Sakhalin Island: area, population, climate, natural resources, industry, flora and fauna. Where is Sakhalin

Sakhalin island

Sakhalin- an island off the east coast of Asia. It is part of the Sakhalin region, the largest island in the Russian Federation. It is washed by the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan. It is separated from mainland Asia by the Tatar Strait (at its narrowest part, the Nevelskoy Strait, is 7.3 km wide and freezes in winter); from the Japanese island of Hokkaido - through the La Perouse Strait.

The island got its name from the Manchu name of the Amur River - “Sakhalyan-ulla”, which translated means “Black River” - this name, printed on the map, was mistakenly attributed to Sakhalin, and in subsequent editions of maps it was printed as the name of the island. The Japanese call Sakhalin Karafuto, this name goes back to the Ainu "kamuy- kara-puto-ya-mosir", which means "land of the god of the mouth".

In 1805, a Russian ship under the command of I.F. Kruzenshtern explored most of the coast of Sakhalin and concluded that Sakhalin was a peninsula. In 1808, Japanese expeditions led by Matsuda Denjuro and Mamiya Rinzou proved that Sakhalin is an island. Most European cartographers were skeptical of the Japanese data. For a long time, on various maps Sakhalin was designated either an island or a peninsula. Only in 1849 did an expedition under the command of G.I. Nevelsky put a final point on this issue, passing on the military transport ship “Baikal” between Sakhalin and the mainland. This strait was subsequently named after Nevelsky.

Geography

The island extends meridionally from Cape Crillon in the south to Cape Elizabeth in the north. Length 948 km, width from 26 km (Poyasok isthmus) to 160 km (at the latitude of the village of Lesogorskoye), area 76.4 thousand km².

Map of Sakhalin Island 1885

Relief

The island's topography is composed of medium-high mountains, low mountains and low-lying plains. The southern and central parts of the island are characterized by mountainous terrain and consist of two meridionally oriented mountain systems - the Western Sakhalin Mountains (up to 1327 m in height - the city of Onor) and the East Sakhalin Mountains (up to 1609 m in height - the city of Lopatina), separated by the longitudinal Tym- Poronayskaya lowland. The north of the island (with the exception of the Schmidt Peninsula) is a gently rolling plain.

The shores of the island are slightly indented; large bays - Aniva and Terpeniya (widely open to the south) are located in the southern and middle parts of the island, respectively. The coastline has two large bays and four peninsulas.

The following 11 districts are distinguished in the relief of Sakhalin:

1. Schmidt Peninsula (about 1.4 thousand km²) is a mountainous peninsula in the far north of the island with steep, sometimes steep banks and two meridional ridges - Western and Eastern; highest point - Three Brothers (623 m); connected to the North Sakhalin Plain by the Okha Isthmus, the width of which at its narrowest point is just over 6 km;
2. The North Sakhalin Plain (about 28 thousand km²) is a gently hilly territory south of the Schmidt Peninsula with a widely branched river network, poorly defined watersheds and individual low mountain ranges, stretches from the Bay of Baikal in the north to the confluence of the Nysh and Tym rivers in the south, the highest point - Daakhuria town (601 m); The north-eastern coast of the island stands out as a sub-region, which is characterized by large lagoons (the largest are Piltun, Chaivo, Nyisky, Nabilsky, Lunsky bays), separated from the sea by narrow strips of alluvial spits, dunes, low sea terraces - it is in this sub-region and the main Sakhalin oil and gas fields are located on the adjacent shelf of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk;
3. The Western Sakhalin Mountains stretch almost 630 km from the latitude of the village. Khoe (51º19" N) in the north to the Crillon Peninsula in the extreme south of the island; the average width of the mountains is 40-50 km, the largest (at the latitude of Cape Lamanon) is about 70 km; the axial part is formed by Kamysovy (north of the Poyasok isthmus) and South Kamyshovy ridges;
4. The Tym-Poronayskaya lowland is located in the middle part of the island and is a hilly lowland stretching approximately 250 km in the meridional direction - from Terpeniya Bay in the south to the confluence of the Tym and Nysh rivers in the north; reaches its maximum width (up to 90 km) at the mouth of the Poronai River, and its minimum (6-8 km) in the valley of the Tym River; in the north it passes into the Nabil lowland; covered with a thick cover of Cenozoic sediments, composed of sedimentary deposits of the Quaternary period. sandstones, pebbles; the heavily swampy southern part of the lowland is called the Poronai “tundra”;
5. The Susunai Lowland is located in the southern part of the island and stretches for about 100 km from Aniva Bay in the south to the Naiba River in the north; from the west the lowland is limited by the Western Sakhalin Mountains, from the east by the Susunaisky ridge and the Korsakov plateau; in the southern part the width of the lowland reaches 20 km, in the center - 6 km, in the north - 10 km; absolute heights in the north and south do not exceed 20 m above sea level, in the central part, on the watershed of the Susuya and Bolshaya Takaya river basins, reach 60 m; belongs to the type of internal lowlands and is a tectonic depression filled with a large thickness of Quaternary deposits; within the Susunai Lowland are the cities of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Aniva, Dolinsk and about half the island’s population lives;
6. The East Sakhalin Mountains are represented in the north by the Lopatinsky mountain cluster (the highest point is the city of Lopatin, 1609 m) with ridges radiating from it; two spurs in the opposite direction represent the Nabilsky ridge; in the south, the Nabilsky ridge passes into the Central Ridge, in the north, sharply descending, into the North Sakhalin Plain;
7. lowland of the Terpeniya Peninsula - the smallest of the areas, occupies most of the Terpeniya Peninsula east of Terpeniya Bay;
8. The Susunaisky ridge stretches from north to south for 70 km and has a width of 18-120 km; the highest points are Mount Pushkinskaya (1047 m) and Chekhov Peak (1045 m); composed of Paleozoic deposits, at the foot of the western macroslope of the ridge is the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk;
9. The Korsakov plateau is bounded from the west by the Susunay lowland, from the north by the Susunay ridge, from the east by the Muravyovsky lowland, from the south by Aniva Bay, and has a slightly undulating surface formed by a system of flat-topped ridged ridges elongated in the northeast direction; at the southern end of the plateau on the shores of Aniva Bay is the city of Korsakov;
10. The Muravyovskaya Lowland is located between the Aniva Bay in the south and the Mordvinova Bay in the north, and has a ridged topography with flat tops of the ridges; within the lowland there are many lakes, incl. the so-called “Warm Lakes”, where South Sakhalin residents like to go on vacation;
11. The Tonino-Aniva ridge stretches from north to south, from Cape Svobodny to Cape Aniva, for almost 90 km, the highest point is Mount Kruzenshtern (670 m); composed of Cretaceous and Jurassic deposits.

View of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from the high shore near the lighthouse in the Warm Lakes area

Climate

The climate of Sakhalin is cool, moderate monsoon (average January temperature from −6ºС in the south to −24ºС in the north, August - from +19ºС to +10ºС, respectively), maritime with long snowy winters and short cool summers.

The climate is influenced by the following factors:

1. Geographical location between 46º and 54º N. latitude. determines the arrival of solar radiation from 410 kJ/year in the north to 450 kJ/year in the south.
2. The position between the Eurasian continent and the Pacific Ocean determines the monsoon climate. It is associated with the humid and cool, rather rainy Sakhalin summer.
3. Mountainous terrain affects the direction and speed of the wind. A decrease in wind speed in intermountain basins (in particular, in the relatively large Tym-Poronai and Susunai lowlands) contributes to air cooling in winter and warming in summer; it is here that the greatest temperature contrasts are observed; at the same time, the mountains protect the named lowlands, as well as the western coast, from the effects of the cold air of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk.
4. In summer, the contrast between the western and eastern coasts of the island is enhanced by the respectively warm Tsushima Current of the Sea of ​​Japan and the cold East Sakhalin Current of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.
5. The cold Sea of ​​Okhotsk affects the island's climate as a giant thermal accumulator, determining a long, cold spring and relatively warm autumn: snow in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk sometimes lasts until mid-May, and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's flower beds can bloom until early November. If we compare Sakhalin with similar (in terms of climatic indicators) territories of European Russia, then the seasons on the island succeed each other with a delay of about three weeks.

Air temperature and precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the 21st century (temperature: II.2001-IV.2009; precipitation: III.2005-IV.2009):

The maximum temperature on Sakhalin (+39ºС) was observed in July 1977 in the village. Pogranichnoe on the east coast (Nogliki district). The minimum temperature on Sakhalin (-50ºС) was recorded in January 1980 in the village. Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky district). The recorded temperature minimum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is −36ºС (January 1961), maximum is +34.7ºС (August 1999).

The highest average annual precipitation (990 mm) falls in the city of Aniva, the least (476 mm) at the Kuegda weather station (Okha district). The average annual precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (according to long-term data) is 753 mm.

The earliest stable snow cover appears on Cape Elizaveta (Okha district) and in the village of Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky district) - on average October 31, the latest - in the city of Korsakov (on average December 1). The average dates for the disappearance of snow cover are from April 22 (Kholmsk) to May 28 (Cape Elizabeth). In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, stable snow cover appears on average on November 22 and disappears on April 29.

The most powerful typhoon in the last 100 years (“Phyllis”) hit the island in August 1981. The maximum precipitation then fell on August 5-6, and in total from August 4 to 7, 322 mm of precipitation fell in the south of Sakhalin (about three monthly norms) .

Inland waters

The largest rivers of Sakhalin:

There are 16,120 lakes on Sakhalin with a total area of ​​about 1,000 km². The areas of their greatest concentration are the north and southeast of the island. The two largest lakes of Sakhalin are Nevskoye with a mirror area of ​​178 km² (Poronaisky district, near the mouth of the Poronai River) and Tunaicha (174 km²) (Korsakovsky district, in the north of the Muravyovskaya lowland); both lakes belong to the lagoon type.

Natural resources

Sakhalin is characterized by a very high potential of natural resources. In addition to biological resources, the reserves of which Sakhalin ranks among the first in Russia, the island and its shelf have very large hydrocarbon reserves. In terms of the volume of explored reserves of gas condensate, the Sakhalin region ranks 4th in Russia, gas - 7th, coal - 12th and oil - 13th, while within the region the reserves of these minerals are almost entirely concentrated in Sakhalin and its shelf. Other natural resources of the island include timber, gold, and platinum.

Flora and fauna

Both the flora and fauna of the island are impoverished both in comparison with the adjacent areas of the mainland and in comparison with the island of Hokkaido located to the south.

Flora

As of the beginning of 2004, the island's flora includes 1,521 species of vascular plants, belonging to 575 genera from 132 families, with 7 families and 101 genera represented only by alien species. The total number of alien species on the island is 288, or 18.9% of the entire flora. According to the main systematic groups, the vascular plants of the Sakhalin flora are distributed as follows (excluding aliens): vascular spores - 79 species (including lycosperms - 14, horsetails - 8, pteridophytes - 57), gymnosperms - 9 species, angiosperms - 1146 species ( including monocotyledons - 383, dicotyledons - 763). The leading families of vascular plants in the flora of Sakhalin are sedges ( Cyperaceae) (121 species excluding aliens - 122 species including aliens), Asteraceae ( Asteraceae) (120 - 175), cereals ( Poaceae) (108 - 152), Rosaceae ( Rosaceae) (58 - 68), ranunculaceae ( Ranunculaceae) (54 - 57), heather ( Ericaceae) (39 - 39), cloves ( Caryophyllaceae) (38 - 54), buckwheat ( Polygonaceae) (37 - 57), orchids ( Orchidaceae) (35 - 35), cruciferous ( Brassicaceae) (33 - 53).

Fauna

Pink salmon go to spawn in an unnamed river flowing into Mordvinov Bay

"Red Book"

The fauna, flora and mycobiota of the island include many rare protected species of animals, plants and fungi. 12 species of mammals recorded on Sakhalin, 97 species of birds (including 50 nesting), seven species of fish, 20 species of invertebrates, 113 species of vascular plants, 13 species of bryophytes, seven species of algae, 14 species of fungi and 20 species of lichens (t .i.e. 136 species of animals, 133 species of plants and 34 species of fungi - a total of 303 species) have protected status, i.e. are listed in the Red Book of the Sakhalin Region, while about a third of them are simultaneously included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Among the "federal Red Book" flowering plants, the flora of Sakhalin includes Aralia cordate ( Aralia cordata), calypso bulbosa ( Calypso bulbosa), Glen's cardiocrinum ( Cardiocrinum glehnii), Japanese sedge ( Carex japonica) and lead gray ( C. livida), real lady's slippers ( Cypripedium calceolus) and grandiflora ( C. macranthum), Gray's bifolia ( Diphylleia grayi), leafless muzzle ( Epipogium aphyllum), Japanese kandyk ( Erythronium japonicum), tall pot-bellied ( Gastrodia elata), iris xiphoid ( Iris ensata), ailantholfolia nut ( Juglans ailanthifolia), Calopanax sevenloba ( Kalopanax septemlobum), tiger lily ( Lilium lancifolium), Tolmachev's honeysuckle ( Lonicera tolmatchevii), long-legged winged seed ( Macropodium pterospermum), miyakia wholeleaf ( Miyakea integrifolia) (Miyakia is the only endemic genus of vascular plants on Sakhalin), Nestflower capulaceae ( Neottianthe cucullata), peonies obovate ( Paeonia obovata) and mountain ( P. oreogeton), rough bluegrass ( Poa radula) and Wright's viburnum ( Viburnum wrightii), i.e. 23 species. In addition, eight more “federal Red Book” plants are found on the island: two species of gymnosperms - Sargent’s juniper ( Juniperus sargentii) and pointed yew ( Taxus cuspidata), three species of pteridophytes - asiatic grasshopper ( Isoеtes asiatica), leptorumora Mikel ( Leptorumohra miqueliana) and Wright's mecodium ( Mecodium wrightii), two species and one variety of mosses - Bryoxyphium japonica ( Bryoxiphium norvegicum var. japonicum), nekera northern ( Neckera borealis), and plagiothecium obtuse ( Plagiothecium obtusissimum).

Population

According to the results of the 2002 census, the population of the island was 527.1 thousand people, incl. 253.5 thousand men and 273.6 thousand women; about 85% of the population are Russians, the rest are Ukrainians, Koreans, Belarusians, Tatars, Chuvashs, Mordovians, several thousand people each are representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North - Nivkhs and Oroks. From 2002 to 2008 The population of Sakhalin continued to decline slowly (by about 1% per year): mortality still prevails over birth rates, and the attraction of labor from the mainland and from countries neighboring Russia does not compensate for the departure of Sakhalin residents to the mainland. At the beginning of 2008, about 500 thousand people lived on the island.

The largest city on the island is the regional center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (173.2 thousand people; 01/01/2007), other relatively large cities are Korsakov (35.1 thousand people), Kholmsk (32.3 thousand people), Okha (26.7 thousand people), Nevelsk (17.0 thousand people), Poronaysk (16.9 thousand people).

The population is distributed among the regions of the island as follows (results of the 2002 census, people):

Story

Archaeological finds indicate that people appeared on Sakhalin in the Paleolithic, approximately 20-25 thousand years ago, when glaciation lowered the level of the World Ocean and restored land “bridges” between Sakhalin and the mainland, as well as Sakhalin and Hokkaido. (At the same time, along another land “bridge” between Asia and America, located on the site of the modern Bering Strait, Homo sapiens moved to the American continent). In the Neolithic (2-6 thousand years ago), Sakhalin was inhabited by the ancestors of modern Paleo-Asian peoples - the Nivkhs (in the north of the island) and the Ainu (in the south).

These same ethnic groups formed the main population of the island during the Middle Ages, with the Nivkh migrating between Sakhalin and the lower Amur, and the Ainu migrating between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Their material culture was similar in many ways, and their livelihood came from fishing, hunting and gathering. At the end of the Middle Ages (in the 16th-17th centuries), Tungus-speaking peoples appeared on Sakhalin - Evenks (nomadic reindeer herders) and Oroks (Uilta), who, under the influence of the Evenks, also began to engage in reindeer herding.

According to the Treaty of Shimoda (1855) between Russia and Japan, Sakhalin was recognized as their joint undivided possession. According to the Treaty of St. Petersburg of 1875, Russia received ownership of the island of Sakhalin, in return transferring to Japan all the northern Kuril Islands. After the defeat of the Russian Empire in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, Japan received South Sakhalin (the part of Sakhalin Island south of the 50th parallel). As a result of the victory over Japan during World War II, the entire territory of Sakhalin Island and all the Kuril Islands were included in the Soviet Union (RSFSR). To the territory or part of the territory of the island. Sakhalin currently has no claims from Japan or any other country.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk was founded by Russians in 1882 under the name Vladimirovka. After the victory of the USSR and its allies in World War II, along with the entire island, it passed to the USSR.

Europeans discovered Sakhalin in the 17th century. The first to visit the island in 1640 were the Cossacks, led by the ataman and explorer Ivan Moskvitin. Three years later, the expedition of the Dutch navigator Martin de Vries went there. However, Frieze mistakenly considered Sakhalin to be a peninsula connected to Hokkaido. Disputes about whether it was connected to the mainland or other islands continued until the mid-19th century. In 1849, Admiral Gennady Nevelskoy sailed the warship Baikal through the strait between the island and the mainland. Sakhalin was marked on maps as an island, and the strait was later given the name Nevelskoy.

In 1869, those sentenced to hard labor, most often lifelong, began to be sent here. Initially, prisons were built for them only in the northern part of the island, but then settlements appeared in the south. Gradually, convicts became the main part of the population of Sakhalin.

At the end of the 19th century, Anton Chekhov came to the island. He got acquainted with the life of convicts, wrote down petitions and memories of Sakhalin residents, and conducted a population census here. Later, the writer published an artistic and journalistic book “Sakhalin Island”, in which he described in detail the local nature, the way of life of the indigenous people and exiles, and included fragments of documents, statistical data, records of scientists and travelers who had visited the island before. An entire museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is dedicated to this book: its exhibition includes exhibits related to the life and work of Chekhov (including his personal belongings). Several settlements in the Sakhalin region are named after the writer. Monuments to Chekhov are erected in several cities of the island, and the Literary and Art Museum of the Book of A.P. is opened in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Chekhov "Sakhalin Island".

The indigenous population of Sakhalin are the Nivkhs and Ainu. However, today they make up less than 1% of all island residents. In addition to Russians, Koreans, Ukrainians, and Tatars live in the Sakhalin region.

Historical and cultural monuments of Sakhalin

Sakhalin passed from Russia to Japan and back several times, and many monuments of Japanese culture have been preserved on the island. One of them is the building of the Local History Museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It was built in traditional Japanese style in 1937. The modern exhibition of the museum includes more than 170 thousand exhibits: these include samples of flora and fauna, household items of the island’s indigenous inhabitants, historical documents, and ancient weapons.

Another monument of Japanese architecture is the ritual torii gate made of white marble near the village of Vzmorye. Previously, the Tomarioru Jinja Temple was located behind them, but it has not survived to this day.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Japanese built the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Polyakovo railway line on the island. Nowadays it is not used for its intended purpose and has become a historical monument. From the Devil's Bridge - the highest in the Sakhalin region - there is a beautiful view of the surrounding area of ​​​​the railway.

Nature of the island

The flora and fauna of Sakhalin are poorer than on the mainland, but dense forests grow here and animals and plants listed in the Red Book are found. In addition, scientists have recorded a phenomenon characteristic only of this region: herbaceous plants on Sakhalin often grow to gigantic sizes. Nettle, buckwheat, bearsfoot and other herbs can reach 3-5 meters in height.

Various species of birds nest on Lake Tunaicha, and on Tyuleniy Island near Sakhalin there is a large seal rookery and huge bird colonies. In the vicinity of the highest point of the island - Mount Vaida - there are karst caves. From the top of the Zhdanko mountain range there is a view of the picturesque surroundings. At Cape Velikan you can see natural arches, grottoes and pillars that arose under the influence of wind and salty sea water. Sakhalin is home to an active mud volcano, as well as mineral and thermal springs.

Russia's largest island is Sakhalin, where there are significant natural gas deposits. The island is located off the eastern coast of Asia and is separated from the mainland by the Strait of Tartary, the width of which at its narrowest is just over seven kilometers, and at its widest three hundred and twenty-eight.

Where is Sakhalin

From a geological point of view, the island belongs to the Eurasian continent. From an economic-geographical point of view - to the Far Eastern economic region of the Asia-Pacific region. Administratively, the island is the Sakhalin region with its center in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Black River Rocks - this is how the traditional name of the island Sahallyan-Ulla is translated from Chinese, from which the Russian name comes. However, there is an alternative name used by the Japanese - Karafuto. Translated from the language of the Ainu, the indigenous local population, this name means “Land of the God of the Mouth.” But in modern Japanese, a transcription of the Russian name of the island, sounding like “Saccharin,” is increasingly used.

History of the study

Several Russian sailors are of key importance in the history of exploration of the island's coast. One of them is Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, who in 1805 made a long voyage along the coast of the island, carefully exploring it and describing it. However, during his expedition, the traveler was not able to completely bypass it, so the question of whether it was a peninsula or the entire island remained unclear.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the region attracted close attention from key world powers and an increasingly powerful Japan, which sent several expeditions to explore the Far Eastern coast. Two Japanese admirals made several voyages along the coast of Sakhalin and came to the conclusion that it was an island, but European researchers did not trust Japanese data.

Only in 1849, the Russian explorer Gennady Nevelsky managed to sail around Sakhalin on the ship "Baikal" and finally put an end to the question: where is Sakhalin and what is it after all - a peninsula or an island. The name of the admiral is immortalized in the name of the strait he discovered, which is now called the Nevelskoy Strait and is the narrowest part of the large Tatar Strait.

Island climate

The region where Sakhalin Island is located is located in a temperate monsoon climate zone, which is influenced by factors such as the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Pacific Ocean and mountainous terrain.

The island experiences long, cold springs and relatively warm autumns. Climatic seasons, when compared with the European part of the country, change with a delay of about three weeks. This means that the warmest month of the year is August, and the coldest month is February.

At the same time, snow can remain on Sakhalin until mid-May, and rare snowfalls can occur in June. But flowers can be found in flowerbeds in cities until mid-October. The island's position between the Pacific Ocean and the cold Sea of ​​Okhotsk significantly affects the climate and makes the weather difficult to predict.

History and politics

The Far Eastern region has long been under the scrutiny of key global and regional players, but in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Japan and Russia played decisive roles.

The first attempts to regulate the status of the island in accordance with international standards were made in 1855, when an agreement was signed between Japan and the Russian Empire, which went down in history as the Treaty of Simondon. The text stated that the island was a “joint indivisible possession” of both powers. However, this formulation did not make the relations of the countries transparent, since the status of the island was actually not determined.

In order to resolve all existing issues, the states signed a new agreement in 1875. According to the newly signed St. Petersburg Treaty, Russia received possession of Sakhalin, and Japan took possession of all the Northern Kuril Islands.

After Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the southern part of Sakhalin went to Japan. For a long time, Sakhalin served as a source of tension between the two neighboring countries, until Japan occupied the northern part of the island in 1925. However, after the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II, the entire island and all the Kuril Islands ceded to the USSR. But this did not become the final chord in the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan - today the Land of the Rising Sun lays claim to some islands of the Kuril archipelago, and a peace treaty between the countries has not been signed.

Economy of Sakhalin

The region where Sakhalin is located is very rich in natural resources. The island's wealth includes offshore gas fields and marine biological reserves.

In addition, the Sakhalin region is the place where the Sakhalin-2 project is located, which was first discussed back in 1988. The project involved the development of two offshore fields, one of which contains mainly oil with associated gas, and the other, on the contrary, consists mainly of natural gas with a small oil content.

Southern Sakhalin, where the island's largest city and the region's capital is located, is the economic and transport center of the region. The entire population of the Sakhalin region does not exceed five hundred thousand people. The largest city in Sakhalin, where the airport and administrative offices are located, is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, which has a population of one hundred and ninety-four thousand people.

Ecology of the island

The Sakhalin region is exposed to significant environmental risks, since the extraction of hydrocarbons on the shelf is associated with certain technological difficulties.

In 2007, major international environmental organizations filed a lawsuit against the British government with the intention of obliging it not to provide a loan to a company engaged in offshore development on Sakhalin. This behavior was caused by the fact that the Sakhalin Energy company did not have the necessary documentation and environmental assessment.