Sikhote-Alin
Encyclopedia
The Sikhote-Alin is a mountain range
in Primorsky
and Khabarovsk Krai
s, Russia
, extending about 900 km to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok
. The highest summits are Tordoki Yani
(2,077 m), Ko Mountain
(2,003 m) in Khabarovsk Krai
and Anik Mountain
(1,933 m) in Primorsky Krai
.
Sikhote-Alin comprises one of the most extraordinary temperate zones in the world. Species typical of northern taiga
(such as reindeer
and the Ussuri Brown Bear
) coexist with tropical species, the Amur leopard
, Siberian tiger, and the Asiatic Black Bear
. The region holds very few wolves, due to competition with tigers. The oldest tree in the region is a millennium-old Japanese yew.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Sikhote-Alin was extensively explored by Vladimir Arsenyev
(1872–1930) who described his adventures in several books, notably Dersu Uzala
(1923), which in 1975 was turned into an Oscar-winning film by Akira Kurosawa
. The large Sikhote-Alin and Lazo wildlife refuges were set up in 1935 to preserve the region's unusual wildlife.
On February 12, 1947, one of the largest meteor showers in recent history occurred in the Sikhote-Alin mountains. The Sikhote-Alin meteorite
exploded in the atmosphere as it fell, raining many tons of metal on an elliptical region about 1.3 km² in area. Craters were formed by the meteors, the largest being 26 meters in diameter.
In 2001, UNESCO placed Sikhote-Alin onto the World Heritage List, citing its importance for "the survival of endangered species such as the Chinese Merganser
, Blakiston's Fish Owl
, and the Amur tiger
". World Heritage Area has a total area of 16319 square kilometres (4,032,509.2 acre), of which the terrestrial core zone of Sikhote-Alin
Zapovednik comprises 3985 square kilometres (984,714.1 acre). The core zone can only be explored in a company of rangers.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in Primorsky
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok...
and Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
s, 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...
, extending about 900 km to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
. The highest summits are Tordoki Yani
Tordoki Yani
Tordoki Yani or Tardoki Yani is the highest peak of Sikhote-Alin Mountains. It is located in the southeast of Khabarovsk Krai to north of border of Primorsky Krai.An elevation of Tordoki Yani is 2,090 m .Tordoki Yani is a table mountain....
(2,077 m), Ko Mountain
Ko Mountain
Ko is a peak in south part of Khabarovsk Krai near border of Primorsky Krai.An elevation above sea level of the mountain is 2,003 m. It is a second highest point of Sikhote-Alin....
(2,003 m) in Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
and Anik Mountain
Anik Mountain
Anik Mountain is the highest peak of Primorsky Krai, Russia. It is located in the north of Primorsky Krai on the border with Khabarovsk Krai. Anik Mountain is third highest peak of the Sikhote-Alin mountain system....
(1,933 m) in Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok...
.
Sikhote-Alin comprises one of the most extraordinary temperate zones in the world. Species typical of northern taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
(such as 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...
and the Ussuri Brown Bear
Ussuri Brown Bear
The Ussuri brown bear , also known as the black grizzly is a subspecies of the brown bear found in the Ussuri krai, Sakhalin, the Amur Oblast, northward to the Shantar Islands, Iturup Island, northeastern China, the Korean peninsula, Hokkaidō and Kunashiri Island. This subspecies is thought to be...
) coexist with tropical species, the Amur leopard
Amur Leopard
The Amur leopard , also known as the Far Eastern leopard, Korean leopard, and Manchurian leopard is one of nine recognised subspecies of leopard. It is a wild feline predator native to the mountainous areas of the Russian Far East. It used to inhabit the forests of Korea and China, but it has...
, Siberian tiger, and the Asiatic Black Bear
Asiatic Black Bear
The Asian black bear , also known as the moon bear or white-chested bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan...
. The region holds very few wolves, due to competition with tigers. The oldest tree in the region is a millennium-old Japanese yew.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Sikhote-Alin was extensively explored by Vladimir Arsenyev
Vladimir Arsenyev
Vladimir Klavdiyevich Arsenyev was a Russian explorer of the Far East who recounted his travels in a series of books - "По Уссурийскому Краю" and "Дерсу Узала" - telling of his military journeys to the Ussuri basin with Dersu Uzala, a native hunter, from 1902 to 1907...
(1872–1930) who described his adventures in several books, notably Dersu Uzala
Dersu Uzala
Dersu Uzala is the title of a 1923 book by the Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev.-Plot:Arsenyev's book tells of his travels in the Ussuri basin in the Russian Far East. Dersu was the name of a Nanai hunter who acted as a guide for Arsenyev's surveying crew from 1902 to 1907, and saved them from...
(1923), which in 1975 was turned into an Oscar-winning film by Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
. The large Sikhote-Alin and Lazo wildlife refuges were set up in 1935 to preserve the region's unusual wildlife.
On February 12, 1947, one of the largest meteor showers in recent history occurred in the Sikhote-Alin mountains. The Sikhote-Alin meteorite
Sikhote-Alin Meteorite
Sikhote-Alin is an iron meteorite that fell in 1947 on the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in eastern Siberia. This fall is unique in the history of meteorites. Though large iron meteorite falls had been witnessed previously and fragments recovered, never before in recorded history had a fall of this...
exploded in the atmosphere as it fell, raining many tons of metal on an elliptical region about 1.3 km² in area. Craters were formed by the meteors, the largest being 26 meters in diameter.
In 2001, UNESCO placed Sikhote-Alin onto the World Heritage List, citing its importance for "the survival of endangered species such as the Chinese Merganser
Chinese Merganser
The Scaly-sided Merganser or Chinese Merganser is an endangered typical merganser . It lives in temperate East Asia, breeding in the north and wintering in the south.-Description:...
, Blakiston's Fish Owl
Blakiston's Fish Owl
Blakiston's Fish Owl, Bubo blakistoni, is a fish owl, a sub-group of eagle owls who specialized in hunting riparian areas. This species is a part of the family known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...
, and the Amur tiger
Amur Tiger
The Siberian tiger , also known as the Amur tiger, is a tiger subspecies inhabiting mainly the Sikhote Alin mountain region with a small subpopulation in southwest Primorye province in the Russian Far East. In 2005, there were 331–393 adult-subadult Amur tigers in this region, with a breeding adult...
". World Heritage Area has a total area of 16319 square kilometres (4,032,509.2 acre), of which the terrestrial core zone of Sikhote-Alin
Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve
Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve is biosphere reserve in Primorsky Krai.It was founded on February 10, 1935 for protected sables population. Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve is located in a watershed and eastern slopes of Central Sikhote-Alin in Terneysky and Krasnoarmeysky Districts and area of Dalnegorsk...
Zapovednik comprises 3985 square kilometres (984,714.1 acre). The core zone can only be explored in a company of rangers.