Yugorsky Peninsula is located in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, between the Kara and Barents Seas. In addition to Yugorsky, the district also includes the Kanin Peninsula, the islands of Vaygach and Kolguev. It is separated from Vaygach Island by a strait called Yugorsky Shar. A brief description of the Yugra Peninsula - its relief, natural conditions, flora and fauna - will be presented in the article.
Discovery history
A. Schrenk, a Russian biologist and mineralogist, was the first scientist to reach the foot of the Pai-Khoi ridge. This happened in 1837. After that, in August, he crossed to Vaigach Island and explored it. Returning to the mainland, the scientist examined the southern slope of the ridge and came to the conclusion that Pai-Khoi is one of the branches of the Urals.
The first time the Yugra Peninsula was studied and described in more detail was in 1848 by an expedition led by E. Hoffmann. Travelers crossed the peninsula from the northern peak of the Polar Urals called Konstantinov Kamen to Yugorskyball. The expedition traveled on reindeer. During the study, valuable exhibits were collected: herbaria, rock samples, etc. Pai-Khoi was first described and mapped by these travelers, and it owes its name to them (the members of the Schrenk expedition called it Paiga).
The results of the expeditions were presented in the works of Schrenk "Journey to the North-East of European Russia" and Hoffmann (co-authored with M. Kovalsky) under the title "Northern Urals and the Pai-Khoi coastal ridge".
General description, relief, population
Coordinates of the peninsula are as follows: 69°28'N. latitude, 61°31' E e. The total area of the Yugra Peninsula is 18 thousand km2. In the far northeast of Europe, it is the peninsula with the largest area.
Most of its surface is an undulating plain, the height of which is within 200 meters above sea level. The Pai-Khoi ridge is located in the central part. Its highest point is 423 meters above sea level. This is a mountain called Moreiz, the highest point in the entire Nenets Autonomous Okrug. This ridge is quite ancient and already heavily destroyed, represented by isolated hills and elongated rocky ridges. Its eastern slope is more gentle than the western one, and forms terraces on the descent to the Kara Sea.
The ridge consists of limestone, sandstone, clay and siliceous shales. From the west and southwest it is adjacent to the Pechora lowland. From the southeast and east - with the slopes of the so-called Polar Urals, the northern part of the Ural Mountains. high- altitudethere is no zoning on the ridge.
On the slopes of the ridge, in its northwestern part, the largest river of the Yugra Peninsula, the Bolshoi Oyu, originates. Translated from the Nenets language, its name means "Great". It feeds on rain and snow and carries its waters to the Yugra Shar Strait. The river is 175 kilometers long.
On the territory of mountainous areas, humus-gravelly and gravelly soils prevail. In the tundra, on the plain, there are gley and gley-peaty soils. The soil, due to permafrost, is heavily waterlogged and prone to waterlogging.
The indigenous people of the peninsula are the Nenets, they are mainly engaged in reindeer herding. Russians also live on the peninsula. On the coast of the Kara Sea is the village of Amderma (577 people), named after the river of the same name. The average population density is 7 people per km2.
Climatic features
The Yugorsky Peninsula is located in the subarctic climate zone, part of the permafrost zone. Conditions are aggravated by long winds with snowstorms. The duration of the winter period is seven to eight months (up to 230 days on average). The average annual air temperature is negative, it is -7 … -9 degrees. The average air temperature in January is 20 degrees below zero, in July - 7-8 degrees Celsius. In some years, the temperature in winter can drop to -40, and in summer it can rise to +30.
Precipitation per year averages about 300 mm, in the area of the Pai-Khoi Ridge - about 700 mm. Their maximum number reaches in February, and the minimum number is observed in August-September.
Plant and animal life
On the territory of the peninsula there are lands of four reindeer farms. There is quite rich fodder grounds for deer here. Grasses, mosses, lichens, shrub forms - dwarf birches and willows (gray-blue and woolly) cover quite large areas in the summer months. Willow-meadow complexes are located in the floodplains of rivers and small streams. Vascular plants grow in separate groups on sandy surfaces, and sedge plants grow in swamps.
The fauna is represented by both tundra and forest species. This is almost the only place in the Russian north where you can meet brown and polar bears in different months. In addition to deer, arctic foxes, wolverines, white hares, lemmings, foxes, the animal world is represented by 160 species of birds. These are snowy owls, waders, partridges, geese, etc.
There are about 30 species of fish typical of the Russian North in the rivers - nelma, grayling, burbot, etc. The marine fauna is also diverse: more than 50 species of fish and marine mammals, including rare ones - gray seal, Atlantic walrus. Populations of herring, smelt, navaga are of commercial importance.
In closing
The article briefly described the Yugra Peninsula. Where it is located can be seen on the presented map. Despite the harsh climatic conditions, people who are in love with the beauty of the Russian north travel to these places and, like the discoverers of pastcenturies, compose their descriptions, and also share their impressions on various resources.
