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12.07.202327.05.2017

The Sea of Okhotsk is a semi-enclosed sea located in the northern hemisphere, part of Pacific Ocean, washes the shores of Russia and Japan.

Previously, this sea was called “Kamchatka”. The Japanese called this sea "Hokkai", which literally translates as "North Sea", but the traditional name eventually changed to the Sea of Okhotsk.

What rivers flow into

The following large rivers flow into the Sea of Okhotsk:

Kukhtui (a river whose length reaches 384 kilometers, it is located in the Khabarovsk Territory, just like the Okhota River);
Okhota (a small river in the Khabarovsk Territory, the length of which reaches almost 400 kilometers);
Amur (the length of the river reaches almost 2900 km, which makes this waterway quite large and important in Eastern Russia and China for infrastructure).

Relief of the Sea of Okhotsk

The western part of the bottom is a flat slab and is located at a fairly shallow depth. In the very center there are large depressions. However, the maximum depth was recorded in the so-called Kuril Basin, which is located in the eastern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. The bottom can be sandy, rocky, muddy-sandy.

The seashores are mostly high and rocky. In the southwest of Kamchatka the shores have low relief. There are volcanoes at the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk, and there are also on the islands. 70 are considered extinct, 30 are considered active.

The southeastern part of the sea almost never freezes - even in winter, which cannot be said about the northern part of the sea, where ice persists from October to June. The northern coast of the sea is heavily indented, which is why many natural bays have been created here, the largest of which is called Sherikhov Bay. In the west of the sea there are also many bays, the largest of which are the Shantar Sea and Sakhalin Bay.

Cities

On the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk there is a small town called Okhotsk, which became the first Russian settlement built on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. One of the most big cities Magadan is considered to be on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk with a population of more than 90 thousand inhabitants.

Kholmsk photo

On the seashore there is also a relatively small town of Kholmsk with a population of 28 thousand inhabitants. Well, the last one " big city» on the Sea of Okhotsk can be called Korsakov with a population of 33 thousand people. The city is actively involved in fishing and fish processing.

Flora and fauna of the Sea of Okhotsk

The number of fish species in the Sea of Okhotsk is large, there has always been a fair amount of it, which is why the sea has become important industrial facility. IN the greatest number The Sea of Okhotsk is home to herring, capelin, salmon, pollock and navaga. Among other valuable seafood, one can also highlight Kamchatka crab - they reach truly enormous sizes and are a delicacy for humans.

Beluga whale in the Sea of Okhotsk photo

Sea urchins, starfish, shrimp and crabs, mussels, jellyfish, and corals live here. The Kamchatka crab is one of the largest representatives of crustaceans in the Far Eastern waters.

As in many northern waters, the Sea of Okhotsk is home to several species of whales, including the rare fin whale, as well as the largest creatures on the planet to ever exist, blue whales. The waters of the sea are inhabited by beluga whales, seals and seals.

depths of the Sea of Okhotsk photo

The world of birds is diverse and numerous. On the islands of the Sea of Okhotsk, large colonies of gulls, cormorants, guillemots, guillemots, mottled guillemots, petrels, geese, etc. nest in large colonies.

birds on the Sea of Okhotsk photo

Sea vegetation: brown and green algae, red algae, kelp, in some places there are abundant thickets of sea grass - zoster.

Characteristics of the Sea of Okhotsk

The area of the Sea of Okhotsk reaches 1,603,000 square kilometers, and its volume exceeds 1,300,000 cubic meters. The average depth of the sea is quite large - approximately 1,700 meters, and the deepest point of the seabed is located at a depth of 3,916 meters.

In summer, the sea surface temperature is 18 degrees Celsius. And in winter it is colder - 2 degrees Celsius, and sometimes it can drop to minus temperatures -1.8 degrees. As for the climate, it is monsoonal, very harsh due to northern winds, only in the south the air temperature is relatively high.

Sea of Okhotsk in winter photo

If we compare the Sea of Okhotsk with the neighboring seas: the Japanese and Bering seas, then it will be the coldest of them. In winter, the Sea of Okhotsk is tormented by strong northern winds and thereby makes the climate even more severe. The minimum air temperature comes with January and reaches -25 degrees on average. In summer, the temperature rarely exceeds +15 degrees.

Quite often, storms occur on the Sea of Okhotsk that last more than one week. They come to the southern part of the sea from the Pacific Ocean. The waves are high and the storms are long. In very severe winters, ice forms - both floating and also stationary. Ice floes float along Sakhalin and the Amur region, often even in summer.

Sakhalin photo

Coastal waters are the least saline and generally do not reach even 30%. But in the rest of the sea, the salt level sometimes reaches up to 34%. Surface waters are the least saline - no more than 32-33%, while already at depth the salinity exceeds 34%.

There are also islands in the Sea of Okhotsk, but their number is extremely small. The largest one is Sakhalin Island. Most of the islands are located in a seismically active zone.

This natural reservoir is considered one of the deepest and largest in Russia. The coolest Far Eastern sea is located between the Bering and Sea of Japan.

The Sea of Okhotsk separates the territories of the Russian Federation and Japan and represents the most important port point for our country.

After reading the information in the article, you can learn about the rich resources of the Sea of Okhotsk and the history of the formation of the reservoir.

About the name

Previously, the sea had other names: Kamchatka, Lamskoye, Hokkai among the Japanese.

The sea received its current name from the name of the Okhota River, which in turn comes from the Even word “okat”, which translates as “river”. Former name(Lamskoe) also comes from the Even word “lam” (translated as “sea”). Japanese Hokkai literally means "North Sea". However, due to the fact that this Japanese name now refers to the North Atlantic Sea, its name was changed to Ohotsuku-kai, which is an adaptation of the Russian name to the norms of Japanese phonetics.

Geography

Before we move on to a description of the rich resources of the Sea of Okhotsk, let us briefly introduce its geographical location.

Located between the Bering and Sea of Japan, the body of water extends far into the mainland. The arc of the Kuril Islands separates the waters of the sea from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The reservoir has for the most part natural boundaries, and its conditional boundaries are with the Sea of Japan.

The Kuril Islands, which are about 3 dozen small areas of land and separate the ocean from the sea, are located in a seismic zone due to the presence of a large number of volcanoes. In addition, the waters of these two natural reservoirs are separated by the island of Hokkaido and Kamchatka. Largest island Sea of Okhotsk - Sakhalin. The largest rivers flowing into the sea: Amur, Okhota, Bolshaya and Penzhina.

Description

The area of the sea is approximately 1603 thousand square meters. km, water volume - 1318 thousand cubic meters. km. The maximum depth is 3916 meters, the average is 821 m. The sea type is mixed, continental-marginal.

Several bays run along the fairly flat coastal border of the reservoir. The northern part of the coast is represented by many rocks and rather sharp cliffs. Storms are a frequent and quite common phenomenon for this sea.

The features of nature and all the resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are partly related to climate conditions and unusual terrain.

For the most part, the seashores are rocky and high. From the sea, from afar, on the horizon, they stand out as black stripes, framed on top by brownish green spots of sparse vegetation. Only in some places (the western coast of Kamchatka, the northern part of Sakhalin) the coastline is low-lying, fairly wide areas.

The bottom in some respects is similar to the bottom of the Sea of Japan: in many places there are hollows under the water, which indicate that the area of the present sea in the Quaternary period was above ocean level, and huge rivers - Penzhina and Amur - flowed in this place.

Sometimes during earthquakes, waves appear in the ocean reaching several tens of meters in height. One interesting historical fact is connected with this. In 1780, during an earthquake, one of these waves carried the ship “Natalia” deep into the island of Urup (300 meters from the shore), which remained on land. This fact is confirmed by a record preserved from those times.

Geologists believe that the territory of the eastern part of the sea is one of the most “turbulent” areas on the globe. And today quite large movements of the earth’s crust are taking place here. Underwater earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are often observed in this part of the ocean.

A little bit of history

The rich natural resources of the Sea of Okhotsk began to attract the attention of people from its very discovery, which occurred during the first campaigns of the Cossacks to the Pacific Ocean through Siberia. It was then called the Sea of Lama. Then, after the discovery of Kamchatka, trips by sea and shore to this rich peninsula and to the mouth of the river. Penzhins became more frequent. In those days, the sea already bore the names Penzhinskoye and Kamchatka.

Having left Yakutsk, the Cossacks moved east not straight through the taiga and mountains, but along winding rivers and channels between them. Such a caravan trail eventually led them to a river called Okhota, and along it they moved to the seashore. That is why this reservoir was named Okhotsk. Since then, many significant and important major centers. The name that has been preserved since then testifies to the important historical role of the port and the river, from which people began to develop this huge, rich sea area.

Features of nature

The natural resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are quite attractive. This is especially true for the areas of the Kuril Islands. This is a very special world, consisting of a total of 30 large and small islands. This range also includes rocks of volcanic origin. Today there are active volcanoes on the islands (about 30), which clearly indicates that the bowels of the earth are unquiet here and now.

Some islands have underground hot springs (temperatures up to 30-70°C), many of which have healing properties.

The climatic conditions for life on the Kuril Islands (especially in the northern part) are very harsh. Fogs linger here for a long time, and in winter, severe storms often occur.

Rivers

Many rivers, mostly small, flow into the Sea of Okhotsk. This is the reason for the relatively small continental flow (about 600 cubic km per year) of water into it, with about 65% of it belonging to the Amur River.

Other relatively large rivers are Penzhina, Uda, Okhota, Bolshaya (in Kamchatka), which carry a much smaller volume to the sea fresh water. Water flows in to a greater extent in spring and early summer.

Fauna

The biological resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are very diverse. This is the most biologically productive sea in Russia. It provides 40% of domestic and more than half of the Far Eastern catches of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. At the same time, it is believed that the biological potential of the sea is currently underutilized.

A huge variety of depths and bottom topography, hydrological and climatic conditions in certain parts of the sea, a good supply of fish food - all this determined the richness of the ichthyofauna of these places. The northern part of the sea contains 123 species of fish in its waters, the southern part - 300 species. Approximately 85 species are endemic. This is the Sea - real paradise for lovers of sea fishing.

Fishing, seafood production and the production of salmon caviar are actively developing in the sea. Inhabitants of the sea waters of this region: pink salmon, chum salmon, cod, sockeye salmon, flounder, coho salmon, pollock, herring, navaga, chinook salmon, squid, crabs. On the Shantar Islands there is hunting (limited) for fur seals, and the hunting of kelp, mollusks and sea urchins.

Of the animals of particular commercial value, beluga whales, seals and seals are of particular commercial value.

Flora

The resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are inexhaustible. Vegetable world reservoir: in the northern part arctic species predominate, in the southern part species of the temperate region predominate. Plankton (larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, etc.) provide abundant food for fish throughout the year. The sea's phytoplankton are dominated by diatoms, and the bottom flora contains many species of red, brown and green algae, as well as extensive meadows of sea grass. In total, the coastal flora of the Sea of Okhotsk includes about 300 species of vegetation.

In comparison with the Bering Sea, the bottom fauna here is more diverse, and in comparison with the Japanese Sea, it is less rich. The main feeding grounds for deep-sea fish are the northern shallow waters, as well as the eastern Sakhalin and western Kamchatka shelves.

Mineral resources

The mineral resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are especially rich. Only sea water contains almost all the elements of D.I. Mendeleev’s table.

The seabed has exceptional reserves of globigerine and diamondite silts, consisting mainly of shells of unicellular tiny algae and protozoa. Silts are valuable raw materials for the production of insulating building materials and high quality cement.

The sea shelf is also promising for searching for hydrocarbon deposits. The rivers of the Aldan-Okhotsk watershed and the lower reaches of the Amur have been famous since ancient times for their placers of valuable metals, which suggests that there is a possibility of underwater ore deposits being found in the sea. There may be many still undiscovered raw material resources in the Sea of Okhotsk.

It is known that the lower shelf horizons and the part of the continental slope bordering them are enriched in phosphorite nodules. There is another more realistic prospect - the extraction of rare elements contained in the bone remains of mammals and fish, and such accumulations are found in the deep-sea sediments of the South Okhotsk basin.

We cannot remain silent about amber. The very first discoveries of this mineral on the eastern coast of Sakhalin date back to the mid-19th century. At that time, representatives of the Amur expedition were working here. It should be noted that Sakhalin amber is very beautiful - it is perfectly polished, cherry-red and is quite highly valued by specialists. The largest pieces of fossil wood resin (up to 0.5 kg) were discovered by geologists near the village of Ostromysovsky. Amber is also found in the oldest deposits of the Taygonos Peninsula, as well as in Kamchatka.

Conclusion

In short, the resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are extremely rich and diverse, it is impossible to list them all, much less describe them.

Today, the importance of the Sea of Okhotsk in the national economy is determined by the use of its richest natural resources and transport by sea. The main wealth of this sea is game animals, primarily fish. However, today it’s enough high level the danger of pollution of sea fishing zones with oil products as a result of discharges of oily waters by fishing vessels creates a situation that requires certain measures to increase the level of environmental safety of the work being carried out.

Sea of Okhotsk- one of the largest water basins washing the shores of our country.

Its area - 1,603,000 km 2 - is one and a half times larger than the area of the Sea of Japan and is second only to the Bering Sea, from which it is separated by the Kamchatka Peninsula. The chain of operating and extinct volcanoes The Kuril island chain separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean, and the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin from the Sea of Japan. Penzhinskaya Bay in the north, Udskaya in the west, Tugursky, Academy, Terpeniya and Aniva bays in the south protrude deep into the land. Completely closed in the north, the Sea of Okhotsk in the west exchanges waters through 19 Kuril straits with the Pacific Ocean, and even further south, through the La Perouse and Tatar straits, with the Sea of Japan. Its coastline stretches for 10,444 km.

The sea covers the ancient land of Okhotia, and therefore it is shallow over most of its water area. Only in the South Okhotsk Basin the depth reaches 3372 m. If you look at the geomorphological map of the Sea of Okhotsk, you can find a number of depressions and uplifts on it: the heights of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the TINRO, Deryugin depressions, the Makarov and Peter Schmidt troughs. In the north, the shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk is shallow; to the south, the depths gradually increase. The shelf area makes up 36% of the entire sea area.

The Sea of Okhotsk feeds many large and small rivers, but its main artery is the Amur, the great river of East Asia. The shores of the Sea of Okhotsk islands and the Kamchatka Peninsula are mostly low-lying, swampy, with relict salt lakes, bays and lagoons. There are especially many of them on Sakhalin. The western coast of the Sea of Okhotsk is mountainous, with steep straight shores. The Pribrezhny and Ulinsky ridges and the spurs of the Suntar-Khayata ridge come close to the sea near Ayan, Okhotsk and Magadan.

In the Sea of Okhotsk, almost all the islands are located near the coast. The largest of them is Sakhalin, whose area is 76,400 km 2. The Kuril archipelago, stretching for 1200 km between the Japanese island of Hokkaido and Cape Lopatka in Kamchatka, has 56 islands (except for small ones of volcanic origin). Volcanologists identified and recorded here. 38 active and 70 extinct volcanoes. In the extreme west of the sea are the Shantar Islands. The most significant of them is Big Shantar. Its area is 1790 km2. Some of these 15 islands have long been inhabited by birds and have attracted the attention of scientists. South of the Terpeniya Peninsula is the small island of Tyuleniy, famous for its seal rookery. But the tiny island of Iona, lying 170 miles east of Ayan, is just a lonely rock, visited only by seabirds and sea lions. In addition to these fragments of land, at the very top of the Sakhalin Bay there are the islands of Chkalov, Baidukov and Belyakov, named after the brave Soviet aces.

The water masses of the Sea of Okhotsk, moving mainly counterclockwise, form a cyclonic system of currents. This is due to two main factors - the runoff of river waters and the influx of warm waters of the Pacific Ocean through the Kruzenshtern and Bussol straits. Around the Shantar Islands, a circular movement occurs in the opposite direction (clockwise), reminiscent of the currents in the Anisa and Terpeniya bays.

Branches of two powerful water streams enter the south of the sea - the warm Kuro-Sivo current and the cold Oya-Sivo current. In addition to these currents, jets of the warm Soya Current penetrate into the Sea of Okhotsk through the La Perouse Strait. The influence of warm currents increases in summer and weakens in winter. In addition to the Oya-Sivo Current, which flows into the Sea of Okhotsk through the Kuril Straits, cooling of the waters is also caused by the along-shore East Sakhalin Current, directed from north to south. Through the southern Kuril Straits, cold waters flow into the Pacific Ocean.

The Sea of Okhotsk is known for its powerful tides. In Penzhinskaya Bay their height reaches almost 13 m (a kind of record for the USSR), a slightly smaller difference in sea levels at full (high tide) and low (low tide) water is observed in Gizhiginskaya Bay and on the Shantar Islands.

Storms often occur in the vast expanses of the Sea of Okhotsk. The southern region of the sea is especially troubled, where strong winds blow from November to March, and wave crests rise to a height of 10-11 m. Another feature of this huge water basin is its ice cover, the largest in the Far East. Only off the western coast of Kamchatka and the Middle Kuril Islands does the strip remain in winter clean water. The destruction of the ice cover lasts from April to August - as we see, it is not by chance that our sea is called icy. The movement of air masses also affects the harsh nature of the Sea of Okhotsk. The winter anticyclone determines the northwestern direction of the winds, and in the summer southeastern winds predominate, which is typical for the monsoon climate. The amplitude of annual air temperature fluctuations is 35° C, 10° higher than that in the Bering and Japan seas. The average annual air temperature in the Sea of Okhotsk varies from -7° (in the Gizhigi region) to 5.5° (Abashiri in Hokkaido).

Summer heating of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk is limited to the uppermost layers. In August, the surface water temperature reaches 16-18° off the coast of Hokkaido and 12-14° C in the northwest. The lowest summer surface water temperatures are found along the Middle Kuril Islands (6-8°C) and near the Pyagina Peninsula (4-6°C). In February (the coldest month), negative temperatures prevail throughout the Sea of Okhotsk. Hydrologists call the layer of “permafrost” the horizon of water lying at a depth of between 50 and 100 m. Off the coast of Sakhalin, the temperature of this layer of water is the lowest and reaches -1.6°. Deeper, about 200 m, the temperature again rises by 1.5-2° above zero. Only in the northern part of the sea and southeast of Sakhalin is this depth characterized by negative temperatures. With further diving, the temperature slowly increases, reaching 2.4° at around 1000 m (due to warmer ocean waters), and then decreases slightly again. At depths of two to three thousand meters it is 1.9° C in winter and summer.

In the area of the Kuril Islands, the salinity of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk reaches 33 ppm (a little more than 30 grams of salts in one liter). In other places the salinity is lower; The most desalinated water is in the Sakhalin Bay, where the Amur flows. The salinity of sea water increases with depth, and below two thousand meters it is quite consistent with ocean water, reaching 34.5 ppm.

The maximum saturation of water with oxygen and the highest degree of concentration of hydrogen ions were recorded at a depth of 10 m, which is associated with the intensive development of phytoplankton. At a depth of 1000-1500 m, a sharp oxygen deficiency was noted - up to 10% saturation. Here a zone of “biological depression” is formed. Deeper the oxygen content increases to 20-25%. Filled through straits with oceanic waters with a low oxygen content, the Sea of Okhotsk basin contains water masses that are weakly mixed due to sharp differences in density between individual layers. Vertical circulation of water occurs within the first two-hundred-meter layer. This is caused by the formation of a denser and colder intermediate layer of water at a depth of 50-100 m. Their winter cooling is accompanied by an increase in salinity and density, which leads to the sinking of these masses from the surface.

Differences in water salinity in the Amur Estuary can reach 22 ppm. Salty water comes into the estuary from the north sea waters, mixing with fresh river water. With strong southern winds, a countercurrent sometimes occurs in the Amur, salty water rises up its bed, and a so-called “faunal barrier” is formed, which animals cannot overcome.

Bottom sediments of the Sea of Okhotsk are represented by sands, pebbles and rocky placers with an admixture of silt on the shelf. In closed bays, separated from the sea by sand spits, pure silts are deposited. Sandy sediments predominate in the Sakhalin Bay, and pebble sediments predominate in the Penzhinskaya Bay. In the deep-sea basin in the south of the sea, the bottom is covered with sandy silts, and in its central part, greenish and brown silts at depths between 1000 and 3000 m determine the distribution of the zone of stagnant waters. Iron-manganese nodules were discovered around the island of Iona at a depth of about 500 m.

In the sediments there are many flint shells of the smallest single-celled organisms - diamote algae and radiolarians.

The history of the Sea of Okhotsk goes back many hundreds of millions of years. Seaweeds and bacteria that existed over one and a half billion years ago left traces of their life activity on the western coast of what is now the Sea of Okhotsk. In the Silurian period (about 450 million years ago), the southwestern part of the modern Sea of Okhotsk basin and the area of Sakhalin Island were under water. The same situation persisted in the Devonian (400-350 million years ago) in the area of the Shantar Islands, where even coral reefs, or rather reef-like communities with the participation of coral polyps, bryozoans, sea urchins and crinoids, developed. However, most of the basin rose above sea level during the Paleozoic. The ancient land of Okhotia located here about 220 million years ago included the central part of the present sea, Sakhalin and Kamchatka. From the north, west and south, Okhotia was washed by a fairly deep sea with many islands. Findings of remains of ferns and cycadophytes indicate that subtropical flora grew here, which required high temperatures and a humid climate.

Another 100 million years passed. In place of Sakhalin and Japanese Islands a huge chain of coral reefs stretched out, larger in size than the current Great Barrier Reef off the eastern coast of Australia. The Jurassic reef system probably marked for the first time the position of the future island arc that separated the Sea of Japan from the Pacific Ocean. A major transgression flooded the entire Okhotia and adjacent land areas about 80 million years ago. On the site of Kamchatka, two parallel island ridges arose. As they approached the modern era, they extended more and more in a southern direction, separating the basins of the Bering and Okhotsk seas with another arc.

50-60 million years ago, a sharp drop in sea level led to the complete drying of Okhotia and Beringia. Great connoisseur ancient history Sea of Okhotsk professor G.W. Lindberg convincingly showed that Okhotia was even mountainous in places and large rivers flowed through its territory, starting far in the west - Paleoamur and Paleopenzhina. That's what they worked out deep canyons, which later became underwater depressions. Some forms of land relief and traces of ancient coastlines have been preserved on the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk to this day.

Okhotia went under water about 10 thousand years ago, with the end of the last Quaternary glaciation. Over time, the South Okhotsk Basin was separated from the Pacific Ocean by the youngest island arc Far East“Kurilskaya,” and the outlines of the Sea of Okhotsk were finally determined.

Centuries have passed. The first inhabitants appeared on the Okhotsk coast. The bays and estuaries of the sea were replete with seal rookeries, and walruses entered the northern part of it. The ancient northerners were engaged in sea fishing, collecting edible shellfish and algae.

The significant similarity of the ancient cultures of the Koryaks, Aleuts and the indigenous inhabitants of Kodiak Island near Alaska, noted by the Siberian historian R.V. Vasilievsky, gives reason to assume that aborigines took part in the settlement of the New World, at least starting from the Neolithic, and perhaps earlier Sea of Okhotsk and Kamchatka. This researcher discovered Proto-Aleut features in the structure of Koryak harpoons, the shape of stone fat lamps and arrowheads, the characteristic type of tools with notched grooves, hooks, spears, awls, spoons and other hunting and household equipment.

In the south of the Sea of Okhotsk there was an island culture, similar in a number of features to the ancient Koryak. We note the presence of a rotating harpoon and a significant number of seal and whale bones at the excavations, similar ceramics and stone implements of the Amur settlements and sites of the ancient inhabitants of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

Soviet anthropologist M. G. Levin noted that “the anthropological, linguistic and cultural closeness of the Nivkhs of Sakhalin and Amur, reflecting, undoubtedly, the processes of constant communication between them over a number of recent centuries, goes back, at the same time, with its roots in the more distant past - the Neolithic era... It is likely that the Ainu legends about tons depict the ancestors of the Gilyaks or related tribes, whom the Ainu found on Sakhalin during their migration to this island" (Ethnic anthropology and problems of the enthogenesis of the peoples of the Far East, M., 1958, p. 128 - 129).

But who are the Nivkhs, or Gilyaks, as these indigenous inhabitants of the Lower Amur and Sakhalin were called until recently? The word "nivkh" means "man". The rituals and customs, religious beliefs, myths and legends of the Nivkhs reflect the history of this ancient people of the Amur region and have long been the object of scientific research. Not long ago, scientists were excited by reports of striking analogies in the language of the Nivkhs and some African tribes, in particular in Western Sudan. It also turned out that the dugout boats and axes of the Nivkhs are similar to the boats and axes of the inhabitants of the islands of Tahiti and the Admiralty.

What do such coincidences indicate? It is still difficult to answer this question. Maybe some thread will stretch from the sacred chants of the Nivkhs?

The sea was still boiling. The seals and fish died.
No people, no fish.
Then a mountain was born from the sea.
Then the earth was born from the sea.

Doesn't this legend indicate that the Kuril Islands were born before the eyes of the Nivkhs? If we admit the possibility of such an interpretation, then we should recognize the Nivkhs as one of the most ancient peoples of the Far East. From shamanic chants we learn about warm seas and white mountains, shallows of white sand and abandoned wives of the Nivkhs. Apparently, we are talking about the coral islands of the Pacific Ocean, from where the ancestors of the Nivkhs could have come to the basin of the Sea of Okhotsk.

The history of the Ainu, who unexpectedly appeared among the aborigines of Sakhalin, seems even more mysterious. Back in 1565, the monk de Froes reported in his “Japanese Letters”: “... the Ainu, with their almost European appearance and thick hair covering their heads... differed sharply from the beardless Mongoloids.” Their belligerence, endurance, the custom of women to blacken their lips, nudity, barely covered by the “belt of modesty” so common among the South Pacific Islanders - all this so amazed the imagination of travelers that some of them even called the Ainu black people. Vasily Poyarkov’s “questioning speeches” talk about the island lying to the east (i.e. Sakhalin), the Nivkhs inhabiting its northern part, and “black people called Kuys” living in the south. Local historians discovered a Negroain site in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky already in our days.

According to the outstanding Soviet scientist L. Ya. Sternberg, the cultural and anthropological features of the Ainu bring them closer to some peoples of South India, Oceania and even Australia. One of the arguments in favor of the theory of the Austronesian origin of the Ainu is the cult of the snake, which is also common among some tribes of Southeast Asia.

When in the 2nd millennium BC. e. The Ainu came to the southern islands of the Sea of Okhotsk, they found Tonche here. If you believe the legends, these were sea hunters and fishermen.

The conclusion suggests itself that the peoples who once inhabited the southern archipelagos of the Pacific Ocean, India and even Australia rolled into the area of the Sea of Okhotsk in waves. Partially mixing with the local population, they adopted its culture and customs. Typical residents southern countries, the Ainu borrowed the design of a canoe from the Itelmen of Kamchatka, the type of boat from the Tonchi of Sakhalin, and the winter clothes. Even in Ainu ornaments, as R. V. Kozyreva writes (Ancient Sakhalin, Leningrad, 1967), simple and geometric patterns and incisions are found on ceramics and bone products, characteristic of the early periods of the history of local culture.

Already before our eyes, the formation of modern coastline Sea of Okhotsk. Even in modern and recent times, its level did not remain constant. Just 200 years ago, as Khabarovsk paleogeographer L.I. Sverlova believes, Sakhalin was connected to the mouth of the Amur. According to her calculations, based on establishing a functional relationship between fluctuations in the level of the World Ocean and changes in the Earth's temperature regime, the lowest sea waters occurred in 1710-1730. Comparing these data with the dates of the voyages of famous sailors, L. I. Sverlova came to the conclusion that J. F. Laieruz in 1787, W. R. Broughton in 1797, and even I. F. Krusenstern in 1805 did not could pass through the Tatar Strait, because it did not exist at all: Sakhalin in those years was a peninsula.

In 1849-1855, during the period of the Amur expedition, sea waters had already blocked the bridge between the mainland and Sakhalin, and this allowed G.I. Nevelsky to convey to N.N. Muravyov: “Sakhalin is an island, entrance to the estuary and the Amur River is possible for seagoing vessels from the north and south. The age-old delusion has been positively dispelled, the truth has been revealed” (B.V. Struve. Memoirs of Siberia 1848-1854, St. Petersburg, 1889, p. 79).

And yet L.I. Sverlova apparently overestimates the real significance of ocean level fluctuations. Without a shadow of a doubt, she writes, for example, that in 1849-1855. this level was 10 m higher than the modern one. But where, in this case, are the marine sediments, terraces, abrasion areas and many other signs that inevitably accompany displacements of coastlines? The only evidence of a higher level of the Far Eastern seas in post-glacial times is a low terrace 1-3 m high, the remains of which have been found in many places. However, the time of its formation is several thousand years distant from our days.

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Sea of Okhotsk located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Asia and is separated from the ocean by the chain of the Kuril Islands and the Kamchatka Peninsula. From the south and west it is limited by the coast of the island of Hokkaido, the eastern coast of the island of Sakhalin and the coast of the Asian continent. The sea extends significantly from southwest to northeast within a spherical trapezoid with coordinates 43°43"–62°42" N. w. and 135°10"–164°45" E. d. The greatest length of the water area in this direction is 2463 km, and the width reaches 1,500 km. The surface area of the sea surface is 1,603 thousand km2, the length of the coastline is 10,460 km, and the total volume of sea water is 1,316 thousand km3. In my own way geographical location it refers to marginal seas mixed continental-marginal type. The Sea of Okhotsk is connected to the Pacific Ocean by numerous straits of the Kuril Island chain, and to the Sea of Japan - through the La Perouse Strait and through the Amur Estuary - by the Nevelsky and Tatar Straits. The average sea depth is 821 m, and the greatest is 3521 m (in the Kuril Basin).

The main morphological zones in the bottom topography are: the shelf (the mainland and island shoals of Sakhalin Island), the continental slope, on which individual underwater hills, depressions and islands are distinguished, and the deep-sea basin. The shelf zone (0–200 m) has a width of 180–250 km and occupies about 20% of the sea area. The wide and gentle continental slope (200–2000 m) in the central part of the basin occupies about 65%, and the deepest basin (more than 2500 m), located in the southern part of the sea, occupies 8% of the sea area. Within the area of the continental slope, several hills and depressions are distinguished, where the depths change sharply (the rise of the Academy of Sciences, the rise of the Institute of Oceanology and the Deryugin Basin). The bottom of the deep-sea Kuril Basin is a flat abyssal plain, and the Kuril ridge is a natural threshold that fences off the sea basin from the ocean.

The Sea of Okhotsk is connected to the Sea of Japan through the Amur Estuary, Nevelskogo in the north and La Perouse in the south, and the numerous Kuril Straits are connected to the Pacific Ocean. The chain of the Kuril Islands is separated from the island of Hokkaido by the Izmena Strait, and from the Kamchatka Peninsula by the First Kuril Strait. The straits connecting the Sea of Okhotsk with adjacent areas of the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean provide the possibility of water exchange between basins, which, in turn, have a significant impact on the distribution of hydrological characteristics. The Nevelskoy and La Perouse straits are relatively narrow and shallow, which is the reason for the relatively weak water exchange with the Sea of Japan. The straits of the Kuril island chain, which stretches for about 1200 km, on the contrary, are deeper, and their total width is 500 km. The deepest waters are the Bussol (2318 m) and Kruzenshtern (1920 m) straits.

The northwestern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk is practically devoid of large bays, while the northern coast is significantly indented. The Taui Bay juts into it, the shores of which are indented by bays and bays. The bay is separated from the Sea of Okhotsk by the Koni Peninsula.

The largest bay of the Sea of Okhotsk lies in its northeastern part, extending 315 km into the mainland. This is Shelikhov Bay with Gizhiginskaya and Penzhinskaya bays. The Gizhiginskaya and Penzhinskaya bays are separated by the elevated Taygonos Peninsula. In the southwestern part of Shelikhov Bay, north of the Pyagina Peninsula, there is a small Yamskaya Bay.
The western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula is leveled and practically devoid of bays.

The shores of the Kuril Islands are complex in their outline and form small bays. On the Sea of Okhotsk side, the largest bays are located near the island of Iturup, which are deep and have a very complexly dissected bottom.

Quite a lot of mostly small rivers flow into the Sea of Okhotsk, therefore, despite the significant volume of its waters, the continental flow is relatively small. It is approximately 600 km3 per year, with about 65% of the flow coming from the Amur River. Other relatively large rivers - Penzhina, Okhota, Uda, Bolshaya (in Kamchatka) - bring significantly less fresh water to the sea. The flow comes mainly in spring and early summer. At this time, its greatest influence is felt mainly in the coastal zone, near the mouths of large rivers.

Shores The Sea of Okhotsk in different areas belongs to different geomorphological types. For the most part, these are abrasive shores modified by the sea, and only on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island are there accumulative shores. The sea is mostly surrounded by high and steep shores. In the north and northwest, rocky ledges descend directly to the sea. Along the Sakhalin Bay the shores are low. The southeastern coast of Sakhalin is low, and the northeastern coast is low. The shores of the Kuril Islands are very steep. The northeastern coast of Hokkaido is predominantly low-lying. The coast of the southern part of Western Kamchatka has the same character, but the shores of its northern part are somewhat elevated.

According to the characteristics of composition and distribution bottom sediments Three main zones can be distinguished: the central zone, which is composed predominantly of diatomaceous silt, silty-clayey and partially clayey silts; zone of distribution of hemipelagic and pelagic clays in the western, eastern and northern parts of the Sea of Okhotsk; as well as a zone of distribution of heterogeneous sands, sandstones, gravels and silts - in the northeast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Coarse clastic material, which is the result of ice rafting, is ubiquitous.

The Sea of Okhotsk is located in the monsoon zone climate temperate latitudes. A significant part of the sea in the west extends deep into the mainland and lies relatively close to the cold pole of the Asian landmass, so the main source of cold for the Sea of Okhotsk is located to the west of it. The relatively high ridges of Kamchatka make it difficult for warm Pacific air to penetrate. Only in the southeast and south is the sea open to the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, from where a significant amount of heat enters it. However, the influence of cooling factors is stronger than warming ones, so the Sea of Okhotsk is generally cold.

In the cold part of the year (from October to April), the sea is affected by the Siberian Anticyclone and the Aleutian Low. The influence of the latter extends mainly to the southeastern part of the sea. This distribution of large-scale pressure systems causes strong, persistent northwestern and north winds, often reaching storm force. In winter, the wind speed is usually 10–11 m/s.

In the coldest month - January - the average air temperature in the north-west of the sea is –20...–25°С, in the central regions - –10…–15°С, and in the south-eastern part of the sea - –5 ...–6°С.

In autumn-winter, cyclones are predominantly of continental origin. They bring with them increased wind, sometimes a decrease in air temperature, but the weather remains clear and dry, as continental air arrives from the cooled mainland. In March - April, a restructuring of large-scale pressure fields occurs, the Siberian anticyclone is destroyed, and the Hawaiian maximum intensifies. As a result, during the warm season (from May to October), the Sea of Okhotsk is influenced by the Hawaiian High and the low pressure area located over Eastern Siberia. At the same time, weak south-easterly winds prevail over the sea. Their speed usually does not exceed 6–7 m/s. These winds are most common in June and July, although stronger northwest and northerly winds are sometimes observed during these months. In general, the Pacific (summer) monsoon is weaker than the Asian (winter) monsoon, since in the warm season the horizontal pressure gradients are smoothed out.
In summer, the average monthly air temperature in August decreases from the southwest to the northeast (from 18°C to 10–10.5°C).

In the warm season, tropical cyclones - typhoons - quite often pass over the southern part of the sea. They are associated with increased winds to storm force, which can last up to 5–8 days. The predominance of south-eastern winds in the spring-summer season leads to significant cloudiness, precipitation, and fog.
Monsoon winds and stronger winter cooling of the western part of the Sea of Okhotsk compared to the eastern are important climatic features of this sea.

Geographical location, large length along the meridian, monsoon wind changes and good connection between the sea and the Pacific Ocean through the Kuril Straits are the main natural factors that most significantly influence the formation hydrological conditions Sea of Okhotsk.

The flow of surface Pacific waters into the Sea of Okhotsk occurs mainly through the northern straits, in particular through the First Kuril Strait.

In the upper layers of the southern part of the Kuril ridge, the flow of Sea of Okhotsk waters predominates, and in the upper layers of the northern part of the ridge, the influx of Pacific waters occurs. In the deep layers, the influx of Pacific waters predominates.

The influx of Pacific waters significantly affects the distribution of temperature, salinity, the formation of the structure and general circulation of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk.

The following water masses are distinguished in the Sea of Okhotsk:

– surface water mass that has spring, summer and autumn modifications. It is a thin heated layer 15–30 m thick, which limits the upper maximum of stability, mainly determined by temperature;
– the Sea of Okhotsk water mass is formed in winter from surface water and in spring, summer and autumn appears in the form of a cold intermediate layer lying between horizons of 40–150 m. This water mass is characterized by a fairly uniform salinity (31–32‰) and varying temperatures;
– the intermediate water mass is formed mainly due to the descent of water along underwater slopes, within the sea, located from 100–150 to 400–700 m, and is characterized by a temperature of 1.5 ° C and a salinity of 33.7‰. This body of water is distributed almost everywhere;
– the deep Pacific water mass is the water of the lower part of the warm layer of the Pacific Ocean, entering the Sea of Okhotsk at horizons below 800–1000 m. This water mass is located at horizons of 600–1350 m, has a temperature of 2.3 ° C and a salinity of 34.3 ‰.

The water mass of the southern basin is of Pacific origin and represents deep water of the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean near the 2300 m horizon. This water mass fills the basin from the 1350 m horizon to the bottom and is characterized by a temperature of 1.85 ° C and a salinity of 34.7‰, which change only slightly with depth.

Water temperature on the surface of the sea it decreases from south to north. In winter, almost everywhere the surface layers are cooled to a freezing temperature of –1.5...–1.8°C. Only in the southeastern part of the sea does it remain around 0°C, and near the northern Kuril Straits, under the influence of Pacific waters, the water temperature reaches 1–2°C.
Spring warming at the beginning of the season mainly leads to the melting of ice, only towards the end of it does the water temperature begin to rise.

In summer, the distribution of water temperature on the sea surface is quite varied. In August, the warmest waters (up to 18–19°C) are those adjacent to the island of Hokkaido. In the central regions of the sea, the water temperature is 11–12°C. The coldest surface waters are observed off the island of Jonah, off Cape Pyagin and near the Krusenstern Strait. In these areas, the water temperature is between 6–7°C. The formation of local centers of increased and decreased water temperatures on the surface is mainly associated with the redistribution of heat by currents.

The vertical distribution of water temperature varies from season to season and from place to place. In the cold season, temperature changes with depth are less complex and varied than in warm seasons.

In winter, in the northern and central regions of the sea, water cooling extends to horizons of 500–600 m. The water temperature is relatively uniform and varies from –1.5...–1.7°С on the surface to –0.25°С at horizons of 500– 600 m, deeper it rises to 1–0°С, in the southern part of the sea and near the Kuril Straits the water temperature from 2.5–3°С on the surface decreases to 1–1.4°С at horizons of 300–400 m and further gradually increases to 1.9–2.4°C in the bottom layer.

In summer, surface waters are heated to a temperature of 10–12°C. In the subsurface layers, the water temperature is slightly lower than on the surface. A sharp drop in temperature to –1...–1.2°С is observed between horizons of 50–75 m; deeper, to horizons of 150–200 m, the temperature quickly rises to 0.5–1°С, and then it rises more smoothly , and at horizons of 200–250 m is equal to 1.5–2°С. Further, the water temperature remains almost unchanged until the bottom. In the southern and southeastern parts of the sea, along the Kuril Islands, the water temperature from 10–14°С on the surface drops to 3–8°С at a horizon of 25 m, then to 1.6–2.4°С at a horizon of 100 m and up to 1.4–2°С at the bottom. The vertical temperature distribution in summer is characterized by a cold intermediate layer. In the northern and central regions of the sea the temperature is negative, and only near the Kuril Straits it has positive values. In different areas of the sea, the depth of the cold intermediate layer is different and varies from year to year.

Distribution salinity in the Sea of Okhotsk changes relatively little between seasons. Salinity increases in the eastern part, which is under the influence of Pacific waters, and decreases in the western part, desalinated by continental runoff. In the western part, the surface salinity is 28–31‰, and in the eastern part it is 31–32‰ and more (up to 33‰ near the Kuril ridge).

In the northwestern part of the sea, due to desalination, the salinity on the surface is 25‰ or less, and the thickness of the desalinated layer is about 30–40 m.
Salinity increases with depth in the Sea of Okhotsk. At horizons of 300–400 m in the western part of the sea, salinity is 33.5‰, and in the eastern part it is about 33.8‰. At a horizon of 100 m, salinity is 34‰ and then towards the bottom it increases slightly, by only 0.5–0.6‰.

In individual bays and straits, the value of salinity and its stratification may differ significantly from the waters of the open sea, depending on local conditions.

In accordance with temperature and salinity, denser waters are observed in winter in the northern and central areas of the sea, covered with ice. The density is somewhat lower in the relatively warm Kuril region. In summer, the density of water decreases, its lowest values are confined to zones of influence of coastal runoff, and the highest are observed in areas of distribution of Pacific waters. In winter, it rises slightly from the surface to the bottom. In summer, its distribution depends on temperature in the upper layers, and on salinity in the middle and lower layers. In summer, a noticeable vertical density stratification of waters is created; the density increases especially noticeably at horizons of 25–50 m, which is associated with warming of waters in open areas and desalination near the coast.

Intense ice formation over most of the sea stimulates enhanced thermohaline winter vertical circulation. At depths of up to 250–300 m, it spreads to the bottom, and below it is prevented by the maximum stability that exists here. In areas with rugged bottom topography, the spread of density mixing into the lower horizons is facilitated by the sliding of water along the slopes.

Under the influence of winds and the influx of water through the Kuril Straits, the characteristic features of a system of non-periodic currents Sea of Okhotsk. The main one is a cyclonic system of currents, covering almost the entire sea. It is caused by the predominance of cyclonic atmospheric circulation over the sea and the adjacent part of the Pacific Ocean. In addition, stable anticyclonic gyres can be traced in the sea.
Strong currents move around the sea along the coastline counterclockwise: the warm Kamchatka Current, the stable East Sakhalin Current and the rather strong Soya Current.
And finally, another feature of the circulation of the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk is two-way stable currents in most of the Kuril Straits.

Currents on the surface of the Sea of Okhotsk are most intense off the western coast of Kamchatka (11–20 cm/s), in the Sakhalin Bay (30–45 cm/s), in the area of the Kuril Straits (15–40 cm/s), over the Kuril Basin (11 –20 cm/s) and during the Soya River (up to 50–90 cm/s).

In the Sea of Okhotsk, various types of periodic tidal currents: semi-diurnal, diurnal and mixed with a predominance of semi-diurnal or diurnal components. Tidal current velocities range from a few centimeters to 4 m/s. Far from the coast, current speeds are low - 5–10 cm/s. In straits, bays and off the coast, their speeds increase significantly. For example, in the Kuril Straits, current speeds reach 2–4 m/s.

In general, tidal level fluctuations in the Sea of Okhotsk are very significant and have a significant impact on its hydrological regime, especially in the coastal zone.
In addition to tidal fluctuations, surge level fluctuations are also well developed here. They occur mainly when deep cyclones pass over the sea. Surge increases in level reach 1.5–2 m. The largest surges are noted on the coast of Kamchatka and in Terpeniya Bay.

Significant size and great depths Sea of Okhotsk, frequent and strong winds above it cause the development of large waves here. The sea is especially rough in the fall, and in some areas in the winter. These seasons account for 55–70% of storm waves, including those with wave heights of 4–6 m, and the highest wave heights reach 10–11 m. The most turbulent are the southern and southeastern regions of the sea, where the average frequency of storm waves is 35 –40%, and in the northwestern part it decreases to 25–30%.

In normal years, the southern border of a relatively stable ice cover bends to the north and runs from the La Perouse Strait to Cape Lopatka.
The extreme southern part of the sea never freezes. However, thanks to the winds, significant masses of ice are carried into it from the north, often accumulating near the Kuril Islands.

Ice cover in the Sea of Okhotsk lasts for 6–7 months. Floating ice covers more than 75% of the sea surface. The compact ice of the northern part of the sea poses serious obstacles to navigation even for icebreakers. The total duration of the ice period in the northern part of the sea reaches 280 days a year. Some of the ice from the Sea of Okhotsk is carried into the ocean, where it almost immediately collapses and melts.

Forecast resources hydrocarbons The Sea of Okhotsk is estimated at 6.56 billion tons of oil equivalent, proven reserves are over 4 billion tons. The largest fields are on the shelves (along the coast of Sakhalin Island, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Khabarovsk Territory and Magadan region). The deposits of Sakhalin Island are the most studied. Exploration work on the island's shelf began in the 70s. XX century, by the end of the 90s, seven large fields (6 oil and gas condensate and 1 gas condensate) and a small gas field in the Tatar Strait were discovered on the shelf of North-Eastern Sakhalin. Total gas reserves on the Sakhalin shelf are estimated at 3.5 trillion m3.

Vegetation and fauna are very diverse. The sea ranks first in the world in terms of commercial crab reserves. Salmon fish are of great value: chum salmon, pink salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon - a source of red caviar. Intensive fishing is carried out for herring, pollock, flounder, cod, navaga, capelin, etc. The sea is inhabited by whales, seals, sea lions, and fur seals. Fishing for mollusks and sea urchins is becoming increasingly interesting. Various algae are ubiquitous in the littoral zone.
Due to the poor development of the surrounding territories, maritime transport has become of primary importance. Important sea routes lead to Korsakov on Sakhalin Island, Magadan, Okhotsk and other settlements.

The greatest anthropogenic load The areas of Tauyskaya Bay in the northern part of the sea and the shelf areas of Sakhalin Island are exposed. About 23 tons of petroleum products enter the northern part of the sea annually, with 70–80% coming from river runoff. Pollutants enter Tauyskaya Bay from coastal industrial and municipal facilities, and Magadan wastewater enters the coastal zone practically without treatment.

The shelf zone of Sakhalin Island is polluted by coal, oil and gas production enterprises, pulp and paper mills, fishing and processing vessels and enterprises, and wastewater from municipal facilities. The annual supply of petroleum products to the southwestern part of the sea is estimated at approximately 1.1 thousand tons, with 75–85% from river runoff.
Petrocarbons enter the Sakhalin Bay mainly with the runoff of the Amur River, so their maximum concentrations are usually observed in the central and western parts of the bay along the axis of the incoming Amur waters.

The eastern part of the sea - the shelf of the Kamchatka Peninsula - is polluted by river runoff, with which the bulk of petroleum carbons enter the marine environment. Due to the reduction in work at fish canning enterprises on the peninsula since 1991, there has been a decrease in the volume of wastewater discharged into the coastal zone of the sea.

The northern part of the sea - Shelikhov Bay, Tauyskaya and Penzhinskaya bays - is the most polluted area of the sea with the average content of petroleum carbons in water 1–5 times higher than the permissible concentration limit. This is determined not only by the anthropogenic load on the water area, but also by low average annual water temperatures and, consequently, the low ability of the ecosystem to self-purify. The highest level of pollution in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk was noted in the period from 1989 to 1991.

The southern part of the sea - the La Perouse Strait and Aniva Bay - are subject to intense oil pollution in the spring and summer by commercial and fishing fleets. On average, the content of petroleum carbons in the La Perouse Strait does not exceed the permissible concentration limit. Aniva Bay is slightly more polluted. The highest level of pollution in this area was observed near the port of Korsakov, once again confirming that the port is a source of intense pollution of the marine environment.
Pollution of the coastal zone of the sea along the north-eastern part of Sakhalin Island is mainly associated with the exploration and production of oil and gas on the shelf of the island and until the end of the 80s of the last century did not exceed the maximum permissible concentration.

Map of the Sea of Okhotsk - water temperature of the Sea of Okhotsk

The water temperature at the sea surface decreases from south to north. In winter, almost everywhere the surface layers are cooled to a freezing temperature of –1.5...–1.8°C. Only in the southeastern part of the sea does it remain around 0°C, and near the northern Kuril Straits, under the influence of Pacific waters, the water temperature reaches 1–2°C.
Spring warming at the beginning of the season mainly leads to the melting of ice, only towards the end of it does the water temperature begin to rise.

The sea temperature there is negative, and only near the Kuril Straits does it have positive values. In different areas of the sea, the depth of the cold intermediate layer is different and varies from year to year.

What rivers flow into

Relief of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk