Yenisei Gulf

Yenisei Gulf
Енисейский залив

Satellite image of the Yenisei Gulf area
Location Kara Sea
Coordinates 72°30′N 81°15′E / 72.500°N 81.250°E / 72.500; 81.250Coordinates: 72°30′N 81°15′E / 72.500°N 81.250°E / 72.500; 81.250
River sources Yenisei River
Basin countries Russia

The Yenisei Gulf (Russian: Енисейский залив, Jenisejskij zaliv) is a large and long estuary through which the lower Yenisei River flows into the Kara Sea.

The Yenisei Gulf and its islands belong to the Krasnoyarsk Krai administrative division of the Russian Federation and is part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve of Russia.

Geography

The Yenisei Gulf is formed by the river widening to an average of 50 km for up to 250 km in a roughly north-south direction, between a latitude of 70° 30' N in the area around Munguy settlement, north of Dudinka. The whole region of the lower Yenisei is bleak and sparsely inhabited, and the settlements are built on permafrost ground. There is no vegetation except for mosses, lichens and some grass. Coastal waters are habitats for beluga whales.

The maximum depth of Yenisei Gulf is 208 feet (63 m).

The mouth of the Yenisei Gulf is roughly located at 72° 30’ N, in the area of Sibiryakov Island, in the Kara Sea.

Islands

Climate

The weather pattern in this desolate area is severe, with long and bitter winters and frequent blizzards and gales. The Yenisei estuary is frozen for about nine months in a year and even in summer it is never quite free of ice floes. During the winter the shipping lanes are kept open by icebreaker.

Further reading

Colin Thubron, In Siberia.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.