In the northeastern part of the Sea of Japan is the picturesque Posyet Bay. Geographically, it is the southern end of Peter the Great Bay. This place is known due to the interesting relief of the coastline: the entire bay is divided into picturesque bays and bays between them.
Discovery history
The story of the opening of Posyet Bay is rather unusual. It has been opened and mapped several times under various names.
The first time the bay was recorded in 1852 by an expedition on the French corvette "Caprice". Then the French put it on the map as D'Anville Bay, in honor of the famous cartographer.
Literally two years later, members of the expedition led by Vice Admiral E. V. Putyatin, who sailed on two ships, the frigate "Pallada" and the schooner "Vostok", described the bay in detail and again noted its coordinates. Then, in honor of one of the expedition members, Lieutenant Commander K. N. Posyet, the bay received his name.
A little more than a year has passed, and already the crew members of the Anglo-French ships again marked the bay on the map and called it Napoleon's Raid. Historians believe that this namethe bay was named after the French battleship Napoleon.
And a few years later, in 1862, Posyet Bay was again explored and again marked on the map. This was done by the scientists of the expedition led by lieutenant colonel of naval marshals V. M. Babkin.
Unusual beauty of small bays
The length of the bay is more than 1000 km2, and along its entire length the coastline consists of small, unusual bays. Each of them is original and unique.
The northern coast of the Posyet Bay is quite mountainous, several peninsulas cut right into the water: Novgorodsky, Krabbe and Gamova. They are connected to the mainland by narrow and low isthmuses. With the onset of winter, the water in this part of the bay is covered with ice. Closer to the south, the water does not freeze, only drifting ice floes sometimes come across.
In the west of the bay there are Expedition, Reid Pallada and Novgorodskaya bays. In terms of relief, Novgorod Bay is the most interesting, it is literally assembled from small capes and bays.
Novgorod Bay is quite shallow, the average depth is not more than 4-5 meters. Along its shores, especially near the western coast, algae grow in abundance. This attracts numerous shoals of fish here. Thanks to this, Novgorod Bay is considered one of the most popular fishing spots in the Posyet Bay.
In the very south of the bay there is a picturesque Kalevala bay. Due to its location, and also to the fact that it is part of the reserve, it has still retained its untouched beauty. Here areseveral large bird nests and seal rookeries that are absolutely not afraid of people.
In order to get into this bay, you need to get a special pass.
Protected shores of the bay
Quite a large part of the coast of Posyet Bay is part of the Far Eastern Marine Biosphere State Nature Reserve. The territory of the reserve covers almost the entire Peter the Great Bay, including the bays of Pumice, Kalevala and Sivuchya.
A reserve was created to preserve and increase the populations of many fish and shellfish. In particular, in the bays of Posyet Bay, some species of endangered mollusks are reproduced: giant oyster, trepang and scallops. More than 350 species of birds nest on the shores of the reserve. Their number is really huge. Moreover, several species of birds noted here are listed in the Red Book.
Visiting reserved places, even for scientific research, is possible only for a short time and with the special permission of the reserve management. However, this does not prevent some fishermen from fishing illegally here. That is why there are so many flooded seines at the bottom of Posyet Bay, the coordinates of which are unknown to anyone.
The southernmost port of Russia
On the coast of the Novgorod Bay is the port village of Posyet, which is the southernmost port of Russia. Nowadays, it is a very small village, the number of inhabitants of which does not exceed 1700 people. Almost the entire adult population of the village works in the local shopping mall.port.
Slightly surprising is the regional museum located on one of the central streets, which exhibits exhibits found on the territory of Primorsky Krai. Despite the fact that the museum is located in a small pre-revolutionary building, its exposition is impressive.
Through the efforts of local enthusiasts, here you can see household items of an ancient person, medieval tools, objects of the Jurchen era and wartime finds.
The birth of tourism
Despite the fact that autumn and winter in these parts are quite severe, this does not deter curious travelers. And in the warm season, when the water in the bays warms up to + 24 ° С, and an abundance of mushrooms and berries appears in the forests, the bay becomes a busy place.
For the convenience of travelers, there are several relatively comfortable recreation centers here. Although the unique nature, the wonderful beauty of the bay and the opportunity to take stunning photos of Posyet Bay attracts more and more tourists every year.
