Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
(Russian: Чуко́тский автоно́мный
о́круг, tr. Chukotsky avtonomny okrug, Chukot: Чукоткакэн автономныкэн округ, Chukotkaken
avtonomnyken okrug,) or Chukotka (Чуко́тка) is a federal subject (an autonomous okrug) of
Russia. It is geographically located in the Far East region of the country, and is administratively part
of the Far Eastern Federal District.
Chukotka is the 2nd-least-populated federal subject at 50,526 (2010) and the least densely populated. Anadyr is the largest town
and the capital of Chukotka, and
the easternmost settlement to have town status in Russia.
Chukotka is home to Elgygytgyn Lake, an impact crater lake and the Anyuyskiy, an extinct volcano. The village of Uelen
is the easternmost settlement in Russia and the closest substantial settlement
to the United States (Alaska). The autonomous okrug's surface area is 737,700 square
kilometers (284,800 sq mi), about 6% larger than the U.S. state of Texas,
and is the 7th-largest Russian federal subject. The region is the most
northeasterly region of Russia, and since the Alaska Purchase has been the only part of Russia lying
partially in the Western Hemisphere (east
of the 180th meridian). Chukotka shares a border with the Sakha Republic to the west, Magadan Oblast to the south-west, and Kamchatka Krai to the south.
Chukotka is primarily
populated by ethnic Russians, Chukchis, and other indigenous peoples. It
is the only autonomous okrug in Russia that is not included in, or subordinate
to, another federal subject, having separated from Magadan Oblast in 1993. Chukotka
is bordered in the north by the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, which are part of the Arctic Ocean; in the east by the Bering Strait and the Bering Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean; in the south by Kamchatka Krai and Magadan Oblast; and in the west by the Sakha Republic. The Chukchi Peninsula projects eastward forming the Bering Strait
between Siberia and the Alaska Peninsula, and
encloses the north side of the Gulf of Anadyr. The peninsula's easternmost point, Cape Dezhnev, is also the easternmost point of mainland
Russia. Ecologically, Chukotka can
be divided into three distinct areas: the northern Arctic desert, the central tundra, and the taiga in the south. About half of its area is
above the Arctic Circle. This area is very
mountainous, containing the Chukotsky Mountains
(highest point Iskhodnaya) and the Anadyr Highlands.
Chukotka's climate is influenced by its
location on the three neighboring seas: the Bering Sea, the East Siberian Sea,
and the Chukchi Sea. The weather is characterized by cold northerly winds that
can quickly change to wet southern winds. Cape Navarin has the highest number
of hurricanes and storms in Russia. The coastal areas are windy with little
precipitation, between 200 and 400 mm per year. Temperature varies from
−15 °C (5 °F) to −35 °C (−31 °F) in January and from
+5 °C (41 °F) to +14 °C (57 °F) in July. Growing season is
short, only 80 to 100 days per year.
