conducting uncontrolled oil production here.
For ornithologists, this island is a true paradise, since many species of birds nest here, including the white-breasted geese, the small tundra swan, the winter sheep, the peregrine falcon, the gray geese (whitewater and goosefoot), black-throated loon , etc.
Tourism and transport
In terms of tourism, this island is absolutely hopeless. The main role in this is not even the severity of the climate and the scarcity of nature, but Kolguev's remoteness from the continent. You can get here either to the village of Bugrino by helicopter, or to the Peschanoozerskoye field with light motor aircraft. Thus, transport communication is carried out by air. You can get to the village of Bugrino by helicopter Mi-8. They regularly fly to the island. 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 necessary products, is carried out by sea during the navigation period. They are brought from Arkhangelsk.
Accommodation of tourists is also quite problematic. Therefore, Kolguev Island, the photo of which was presented in this article, is still visited only by oilmen and naturalists, to whom the Russian military has recently added. In addition, hunters sometimes fly to the island.