Spafaryev Islands
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
, is located in the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
. It lies 7 km east of the Antamlan Peninsula (also known as Khmitevsky), the southernmost peninsula enclosing the Taui Bay (Тауйская губа; Tauyskaya Guba)from its western side.
The Spafaryev Islands are composed of two islands joined by a narrow landspit, less than 750 m wide.
- The northern "island", Ryabokon Island (Ostrov Ryabokon'), is roughly triangular in shape. It is the larger of the two, being 9 km long and having a maximum width of 5 km.
- Spafaryev Island proper is located at the southern end. It is roughly shovel-shaped and is 7 km long and has a maximum width of 4.5 km.
The Spafaryev Islands were named after Major General knight Leontiy Spafaryev
Leontiy Spafaryev
Knight Leontiy Vassilievich Spafaryev was a Lieutenant General of the Imperial Russian Navy. Spafaryev was Director of the Lighthouse Administration and cartographer of the Russian Admiralty....
(1765–1847) of the Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
. Spafaryev was Director of the Lighthouse Administration and cartographer of the Russian Admiralty
Russian Admiralty
Admiralty Board was a supreme body for the administration of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Russian Empire, established by Peter the Great on December 12, 1718, and headquartered in the Admiralty building, Saint Petersburg....
.
Administratively Spafaryev Island belongs to the Magadan Oblast
Magadan Oblast
Magadan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia in the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Magadan....
of the Russian Federation.
- Talan Island (Остров Талан) 59°18′N 149°05′E, is a small roundish island, which lies 11 km to the north of Spafaryev's northern tip. It is 2 km across.