Neshkan
Encyclopedia
Neshkan is a rural locality (a selo) in Chukotsky District
of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
, Russia
. It is located on the shores of the Chukchi Sea
on a sandy spit that divides Neskyipilgyn Lagoon from the sea, close to Idlidlya Island
. The village is small, with the 2003 population of 704 inhabitants, 662 of them indigenous people.
led to the creation of the village. The village took its name from the Chukchi
word Naskuk, meaning "Seal's Head", so called because one of the mountains surrounding the village looks like a seal's head when viewed from the sea.
Neshkan has seen some benefit in recent years from the money that has been generated by the exploitation of the oil and gas present in the area, as a number of multi-story houses were built in the village in 2005.
However, the village still endures considerable economic isolation as a result of its geography. Only pensioners are paid in cash, while almost all other transactions are barter or coupons (which are often paid to state employees in the region in lieu of cash). What cash is available is spent on necessary supplies, which, due to the isolation of the village and the resulting difficulties in transporting food and other supplies, is often nearly double the price found elsewhere in the region.
to the village and the only other means of getting there is a four to five day off road journey.
was the site of the only working seismic station in the region and was over 700 km away. Prior to this, there had been a seismic station in Iultin
, but this was still over 200 km away and neither was close enough to any epicentre to draw out any trends.
In response to these earthquakes and the growing complaints from the inhabitants of Neshkan a permanent station was established in the village, which detected over 150 small quakes in little more than eighteen days, leading geophysicists to suggest that the quakes have been caused by a previously unknown fault extending across this part of Chukotka, a view strengthened by the linear pattern of the quakes and the presence of hot springs in places like Lorino.
The local toponymy
suggests a more longstanding association between the indigenous people, with many geographical objects having names which conjour images of earthquakes such as the mountains Elyulivoigyn, Ivuichin, and Eletkun, meaning "shivering", "moving", and "dancing" mountain respectively, as well as nearby lake names such as Einekuem, meaning "buzzing lake".
These earthquakes have been attributed to the newly-theorised Loloveem Fault, which runs from Cape Neshkan, where the village is situated, in a south-southwesterly direction through Neskynpilgyn Lagoon and Innuloon Lagoon.
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...
of 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 on the shores of the Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...
on a sandy spit that divides Neskyipilgyn Lagoon from the sea, close to Idlidlya Island
Idlidlya Island
Idlidlya Island is a small island in the Chukchi Sea. It is close to the coast, being only away from the shores of the Chukotka Peninsula in the area of the coastal landspits enclosing Neskynpil'gyn Lagoon.This island is only in length...
. The village is small, with the 2003 population of 704 inhabitants, 662 of them indigenous people.
History
Like many other villages in Chukotka, Neshkan was founded as a result of Soviet economics. In the 1950s, attempts to unify the itinerant reindeer herders of the area, consisting of the Nuteikvyn, Anayan, Tolgunen, and Vylkarney amongst others into a collective farmKolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
led to the creation of the village. The village took its name from the Chukchi
Chukchi language
The Chukchi language is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug...
word Naskuk, meaning "Seal's Head", so called because one of the mountains surrounding the village looks like a seal's head when viewed from the sea.
Neshkan has seen some benefit in recent years from the money that has been generated by the exploitation of the oil and gas present in the area, as a number of multi-story houses were built in the village in 2005.
Economy
Unlike such villages as Tavayvaam, which have suffered serious economic hardships since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when all the reindeer owned by the villagers were lost, leading to continuing high unemployment in the area, Neshkan's economy is still dominated by reindeer herding, with there being six separate herds maintained by the villagers, though this is also supplemented by fishing.However, the village still endures considerable economic isolation as a result of its geography. Only pensioners are paid in cash, while almost all other transactions are barter or coupons (which are often paid to state employees in the region in lieu of cash). What cash is available is spent on necessary supplies, which, due to the isolation of the village and the resulting difficulties in transporting food and other supplies, is often nearly double the price found elsewhere in the region.
Transport
Like almost all Chukotkan settlements, there is no direct link from the village to any other settlement by permanent road. There are weekly flights from LavrentiyaLavrentiya
Lavrentiya is a rural locality and the administrative centre of Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, situated on Lavrentiya Bay, close to the Bering Strait. Population: 1,333 ; Municipally, Lavrentiya is subordinated to Chukotsky Municipal District and incorporated as...
to the village and the only other means of getting there is a four to five day off road journey.
Earthquakes
Neshkan experienced a number of earthquakes throughout the 20th century, including several quakes during 1928 measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale and a number measuring between 5 and 6 throughout the second half of the century. At the time that these regular earthquakes began to affect the village, there was a lack of seismic stations in the okrug. In 2002, BilibinoBilibino
Bilibino is a town and gold-mining center in Bilibinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located at the confluence of the Karalve'em and the Bolshoy Keperve'em Rivers north-west of Anadyr. It is the second largest town in Chukotka...
was the site of the only working seismic station in the region and was over 700 km away. Prior to this, there had been a seismic station in Iultin
Iultin
Iul'tin is a small airport in Russia located 5 km northeast of Iul'tin. It consists of a small paved airstrip servicing a very remote mining town....
, but this was still over 200 km away and neither was close enough to any epicentre to draw out any trends.
In response to these earthquakes and the growing complaints from the inhabitants of Neshkan a permanent station was established in the village, which detected over 150 small quakes in little more than eighteen days, leading geophysicists to suggest that the quakes have been caused by a previously unknown fault extending across this part of Chukotka, a view strengthened by the linear pattern of the quakes and the presence of hot springs in places like Lorino.
The local toponymy
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
suggests a more longstanding association between the indigenous people, with many geographical objects having names which conjour images of earthquakes such as the mountains Elyulivoigyn, Ivuichin, and Eletkun, meaning "shivering", "moving", and "dancing" mountain respectively, as well as nearby lake names such as Einekuem, meaning "buzzing lake".
These earthquakes have been attributed to the newly-theorised Loloveem Fault, which runs from Cape Neshkan, where the village is situated, in a south-southwesterly direction through Neskynpilgyn Lagoon and Innuloon Lagoon.
Sources
- Petit Fute, Chukotka
- K. G. Mackey, et al. A seismic swarm near Neshkan, Chukotka, northeastern Russia and implications for the boundary of the Bering plate, Michigan State University.