Providensky District
Encyclopedia
Providensky District is an administrative and municipal district (raion
), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
, Russia
. It is located in the southern half of the Chukchi Peninsula
with a northwest extension reaching almost to Kolyuchinskaya Bay
on the Arctic. It borders with Chukotsky District
in the north, the Bering Sea
in the east and south, and with Iultinsky District
in the west. The area of the district is 26800 square kilometres (10,347.5 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality (an urban-type settlement
) of Provideniya
. District's population: 4,234 (2010 est.); Population of Provideniya accounts for 58.4% of the district's population.
s.
age, when hunter-gatherer
s lived in the area. Over the next few millennia, the hunters-gatherers split into two groups, one who stayed on the tundra and a second who looked to the sea for food.
Gradually, those who settled by the shore began to develop their own individual culture, including the construction of their homes and other buildings using whale bones as support, structures which would later develop into the Yaranga
. Excavations at many sites along the coast of the district, including present-day villages such as Enmelen
, Nunlingran
, Yanrakynnot, and Sireniki indicate an abundance of food as well as indicating a considerable degree of continuity in terms of indigenous settlement. As a result, the southeastern part of the coast is home to a large number of Beringian monuments and archaeological sites, with the area around Arakamchechen Island
, Yttygran Island
, and the Senyavin Straits have been given protected area status as part of Chukotka part of the Beringia Park. Providensky District also includes Yttygran Island
, which features an area known as "Whale Bone Alley", where the jaw bones and ribs of Bowhead whales are arranged on the beach. There is also a large, permanent polynya
near Sireniki.
of Anadyrsk
, and began to explore Chukotka. One expedition, led by Dezhnyov's successor Kurbat Ivanov
, resulted in the discovery of Provideniya Bay, although the bay did not receive this name until it was "re-discovered" by Captain Thomas E. L. Moore in 1848. Vitus Bering
discovered Preobrazheniye Bay on the first Kamchatka expedition in 1728.
In the 18th century, further inland exploration was performed by Joseph Billings
under orders from Catherine the Great to explore her new land of Chukotka and to negotiate trade between Russians and Chukchi, something the Chukchi were pleased to do, since Anadyrsk, which had previously been the center for trade between the Russians and the local indigenous peoples, had closed and the Chukchi had need of Russian goods.
Further exploration took place during the 19th century, when Fyodor Litke, the Arctic explorer, discovered and mapped the Senyavin Strait, the body of water that separates Arakamchechen Island
, on which the village of Yanrakinnot
is found, from the mainland.
—the largest settlement east of Anadyr
—was established in the 1930s as the port to serve the eastern end of the Northern Sea Route
. The port is found in Komsomolskaya Bay (named after the Soviet Komsomol
youth organization), a branch of the much larger Provideniya Bay, providing a suitable deep water harbor for Russian ships, close to the southern limits of the winter ice fields.
In its present form, the district was founded on April 25, 1957 by splitting its territory from the territory of Chukotsky District.
as well as a "Klegran"—a building used only by the men of the village. The area is still a popular place with local people from Provideniya.
campsite located where the Chelkun and Ioniveyem River
s meet. It was first excavated in 1979. The settlers of Chelkun were part of the founders of Novoye Chaplino
.
and inhabitants of this village also became the founder members of Novoye Chaplino.
, is linked with Whale Bone Alley on Yttygran Island
, and consists of a series of whale bone columns pointing in the direction of Whale Bone Alley, two burial mounds and a ring of boulders.
, whale bone structures for drying boats and storage facilities. The village was populated for about eight centuries from the 12th to the mid-20th century, although there is evidence to suggest that different parts of the settlement were inhabited at different times in its history.
near Cape Chaplino
consisting of the remains of a number of Yaranga and a fortified settlement about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away at Guygungu.
workshop site that was excavated in 1993.
days, when local people would have had to man the station to keep a look out for invading armies. Similar structures are found along the coast between this point and Enurmino
.
baths here have the power to help heal wounds, cure skin ailments, and lower back pain.
, butchery, and storage of whale meat
—an idea supported by the etymology of the Yupik name for Yttygran: Sikliuk, from siklyugak, meaning "meat pit" in Yupik.
The site is monumental by Chukotkan standards when compared with other early settlements such as Uelen
, Ekven, Sireniki, and Kivak, and consists of several lines of whale skulls and jaw bones along the shoreline, several large pits behind them and a number of meat pits surrounding a central sanctuary and stone path around one third of the way along the site traveling from south to north.
The site extends some 1800 feet (548.6 m) along the northern coast of Yttygran Island and lies on a major whale migration path. It is thought that the site was chosen partly because of the ease by which local people could kill and butcher a whale and also as a place where people could come together and trade on neutral ground in a forerunner to the fairs held during the period of Cossack exploration of the region.
There is no evidence of any monumental ritual center like this elsewhere in any other part of Eskimo lands, though there are sites along the Chukotkan coast where the whale skull motifs can be seen at sites such as Nykhsirak.
, the isolation of this area, even by Chukotkan standards, means that there is a significantly higher percentage of indigenous inhabitants than in many of the other districts in the autonomous okrug, with the Chukchi
the dominant indigenous group in the District. About 55% of the population are reported as being of specifically Chukchi
origin.
, where Chukotavia
provide flights to Anadyr
. The airport has played a significant role in developing relations with the United States
since the collapse of the Soviet Union
in the late 1980s, with Alaska Air flights to Provideniya regularly occurring throughout the 1990s.
and beluga whales) and fishing (for sockeye salmon
, chum
, Arctic char
, and Arctic cod
) as well as associated crafts. Reindeer
herding is also a major source of income, even though the total number of reindeer in the district, 1,202, is substantially smaller than in some of the larger districts in the autonomous okrug. In order to encourage the continuation of this type of economy, there is a training college for reindeer herders in Provideniya. Future plans for the district include continuing to grow reindeer farming and related enterprises as well as developing seal
fisheries.
Provideniya is described as the largest Russian port in the Western Hemisphere, (although only the easternmost part of Chukotka is in the Western Hemisphere). The importance of Provideniya as a port decreased in the 1990s following a decrease of traffic on the North-East Passage
, although it is still used as the arrival point for American tourists arriving from Nome
.
Source:
*Administrative centers are shown in bold
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is located in the southern half of the Chukchi Peninsula
Chukchi Peninsula
The Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula , at about 66° N 172° W, is the northeastern extremity of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village of Uelen. It is bordered by the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the...
with a northwest extension reaching almost to Kolyuchinskaya Bay
Kolyuchinskaya Bay
Kolyuchinskaya Bay is a large bay in the Chukchi Sea on the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. To the west is Cape Vankarem and to the east Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon and Cape Serdtse-Kamen. The length of the bay is 100 km. Its mouth is only 2.8 km because of the Serykh Gusey...
on the Arctic. It borders with Chukotsky District
Chukotsky District
Chukotsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the easternmost district of the autonomous okrug and the closest part of Russia to the United States. It borders with the Chukchi Sea in the north, the Bering Sea in the...
in the north, the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
in the east and south, and with Iultinsky District
Iultinsky District
Iultinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located on the eastern shore of the autonomous okrug and borders with the Chukchi Sea in the north, Providensky District in the east, Gulf of Anadyr in the southeast, and...
in the west. The area of the district is 26800 square kilometres (10,347.5 sq mi). Its administrative center is the urban locality (an urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement ; , selyshche mis'koho typu ) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union...
) of Provideniya
Provideniya
Provideniya , is an urban-type settlement situated on Komsomolskaya Bay, part of Provideniya Bay in the northeastern part of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located across the Bering Strait from Alaska, and is very close to the International Date Line. The town is served by Provideniya...
. District's population: 4,234 (2010 est.); Population of Provideniya accounts for 58.4% of the district's population.
Geography
The district is a mountainous region, with most of the settlements found on the coast and with wetlands found between mountain ranges and close to the shore near inlets and brackish lagoons. The southern section of the coastline is approximately 850 kilometres (528.2 mi). About a quarter of this consists of beaches and gravel spits with the remainder consisting of rugged, rocky coastline containing numerous fjordFjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
s.
Prehistory
The history of human existence in what would become Providensky District can be traced back to the PaleolithicPaleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
age, when hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s lived in the area. Over the next few millennia, the hunters-gatherers split into two groups, one who stayed on the tundra and a second who looked to the sea for food.
Gradually, those who settled by the shore began to develop their own individual culture, including the construction of their homes and other buildings using whale bones as support, structures which would later develop into the Yaranga
Yaranga
A Yaranga is a tent-like traditional mobile home of some nomadic Northern indigenous peoples of Russia, such as Chukchi and Siberian Yupik.A Yaranga is a cone-shaped or rounded reindeer-hide tent. It is built of a light wooden frame covered with reindeer skins or canvas sewn together.The word...
. Excavations at many sites along the coast of the district, including present-day villages such as Enmelen
Enmelen
Enmelen is a village in Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population as of 2006: 390. Municipally, Enmelen is subordinated to Chukotsky Municipal District and incorporated as Enmelen Rural Settlement.The village of Enmelen Enmelen ...
, Nunlingran
Nunlingran
Nunlingran is a village in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population as of 2006: 370...
, Yanrakynnot, and Sireniki indicate an abundance of food as well as indicating a considerable degree of continuity in terms of indigenous settlement. As a result, the southeastern part of the coast is home to a large number of Beringian monuments and archaeological sites, with the area around Arakamchechen Island
Arakamchechen Island
Arakamchechen Island is an island in the Bering Sea. It lies north of Cape Chaplino, close to the coast of Chukotka. It is separated from the continental shore by an 8 km wide sound. This island is inhabited; the main settlement is Yanrakynnot village....
, Yttygran Island
Yttygran Island
Yttygran Island is an island in the Bering Sea 24 km northwest of Cape Chaplino, close to the coast of Chukotka. It is located 3.8 km to the south of Arakamchechen Island and is separated from the continental shore by a sound that is only 1.5 km in its narrowest point.Yttigran is...
, and the Senyavin Straits have been given protected area status as part of Chukotka part of the Beringia Park. Providensky District also includes Yttygran Island
Yttygran Island
Yttygran Island is an island in the Bering Sea 24 km northwest of Cape Chaplino, close to the coast of Chukotka. It is located 3.8 km to the south of Arakamchechen Island and is separated from the continental shore by a sound that is only 1.5 km in its narrowest point.Yttigran is...
, which features an area known as "Whale Bone Alley", where the jaw bones and ribs of Bowhead whales are arranged on the beach. There is also a large, permanent polynya
Polynya
A polynya or polynia is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as geographical term for an area of unfrozen sea within the ice pack. It is a loanword from , , which means a natural ice hole, and was adopted in the 19th century by polar explorers to describe navigable...
near Sireniki.
17th–19th centuries
In the 17th century, Semyon Dezhnyov and his Cossacks established the ostrogOstrog (fortress)
Ostrog was a Russian term for a small fort, typically wooden and often non-permanently manned. Ostrogs were encircled by 4-6 metres high palisade walls made from sharpened trunks. The name derives from the Russian word строгать , "to shave the wood". Ostrogs were smaller and exclusively military...
of Anadyrsk
Anadyrsk
thumb|Anadyrsk was on the east-west part of the Anadyr River at the point where it swings northAnadyrsk was an important Russian ostrog in far northeastern Siberia from 1649 to 1764...
, and began to explore Chukotka. One expedition, led by Dezhnyov's successor Kurbat Ivanov
Kurbat Ivanov
Kurbat Afanasyevich Ivanov was among the greatest Cossack explorers of Siberia. He was the first Russian to discover Lake Baikal, and to create the first map of the Russian Far East...
, resulted in the discovery of Provideniya Bay, although the bay did not receive this name until it was "re-discovered" by Captain Thomas E. L. Moore in 1848. Vitus Bering
Vitus Bering
Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correNavy]], a captain-komandor known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. He is noted for being the first European to discover Alaska and its Aleutian Islands...
discovered Preobrazheniye Bay on the first Kamchatka expedition in 1728.
In the 18th century, further inland exploration was performed by Joseph Billings
Joseph Billings
Joseph Billings was an English navigator and explorer who spent the most significant part of his life in Russian service.In 1785, the Russian government of Catherine II commissioned a new expedition in search for the Northeast Passage, led by English officer Joseph Billings, who had previously...
under orders from Catherine the Great to explore her new land of Chukotka and to negotiate trade between Russians and Chukchi, something the Chukchi were pleased to do, since Anadyrsk, which had previously been the center for trade between the Russians and the local indigenous peoples, had closed and the Chukchi had need of Russian goods.
Further exploration took place during the 19th century, when Fyodor Litke, the Arctic explorer, discovered and mapped the Senyavin Strait, the body of water that separates Arakamchechen Island
Arakamchechen Island
Arakamchechen Island is an island in the Bering Sea. It lies north of Cape Chaplino, close to the coast of Chukotka. It is separated from the continental shore by an 8 km wide sound. This island is inhabited; the main settlement is Yanrakynnot village....
, on which the village of Yanrakinnot
Yanrakinnot
Yanrakynnot is a village in Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population as of 2008 is 330...
is found, from the mainland.
20th century
Providenskaya Volost was founded in 1923 as a part of then Chukotsky Uyezd. The administrative center ProvideniyaProvideniya
Provideniya , is an urban-type settlement situated on Komsomolskaya Bay, part of Provideniya Bay in the northeastern part of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located across the Bering Strait from Alaska, and is very close to the International Date Line. The town is served by Provideniya...
—the largest settlement east of Anadyr
Anadyr (town)
Anadyr is a port town and the administrative centre of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. It is at the mouth of the Anadyr River, on the tip of the southern promontory that sticks out into Anadyrskiy Liman...
—was established in the 1930s as the port to serve the eastern end of the Northern Sea Route
Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
. The port is found in Komsomolskaya Bay (named after the Soviet Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
youth organization), a branch of the much larger Provideniya Bay, providing a suitable deep water harbor for Russian ships, close to the southern limits of the winter ice fields.
In its present form, the district was founded on April 25, 1957 by splitting its territory from the territory of Chukotsky District.
Historical sites in Providensky District
Although there is a large number of ancient settlements and sites spread across the whole of Chukotka, there is a particularly high number of such sites in Providensky District, which range from stone-age sites, to sites originally established in the middle ages, which continued to be populated into the 20th century.Avan
About an hour from Provideniya, this site is a Yupik village first established in the 13th century and occupied through the 20th century. The site contains a number of YarangaYaranga
A Yaranga is a tent-like traditional mobile home of some nomadic Northern indigenous peoples of Russia, such as Chukchi and Siberian Yupik.A Yaranga is a cone-shaped or rounded reindeer-hide tent. It is built of a light wooden frame covered with reindeer skins or canvas sewn together.The word...
as well as a "Klegran"—a building used only by the men of the village. The area is still a popular place with local people from Provideniya.
Chelkun
This site is a neolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
campsite located where the Chelkun and Ioniveyem River
Ioniveyem River
The Ioniveyem River is a stream located in the Chukotka Peninsula in Far East Siberia. It flows northwards into the Kolyuchinskaya Bay, Chukchi Sea....
s meet. It was first excavated in 1979. The settlers of Chelkun were part of the founders of Novoye Chaplino
Novoye Chaplino
Novoye Chaplino is a village in Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population: 2008: about 330,, 2003: 422, more than 90% of which were Chukchi or Siberian Yupik. Municipally, Novoye Chaplino is subordinated to Providensky Municipal...
.
Kivak
This is an ancient settlement approximately 2000 years old and founded during the time of the Bering Sea culture. The settlement name literally means "green glade" in ChukchiChukchi language
The Chukchi language is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug...
and inhabitants of this village also became the founder members of Novoye Chaplino.
Kyngynin
This site on Arakamchechen IslandArakamchechen Island
Arakamchechen Island is an island in the Bering Sea. It lies north of Cape Chaplino, close to the coast of Chukotka. It is separated from the continental shore by an 8 km wide sound. This island is inhabited; the main settlement is Yanrakynnot village....
, is linked with Whale Bone Alley on Yttygran Island
Yttygran Island
Yttygran Island is an island in the Bering Sea 24 km northwest of Cape Chaplino, close to the coast of Chukotka. It is located 3.8 km to the south of Arakamchechen Island and is separated from the continental shore by a sound that is only 1.5 km in its narrowest point.Yttigran is...
, and consists of a series of whale bone columns pointing in the direction of Whale Bone Alley, two burial mounds and a ring of boulders.
Masik
Masik is the site of what was once a very sizable village, even by modern-day Chukotkan standards, stretching over a mile in length and forming two large ovals in plan around two now dry lakes. The site also contains a very large number of well-preserved structures including homes, YarangaYaranga
A Yaranga is a tent-like traditional mobile home of some nomadic Northern indigenous peoples of Russia, such as Chukchi and Siberian Yupik.A Yaranga is a cone-shaped or rounded reindeer-hide tent. It is built of a light wooden frame covered with reindeer skins or canvas sewn together.The word...
, whale bone structures for drying boats and storage facilities. The village was populated for about eight centuries from the 12th to the mid-20th century, although there is evidence to suggest that different parts of the settlement were inhabited at different times in its history.
Naivan
This is a fortified site from the mesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
near Cape Chaplino
Cape Chaplino
Cape Chaplino is a cape pointing eastward in the Bering Sea in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Federation.This headland is located in an area of narrow beach ridges and swales which form a roughly triangular lagoon....
consisting of the remains of a number of Yaranga and a fortified settlement about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away at Guygungu.
Puturak
The name is derived from the word putulyk, meaning "meandering" in Yupik, and the place is an early-HoloceneHolocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
workshop site that was excavated in 1993.
Rygnakhpak
Rygnakhpak is a curious fortified settlement consisting of cells created from large boulders on the upper slopes of Mount Rygnakhpak, an old volcano. In addition to the old cells, there is also a more modern structure, which is thought to date from the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
days, when local people would have had to man the station to keep a look out for invading armies. Similar structures are found along the coast between this point and Enurmino
Enurmino
Enurmino ) is a rural locality in Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located on the Chukchi Sea near Cape Serdtse-Kamen. The population of the village as of March 2003 was 297, of which 296 were indigenous peoples...
.
Ulkhum
Like Puturak, this is another early-Holocene site. Its name is derived from the Yupik word ulkhuk, meaning "hot springs". Ulkhum is a thermal spring site still used today by local people. Though it has fallen somewhat into disrepair, it is said that the radonRadon
Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium or thorium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days...
baths here have the power to help heal wounds, cure skin ailments, and lower back pain.
Unazik
Unazik is another of the villages that provided the first inhabitants of Novoye Chaplino. Its name is derived from the Yupik word for "bewhiskered". The village was inhabited until the mid-20th century prior to it being evacuated, and the buildings were pulled down in 1958-1960. Prior to the evacuation, Unazik was a large village, even by modern-day Chukotkan standards, with a population of around 500 and a reputation as an important local trading and whaling settlement.Whale Bone Alley
Situated on the northern shore of Yttygran island (from the Chukchi Etgyran, meaning "midway dwellings"), Whale Bone Alley consists of a large number of carefully arranged whale skulls, whale bones and stones, along with a considerable number of meat storage pits. It is thought that Whale Bone Alley was used as a central shrine by a number of different villages dotted along the eastern Chukotkan coast. It is thought that the site was used for initiation rituals and for sporting contests, although the local Yupik have a simpler explanation that the island was a collective center for the flensingFlensing
Flensing is the removing of the outer integument of whales. English whalemen called it "flenching", while American whalemen called it "cutting-in".-Open-boat:-Shore and Bay whaling:...
, butchery, and storage of whale meat
Whale meat
Whale meat is the flesh of whales used for consumption by humans or other animals. It is prepared in various ways, and is historically part of the diet and cuisine of various communities that live near an ocean, including those of Japan, Norway, Iceland, and the Arctic...
—an idea supported by the etymology of the Yupik name for Yttygran: Sikliuk, from siklyugak, meaning "meat pit" in Yupik.
The site is monumental by Chukotkan standards when compared with other early settlements such as Uelen
Uelen
Uelen is a rural locality in the Chukotsky District, just south of the Arctic Circle in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. Population: 776 in 2003, with 595 Chukchi and 72 Yupik. Located near Cape Dezhnev where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, it is the easternmost settlement...
, Ekven, Sireniki, and Kivak, and consists of several lines of whale skulls and jaw bones along the shoreline, several large pits behind them and a number of meat pits surrounding a central sanctuary and stone path around one third of the way along the site traveling from south to north.
The site extends some 1800 feet (548.6 m) along the northern coast of Yttygran Island and lies on a major whale migration path. It is thought that the site was chosen partly because of the ease by which local people could kill and butcher a whale and also as a place where people could come together and trade on neutral ground in a forerunner to the fairs held during the period of Cossack exploration of the region.
There is no evidence of any monumental ritual center like this elsewhere in any other part of Eskimo lands, though there are sites along the Chukotkan coast where the whale skull motifs can be seen at sites such as Nykhsirak.
Demographics
As with all Chukotkan districts, the majority of the population is to be found in the district's main urban center, in this case Provideniya, and the immediate surrounding area. As in Chukotsky DistrictChukotsky District
Chukotsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the easternmost district of the autonomous okrug and the closest part of Russia to the United States. It borders with the Chukchi Sea in the north, the Bering Sea in the...
, the isolation of this area, even by Chukotkan standards, means that there is a significantly higher percentage of indigenous inhabitants than in many of the other districts in the autonomous okrug, with the Chukchi
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
the dominant indigenous group in the District. About 55% of the population are reported as being of specifically Chukchi
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
origin.
Transport
Along with the port, the district is also served by Provideniya Bay AirportProvideniya Bay Airport
Provideniya Bay Airport is a small airport in Chukotka, Russia located 3 km southwest of Provideniya. It services primarily small transport aircraft. A concrete apron contains four parking spaces...
, where Chukotavia
Chukotavia
ChukotAVIA ) is an airline based in Anadyr, Russia. It operates passenger, cargo, and utility services. Its main base is Anadyr Ugolny Airport.-History:...
provide flights to Anadyr
Anadyr (town)
Anadyr is a port town and the administrative centre of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. It is at the mouth of the Anadyr River, on the tip of the southern promontory that sticks out into Anadyrskiy Liman...
. The airport has played a significant role in developing relations with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in the late 1980s, with Alaska Air flights to Provideniya regularly occurring throughout the 1990s.
Economy
Although the district has an urban center and port in Provideniya, the economy, thanks to the high indigenous population, is still centerd around traditional agriculture, marine hunting (for grayGray Whale
The gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about , a weight of , and lives 50–70 years. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were...
and beluga whales) and fishing (for sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...
, chum
Chum salmon
The chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is a Pacific salmon, and may also be known as dog salmon or Keta salmon, and is often marketed under the name Silverbrite salmon...
, Arctic char
Arctic char
Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...
, and Arctic cod
Arctic cod
The Arctic cod is an Arctic deepwater fish related to the true cod .-Names:The fish has several common names, including polar cod and Greenland cod...
) as well as associated crafts. Reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
herding is also a major source of income, even though the total number of reindeer in the district, 1,202, is substantially smaller than in some of the larger districts in the autonomous okrug. In order to encourage the continuation of this type of economy, there is a training college for reindeer herders in Provideniya. Future plans for the district include continuing to grow reindeer farming and related enterprises as well as developing seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
fisheries.
Provideniya is described as the largest Russian port in the Western Hemisphere, (although only the easternmost part of Chukotka is in the Western Hemisphere). The importance of Provideniya as a port decreased in the 1990s following a decrease of traffic on the North-East Passage
Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
, although it is still used as the arrival point for American tourists arriving from Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
.
Administrative divisions
Anadyrsky Administrative District has administrative jurisdiction over one urban-type settlement and five rural localities, consisting of all the settlements listed below in the "Municipal divisions" section.Municipal divisions
Anadyrsky Municipal District is divided into one urban settlement and three rural settlements.| Urban settlements | Inhabited localities in jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Provideniya |
|
| Rural settlements | Rural localities in jurisdiction* |
| Enmelen |
Enmelen Enmelen is a village in Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population as of 2006: 390. Municipally, Enmelen is subordinated to Chukotsky Municipal District and incorporated as Enmelen Rural Settlement.The village of Enmelen Enmelen ... |
| Nunlingran |
Nunlingran Nunlingran is a village in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population as of 2006: 370... |
| Yanrakinnot |
|
Source:
*Administrative centers are shown in bold
Sources
- Petit Fute, Chukotka