Where does the Bering Sea flow into which ocean? Bering Sea: geographical location, description. Bering Sea. Description

Our planet is a beautiful blue ball, on which there are many natural and artificial reservoirs. They support the life of all living things on earth, providing shelter for many fish, shellfish and other organisms.

One of the natural bodies of water on our planet is the Bering Sea, the depth, bottom topography and fauna of which are of great interest to many naturalists, tourists and naturalists around the world. It is these indicators that will be discussed in this article.

Between two continents

What is the average depth of the Bering Sea? Before answering this question, let's find out where the reservoir is located.

The Bering Sea, which belongs to the Pacific basin, is a conventional border between two continents - Asia and North America. On the northwestern side, the reservoir washes the coasts of Kamchatka and Chukotka, and on the northeastern side - the shores of Western Alaska.

From the south, the sea is closed by a series of islands (Aleutian and Komandorsky), and from the north it is connected by the strait of the same name with the Arctic Ocean.

Here are the islands located along the border of the Bering Sea (the depth of which we will talk about below):

On the side of the United States of America (more precisely, the Alaska Peninsula) are territories such as Krusenstern Island, Nunivak, the Pribilof Islands, the Aleutian Islands, King Island, St. Matthew Island and others.
From the outside Russian Federation The Bering Sea washes only three island territories. This (from the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug), as well as the Commander Islands and Karaginsky Island (the latter are part of the Kamchatka Territory).

A little about geographical discoveries

What is the history of the discovery of the Bering Sea, the depth and remoteness of which at all times has brought many sailors into indescribable awe?

It is known that the reservoir received its name in honor of the first explorer who went on an expedition to Kamchatka back in the 1730s. This man was a Dane by nationality, a Russian officer by vocation - Vitus Ianassen Bering. By order of Emperor Peter I, the fleet captain was instructed to study the northern places in detail and determine the border between the two continents.

The first expedition was devoted to the inspection and development of the eastern coast of Kamchatka and south coast as well as the study of the strait that serves as the border between America and Eurasia. Bering is considered the first representative of Europe to roam these places.

After his return to St. Petersburg, the brave navigator petitioned for the equipment of the second expedition, which took place quite soon and became the largest in history. Six thousand people, led by the fearless Bering, scrupulously studied the waters all the way to Japan. Alaska, the Aleutian archipelago and many other unexplored lands were discovered.

The captain himself reached the American coast and carefully examined the island of Kayak, studying its flora and fauna.

Conditions Far North negatively affected the travel of a large expedition. Sailors and explorers faced incredible cold and snow drifts, and endured storms and storms several times.

Unfortunately, returning to Russia, Bering died during a forced winter on one of the islands.

Statistical Facts

What is the depth of the Bering Sea? This reservoir is considered the largest and deepest in the Russian Federation and one of the largest in the world. Why can you say this?

The fact is that total area sea - 2.315 million sq. km. This is due to the fact that the length of the reservoir from north to south covers one thousand six hundred kilometers, and from east to west - two thousand four hundred kilometers. Scientists even calculated the volume of sea water. It reaches 3,795,000 cubic kilometers. It is not surprising that the average depth of the Bering Sea is impressive in its numbers and values.

Briefly about the main thing

The average and maximum depth of the Bering Sea reaches one thousand six hundred meters and four thousand fifty-one meters, respectively. As you can see, the difference between the indicators is very large. This is due to the fact that most of the water space of the reservoir is occupied by an area with depth indicators of less than five hundred meters. According to the calculations of some scientists, this figure is the minimum depth of the Bering Sea. That is why it is considered a marginal reservoir of the continental-oceanic type.

Location of the most important points

Where is the average and maximum depth of the Bering Sea? As mentioned above, the average indicators of a reservoir cover about half of its entire area. As for the maximum indicators (or the maximum depth of the Bering Sea), they were recorded in the southern part of the reservoir. Here is the specific coordinate: fifty-four degrees north latitude and one hundred seventy-one degrees west longitude. This part of the sea is called deep sea. It was divided by the underwater Bowers and Shirshov ridges into three basins, whose names are: Aleutian, Komandorskaya and Bowers.

However, this also applies to the maximum depth of the Bering Sea. The minimum depth was recorded in its northeastern region. Its length, according to many researchers, reaches about seven hundred kilometers.

Bottom and its characteristics

Scientists have long determined that the structure of the seabed is very interconnected with its depth. The bottom topography of the Bering Sea has clear divisions:

Shelf. This zone, located in the northern and eastern sides of the sea, has depths of up to two hundred meters and occupies more than forty percent of the entire territory of the reservoir. It is a gently sloping plain with several islands, hollows and low hills.
Island Shoal. This area is located off the coast of Kamchatka and the Komandorsko-Aleutian island ridge. The surface topography is very complex and may undergo some changes due to the proximity of volcanic and seismic manifestations.
Continental slope. It is located between Cape Navarin and Unimak Island and is characterized by depth indicators from two hundred to three thousand meters. This area also has a complex sloping topography, the angle of inclination of which ranges from one to three degrees to twenty degrees and above. Here you can see beautiful underwater valleys and canyons with steep steep slopes.
Deep-sea basin. This zone is located in the center and southwest of the reservoir. It is characterized by small underwater ridges. Due to the complexity of its relief, the deep-sea basin ensures constant water exchange between different parts of the sea.

Temperature

What can you say about the temperature of the air and water? In summer, the water area is quite cool (about seven to ten degrees Celsius). In winter, the temperature can fluctuate from minus one to minus thirty.

The average temperature of water masses in many cases depends on the depth of the Bering Sea. The maximum depth has a temperature of one to three degrees Celsius (plus), while the minimum depth has warmer readings (from seven to ten degrees). At medium depths temperature regime varies between two and four degrees Celsius.

Salinity information

With regard to water salinity, the same principle applies: than more depth, the higher the indicators.

At minimum depths, water salinity ranges between twenty-two and thirty-two ppm. The middle zone is characterized by levels of thirty-three to thirty-four ppm, while the salinity of deep-sea waters almost reaches thirty-five ppm.

Freezing water

It is interesting that the surface of the Bering Sea is covered with ice annually in the following ratio: freezing of half of the reservoir is observed within five months, while its northern part can be under the influence of glaciers for seven months or longer.

It is noteworthy that the Gulf of Lawrence, located off the eastern shore of the Bering Sea, may not be cleared of ice masses all year round, while the waters of the Bering Strait are almost never subject to severe freezing.

Rich fauna

Despite the low temperatures and deep waters, the body of water between America and Eurasia is actively inhabited. Here you can find four hundred and two species of fish, four species of crabs, four species of shrimp, two species of shellfish, as well as a large number of mammals, especially pinnipeds.

Let's talk more about the living creatures that inhabit the cold and deep waters of the Bering Sea.

Fish

In the reservoir, different varieties of gobies are most often found. The goby family belongs to bottom-dwelling fish that live in coastal areas.

The body of an adult individual, slightly flattened at the back, can reach forty centimeters in length. It contains dorsal fins (usually two in number) and a suction cup on the belly, with which the fish attaches to the stones. Goby spawning occurs in March-August.

Among the salmonids in the Bering Sea, whitefish and nelma stand out, as well as Pacific salmon, which are valuable commercial fish.

This family is diverse with numerous species and representatives. The body length of salmon can vary from three centimeters to two meters, and the weight of adult and large individuals can reach seven to ten kilograms.

The body of the fish is elongated, compressed at the sides. It has multi-rayed ventral and pectoral fins. There are two pectoral fins (one is normal, and the second is a leathery outgrowth of adipose tissue - a characteristic feature of all salmonids).

Spawning of this fish species occurs only in fresh waters.

Pinnipeds

The most common mammals in the Bering Sea are seals and walruses, which set up real rookeries on the shores of the reservoir.

Seals are very massive sea creatures. For example, an adult can reach about two meters in length, while its weight exceeds one hundred and thirty kilograms. Bearing offspring in this family can last about a year.

The Pacific walrus is another inhabitant of the northern reservoir. Its weight can vary from eight hundred to one thousand seven hundred kilograms. This family is highly prized for its long tusks, which can weigh about five kilograms each.

The skin of walruses is wrinkled and very thick (in some places it can reach ten centimeters in thickness). The subcutaneous layer of fat is also large - about fifteen centimeters.

Quite often, a variety of large cetaceans are found in the Bering Sea - narwhals, humpback whales, sei whales and other mammals, the length of which is measured at several tens of meters, and the weight can reach a hundred tons or more.

Yes, it is impossible to describe in detail all the inhabitants of the underwater depths of the Bering Sea. However, this body of water is famous not only for its rich underwater world, but also a fascinating history of development, a beautiful bottom topography, and an important strategic location. After all, the Bering Sea is the border of two continents, two continents, two states.

Located in its northern part. From the endless ocean waters separated by the Aleutian and Commander Islands. In the north, through the Bering Strait, it connects with the Chukchi Sea, which is part of the Arctic Ocean. The reservoir washes the shores of Alaska, Chukotka, and Kamchatka. Its area is 2.3 million square meters. km. The average depth is 1600 meters, the maximum is 4150 meters. The volume of water is 3.8 million cubic meters. km. The length of the reservoir from north to south is 1.6 thousand km, and from west to east it is 2.4 thousand km.

Historical reference

Many experts believe that during the last ice age, sea levels were low, and therefore the Bering Strait was dry land. This is the so-called Bering Bridge, through which the inhabitants of Asia entered the territory of Northern and South America in ancient times.

This reservoir was explored by the Dane Vitus Bering, who served in the Russian fleet as captain-commander. Studying northern waters he was engaged in the years 1725-1730 and 1733-1741. During this time, he carried out two Kamchatka expeditions and discovered part of the islands of the Aleutian chain.

In the 18th century, the reservoir was called the Kamchatka Sea. It was first named the Bering Sea on the initiative of the French navigator Charles Pierre de Fleurieu at the beginning of the 19th century. This name was fully established by the end of the second decade of the 19th century.

general description

Sea bottom

In its northern part, the reservoir is shallow, thanks to the shelf, the length of which reaches 700 km. The southwestern part is deep-sea. Here the depth in some places reaches 4 km. The transition from shallow water to the deep ocean floor is carried out along a steep underwater slope.

Water temperature and salinity

IN summer time the surface layer of water warms up to 10 degrees Celsius. In winter, temperatures drop to -1.7 degrees Celsius. The salinity of the upper marine layer is 30-32 ppm. The middle layer at a depth of 50 to 200 meters is cold and practically does not change throughout the year. The temperature here is -1.7 degrees Celsius, and the salinity reaches 34 ppm. Below 200 meters, the water warms up, and its temperature rises to 4 degrees Celsius with a salinity of 34.5 ppm.

The Bering Sea hosts such rivers as the Yukon in Alaska with a length of 3100 km and the Anadyr with a length of 1152 km. The latter carries its waters along the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Russia.

Bering Sea on the map

Islands

The islands are concentrated on the boundaries of the reservoir. The main ones are considered Aleutian Islands, representing an archipelago. It stretches from the coast of Alaska towards Kamchatka and has 110 islands. Those, in turn, are divided into 5 groups. There are 25 volcanoes in the archipelago, and the largest is the Shishaldin volcano with a height of 2857 meters above sea level.

Commander Islands include 4 islands. They are located in the southwestern part of the reservoir in question. Pribilof Islands are located north of the Aleutian Islands. There are four of them: St. Paul's, St. George's, Otter and Walrus Island.

Diomede Islands(Russia) consist of 2 islands (Ratmanov Island and Krusenstern Island) and several small rocks. They are located in the Bering Strait at approximately the same distance from Chukotka and Alaska. The Bering Sea also contains St. Lawrence Island in the southernmost part of the Bering Strait. It is part of the state of Alaska, although it is located closer to Chukotka. Experts believe that in ancient times it was part of an isthmus connecting two continents.

Nunivak Island located off the coast of Alaska. Among all the islands belonging to the body of water in question, it is the second in area after St. Lawrence. In the southern part of the Bering Strait there is also St. Matthew's Island, owned by the USA. Karaginsky Island located near the coast of Kamchatka. Highest point on it (Mount Vysokaya) is 920 meters above sea level.

sea coast

The sea coast is characterized by capes and bays. One of the bays on the Russian coast is Anadyrsky, which washes the shores of Chukotka. Its continuation is the Bay of the Cross, located to the north. Karaginsky Bay is located off the coast of Kamchatka, and Olyutorsky Bay is located to the north. The Gulf of Corfu is wedged deep into the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

U southwest coast Alaska is located in Bristol Bay. To the north there are smaller bays. This is Kuskokwim, into which the river of the same name flows, and Norton Bay.

Climate

IN summer period the air temperature rises to 10 degrees Celsius. In winter it drops to -20-23 degrees Celsius. The Bering Sea is covered with ice by the beginning of October. The ice melts by July. That is, the reservoir is covered with ice for almost 10 months. In some places, such as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ice may be present all year round.

The sea is home to marine mammals such as bowheads and blue whales, sei whales, fin whales, humpback whales, sperm whales. Northern fur seals, belugas, seals, walruses, and polar bears are also present. Up to 40 species of different birds nest on the coast. Some of them are unique. In total, about 20 million birds breed in this region. 419 species of fish are registered in the reservoir. Among them, salmon, pollock, king crab, Pacific cod, halibut, and Pacific perch are of commercial value.

The further development of the ecosystem of the reservoir in question is uncertain. IN this region over the past 30 years there has been a slight but stable increase sea ice. This provided a sharp contrast to the seas of the Arctic Ocean, where the ice surface is steadily shrinking.

Square2,315,000 km² Volume3,796,000 km³ Greatest depth4151 m Average depth1600 m Bering Sea Bering Sea K: Water bodies in alphabetical order

Story

Name of the sea

Subsequently, the sea was named after the navigator Vitus Bering, under whose leadership it was explored in 1725-1743. The Bering Strait, which connects the sea with the Arctic Ocean, is also named after him.

First time title Bering Sea was proposed by the French geographer S. P. Fliorier at the beginning of the 19th century, but was introduced into use only in 1818 by the Russian navigator V. M. Golovnin. However, on New geographical road map of the Russian Empire 1833 it is still marked - Beaver Sea .

Modern history

Physiographic location

Area 2.315 million sq. km. The average depth is 1600 meters, the maximum is 4,151 meters. The length of the sea from north to south is 1,600 km, from east to west - 2,400 km. Water volume - 3,795 thousand cubic meters. km.

The Bering Sea is marginal. It is located in the North Pacific Ocean and separates the Asian and North American continents. In the northwest it is limited by the coasts of Northern Kamchatka, the Koryak Highlands and Chukotka; in the northeast - the coast of Western Alaska. The southern border of the sea is drawn along the chain of the Commander and Aleutian Islands, forming a giant arc curved to the south and separating it from the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. The Bering Strait in the north connects it with the Arctic Ocean and numerous straits in the Komandor-Aleutian chain in the south - with Pacific Ocean.

The islands are mainly located on the edge of the sea:

US territory (state of Alaska): Pribilof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Diomede Islands (eastern - Krusenstern Island), St. Lawrence Island, Nunivak, King Island, St. Matthews Island.
territory of Russia. Chukotka Autonomous Okrug: Diomede Islands (western - Ratmanov Island). Kamchatka Krai: Commander Islands, Karaginsky Island.

They flow into the sea large rivers Yukon and Anadyr.

The air temperature over the water area is up to +7, +10 °C in summer and −1, −23 °C in winter. Salinity 33-34.7‰.

Every year, from the end of September, ice forms, which melts in July. The surface of the sea (except for the Bering Strait) is covered with ice for about ten months annually (about five months, half of the sea, about seven months, from November to May, the northern third of the sea). The Gulf of Lawrence is not clear of ice at all in some years. In the western part of the Bering Strait, ice brought by currents can occur even in August.

Bottom relief

The seabed is covered with terrigenous sediments - sand, gravel, shell rock in the shelf zone and gray or green diatomaceous silt in deep-sea areas.

Temperature and salinity

The surface water mass (up to a depth of 25-50 meters) throughout the sea has a temperature of 7-10 °C in summer; In winter, temperatures drop to −1.7-3 °C. The salinity of this layer is 22-32 ppm.

The intermediate water mass (layer from 50 to 150-200 m) is colder: the temperature, which varies little by season, is approximately −1.7 °C, salinity is 33.7-34.0‰.

Below, at depths of up to 1000 m, there is a warmer water mass with temperatures of 2.5-4.0 °C and salinity of 33.7-34.3 ‰.

The deep water mass occupies all bottom areas of the sea with depths of more than 1000 m and has temperatures of 1.5-3.0 °C, salinity - 34.3-34.8 ‰.

Ichthyofauna

The Bering Sea is home to 402 species of fish from 65 families, including 9 species of gobies, 7 species of salmon, 5 species of eelpout, 4 species of flounder and others. Of these, 50 species and 14 families are commercial fish. Fishing objects also include 4 types of crabs, 4 types of shrimp, 2 types of cephalopods.

The main marine mammals of the Bering Sea are animals from the order Pinnipeds: ringed seal (akiba), common seal (larga), seal hare (bearded seal), lionfish and Pacific walrus. Among the cetaceans - narwhal, gray whale, bowhead whale, humpback whale, fin whale, Japanese (southern) whale, sei whale, northern blue whale. Walruses and seals form rookeries along the coast of Chukotka.

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Notes

on the World Digital Library website
// Military Encyclopedia: [in 18 volumes] / ed. V. F. Novitsky [and others]. - St. Petersburg.
; [M.]: Type., t-va I.V. Sytin, 1911-1915. Leontyev V.V. Novikova K. A. Bering Sea // Toponymic Dictionary of the North-East of the USSR / scientific. ed.
G. A. Menovshchikov ; Far Eastern Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. North-East complex. Research Institute Lab. archaeology, history and ethnography. - Magadan: Magad. book publishing house, 1989. - P. 86. - 15,000 copies.- ISBN 5-7581-0044-7.
A new geographical road map of the Russian Empire with the meaning of 57 provinces, 8 regions, 4 city administrations, 4 directorates, 8 voivodeships, the Land of Greater and Lesser Kabarda and Kyrgyz Kaisakov. With indications of educational districts, cities, Regional oceanography. - Leningrad, Gidrometeoizdat, 1960. - T. 1. - P. 164.
.

Literature

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Shlyamin B. A. Bering Sea. - M.: Gosgeografgiz, 1958. - 96 p.: ill.
Shamraev Yu. I., Shishkina L. A. Oceanology. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1980.

Links

in the book: A. D. Dobrovolsky, B. S. Zalogin. Seas of the USSR. - M.: Publishing house Moscow. University, 1982.
[nationalatlas.rf/cd1/274-275.html Bering Sea ( physical map, scale 1:5,000,000)] // National Atlas of Russia. - M.: Roscartography, 2004. - T. 1. - P. 274-275. - 496 s. - 3000 copies.

- ISBN 5-85120-217-3.

Excerpt describing the Bering Sea

Princess Marya, lowering her head, left the circle and went into the house. Having repeated the order to Drona that there should be horses for departure tomorrow, she went to her room and was left alone with her thoughts. For a long time that night, Princess Marya sat at the open window in her room, listening to the sounds of men talking coming from the village, but she did not think about them. She felt that no matter how much she thought about them, she could not understand them. She kept thinking about one thing - about her grief, which now, after the break caused by worries about the present, had already become past for her. She could now remember, she could cry and she could pray. As the sun set, the wind died down. The night was quiet and fresh. At twelve o'clock the voices began to fade, the rooster crowed, the full moon began to emerge from behind the linden trees, a fresh white fog
dew, and silence reigned over the village and over the house.
One after another, pictures of the close past appeared to her - illness and her father’s last minutes. And with sad joy she now dwelled on these images, driving away from herself with horror only one last image of his death, which - she felt - she was unable to contemplate even in her imagination at this quiet and mysterious hour of the night. And these pictures appeared to her with such clarity and with such detail that they seemed to her now like reality, now the past, now the future.
“Even then he wanted to tell me what he told me on the day of his death,” she thought. “He always meant what he told me.” And so she remembered in all its details that night in Bald Mountains on the eve of the blow that happened to him, when Princess Marya, sensing trouble, remained with him against his will. She did not sleep and at night she tiptoed downstairs and, going up to the door to the flower shop where her father spent the night that night, listened to his voice. He said something to Tikhon in an exhausted, tired voice. He obviously wanted to talk. “And why didn’t he call me? Why didn’t he allow me to be here in Tikhon’s place? - Princess Marya thought then and now. “He will never tell anyone now everything that was in his soul.” This moment will never return for him and for me, when he would say everything he wanted to say, and I, and not Tikhon, would listen and understand him. Why didn’t I enter the room then? - she thought. “Maybe he would have told me then what he said on the day of his death.” Even then, in a conversation with Tikhon, he asked about me twice. He wanted to see me, but I stood here, outside the door. He was sad, it was hard to talk with Tikhon, who did not understand him. I remember how he spoke to him about Lisa, as if she were alive - he forgot that she died, and Tikhon reminded him that she was no longer there, and he shouted: “Fool.” It was hard for him. I heard from behind the door how he lay down on the bed, groaning, and shouted loudly: “My God! Why didn’t I get up then?” What would he do to me? What would I have to lose? And maybe then he would have been consoled, he would have said this word to me.” And Princess Marya said out loud the kind word that he said to her on the day of his death. “Darling! - Princess Marya repeated this word and began to sob with tears that relieved her soul. She now saw his face in front of her. And not the face that she had known since she could remember, and which she had always seen from afar; and that face is timid and weak, which on the last day, bending down to his mouth to hear what he said, she examined up close for the first time with all its wrinkles and details.
“Darling,” she repeated.
“What was he thinking when he said that word? What is he thinking now? - suddenly a question came to her, and in response to this she saw him in front of her with the same expression on his face that he had in the coffin, on his face tied with a white scarf. And the horror that gripped her when she touched him and became convinced that it was not only not him, but something mysterious and repulsive, gripped her now. She wanted to think about other things, wanted to pray, but could do nothing. She looked at her with big open eyes. Moonlight and shadows, waited every second to see his dead face and felt that the silence that stood over the house and in the house shackled her.
- Dunyasha! – she whispered. - Dunyasha! – she screamed in a wild voice and, breaking out of the silence, ran to the girls’ room, towards the nanny and girls running towards her.

On August 17, Rostov and Ilyin, accompanied by Lavrushka, who had just returned from captivity, and the leading hussar, from their Yankovo camp, fifteen versts from Bogucharovo, went horseback riding - to try a new horse bought by Ilyin and to find out if there was any hay in the villages.
Bogucharovo had been located for the last three days between two enemy armies, so that the Russian rearguard could have entered there just as easily as the French vanguard, and therefore Rostov, as a caring squadron commander, wanted to take advantage of the provisions that remained in Bogucharovo before the French.
Rostov and Ilyin were in the most cheerful mood. On the way to Bogucharovo, to the princely estate with an estate, where they hoped to find large servants and pretty girls, they either asked Lavrushka about Napoleon and laughed at his stories, or drove around, trying Ilyin’s horse.
Rostov neither knew nor thought that this village to which he was traveling was the estate of that same Bolkonsky, who was his sister’s fiancé.
Rostov and Ilyin let the horses out for the last time to drive the horses into the drag in front of Bogucharov, and Rostov, having overtaken Ilyin, was the first to gallop into the street of the village of Bogucharov.
“You took the lead,” said the flushed Ilyin.
“Yes, everything is forward, and forward in the meadow, and here,” answered Rostov, stroking his soaring bottom with his hand.
“And in French, your Excellency,” Lavrushka said from behind, calling his sled nag French, “I would have overtaken, but I just didn’t want to embarrass him.”
They walked up to the barn, near which stood a large crowd of men.
Some men took off their hats, some, without taking off their hats, looked at those who had arrived. Two long old men, with wrinkled faces and sparse beards, came out of the tavern and, smiling, swaying and singing some awkward song, approached the officers.
- Well done! - Rostov said, laughing. - What, do you have any hay?
“And they are the same...” said Ilyin.
“Vesve...oo...oooo...barking bese...bese...” the men sang with happy smiles.
One man came out of the crowd and approached Rostov.
- What kind of people will you be? - he asked.
“The French,” Ilyin answered, laughing. “Here is Napoleon himself,” he said, pointing to Lavrushka.
- So, you will be Russian? – the man asked.
- How much of your strength is there? – asked another small man, approaching them.
“Many, many,” answered Rostov. - Why are you gathered here? - he added. - A holiday, or what?
“The old people have gathered on worldly business,” the man answered, moving away from him.
At this time, along the road from the manor's house, two women and a man in a white hat appeared, walking towards the officers.
- Mine in pink, don’t bother me! - said Ilyin, noticing Dunyasha resolutely moving towards him.
- Ours will be! – Lavrushka said to Ilyin with a wink.
- What, my beauty, do you need? - Ilyin said, smiling.
- The princess ordered to find out what regiment you are and your last names?
- This is Count Rostov, squadron commander, and I am your humble servant.
- B...se...e...du...shka! - the drunk man sang, smiling happily and looking at Ilyin talking to the girl. Following Dunyasha, Alpatych approached Rostov, taking off his hat from afar.
“I dare to bother you, your honor,” he said with respect, but with relative disdain for the youth of this officer and putting his hand in his bosom. “My lady, the daughter of General Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, who died this fifteenth, being in difficulty due to the ignorance of these persons,” he pointed to the men, “asks you to come... would you like,” Alpatych said with a sad smile, “to leave a few, otherwise it’s not so convenient when... - Alpatych pointed to two men who were running around him from behind, like horseflies around a horse.

The Bering Sea is a sea that washes the shores of the United States and Russia, located in the north of the largest ocean in the world - the Pacific.

The Bering Strait connects the Bering Sea with the Arctic Ocean, as well as the Chukchi Sea.

Historical events

The Bering Sea was first mapped only in the 18th century, when it was called the Beaver Sea or Kamchatka Sea.

In 1725, the navigator and officer of the Russian fleet Victor Bering, who had Danish roots, equipped his expedition to explore the then Beaver Sea. Bering passed through the strait, which was named after him, and explored the sea, but did not discover the coast of North America.

Bering was convinced that the shores of North America were not too far from the shores of Kamchatka, which, if the theory was confirmed, would provide the opportunity to trade with American tribes. In 1741, he finally reached the shores of North America, thereby crossing the Kamchatka Sea.

Later, the sea changed its name in honor of the great navigator and geographer - it began to be called the Bering Strait, also as the strait that separates the continents of Eurasia and North America. The sea received its current name only in 1818 - this idea was proposed by French researchers who appreciated Bering's discoveries. However, on maps dating back to the thirties of the 19th century, it was still called Bobrovoye.

Characteristic

The total area of the Bering Sea reaches 2,315,000 square kilometers, and its volume is 3,800,000 cubic kilometers. The most deep point The Bering Sea is located at a depth of 4150 meters, and the average depth does not exceed 1600 meters. Seas like the Bering Sea are usually called marginal, because it is located on the very edge of the Pacific Ocean. It is this sea that separates two large continents: North America and Asia.

Quite impressive coastline It consists mainly of capes and small bays - the coast is simply indented by them. Only a couple flow into the Bering Sea big rivers: the North American Yukon River, whose length reaches more than three thousand kilometers, and the Russian Anadyr River, which is much shorter - only 1150 km.

The climate is influenced by arctic air masses that collide with southern warm ones coming from tropical and temperate latitudes. As a result, a cold climate is formed - the weather is unstable, there are prolonged (about a week) storms. The wave height reaches 7 - 12 meters.

Since the Bering Sea is located in the northern latitudes, from the beginning of September the temperature here drops to minus and the surface of the water is covered with a layer of ice. Ice in the Bering Sea only melts in July, which means that it is only ice-free for two months. The Bering Strait is not covered with ice due to the current. The salt level in the water fluctuates from 33 to 34.7%.

Bering Sea. sunset photo

In summer, the water surface temperature reaches approximately 7-10 degrees Celsius. However, in winter the temperature drops seriously and reaches -3 degrees Celsius. The intermediate layer of water is constantly cold - its temperature never rises above -1.7 degrees - this applies to the layer from 50 to 200 meters. And water at a depth of 1000 meters reaches approximately -3 degrees.

Relief

The bottom topography is very heterogeneous, often transitioning into deep depressions. In the south is the deepest point of the sea at more than four thousand meters. There are also several underwater ridges at the bottom. The seabed is mainly covered with shell rock, sand, diatomaceous earth and gravel.

Cities

There are few cities on the shores of the Bering Sea, and certainly none of them are large due to the very remote location from civilization and the harsh weather throughout the year. However, attention should be paid to the following cities:

Provideniya is a small port settlement that was founded in the middle of the 17th century as a bay for fishing - mainly whaling ships stood here. Only in the middle of the 20th century did construction of a port begin here, which led to the construction of a town around it. The official founding date of Providence is 1946. Now the population of the town is only slightly more than 2 thousand people;
Nome is an American town in the state of Alaska, where, according to the latest census, almost four thousand people live. Nome was founded as a settlement of gold miners in 1898, and the next year its population was about 10 thousand - everyone fell ill with the “gold rush”. Already in the thirties of the 20th century, the boom of the “gold rush” came to an end and a little more than a thousand residents remained in the city;

Anadyr photo

Anadyr is one of the largest cities on the coast, whose population exceeds 14 thousand inhabitants and is constantly growing. The city is located in a zone of almost permafrost. There is a large port of the same name and a fish factory here. In addition, gold and coal are mined in the vicinity of the city. The population also breeds deer, engages in fishing and, of course, hunting.

Animal world

Despite the fact that the Bering Sea is quite cold, this does not in the least prevent it from being home to many species of fish, the number of species of which reaches more than four hundred and all of them are widespread, with a few exceptions. These four hundred hundred species of fish include seven species of salmon, about nine species of gobies, five species of eelpout, and four species of flounder.

Birds over the Bering Sea photo

Of the four hundred species, 50 of them are industrial fish. Also objects for industrial production are four species of crabs, two species of cephalopods and four species of shrimp.

Among the mammals, one can note a large population of seals, including ringed seals, bearded seals, harbor seals, Pacific walruses and lionfish. Walruses and seals form huge rookeries on the coast of Chukotka.

Bereng Sea. Walruses photo

In addition to pinnipeds, cetaceans are also found in the Bering Sea, among which there are quite rare species such as narwhals, humpback whales, bowhead whales, southern or Japanese right whales, incredibly rare northern blue whales and equally rare fin whales.

The Gulf of Lawrence, which in the Bering Sea sometimes does not clear ice on its surface for years at all;
The city of Nome on the Bering Sea coast hosts the most prestigious husky races and is also where the real story, which formed the basis for the cartoon Balto, where a dog saved children from diphtheria.

It occupies the northernmost position among all the Far Eastern seas. This sea is located between two large continents, Asia and America. The Bering Sea is delimited from the waters of the Pacific Ocean by the Commander-Aleutian arc. Most of this sea is made up of natural boundaries, in some areas the boundaries are conditional lines. The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of mixed continental-oceanic type.

In terms of its size and depth, this sea ranks first among all Russian seas. The area of the Bering Sea is 2315 thousand km2, the volume of its waters is 3796 thousand km3. The average depth of the sea is 1640 m, the greatest depth is 4151 m. A fairly small number of islands are located in the waters of the Bering Sea.

The coastline is heavily indented. There are a large number of bays, bays, capes and straits. Many straits connect the sea with the Pacific Ocean. The depth of some straits exceeds 1000–2000 m (for example, the depth of the Kamchatka Strait is 4000–4500 m). Thanks to the large number of straits, there is good water exchange with the Pacific Ocean. The shores washed by the sea are mostly high and have steep slopes. Only the middle part of the western and eastern shores is a low-lying zone.

The continental slope extends from northwest to southeast. The depth of the sea here varies from 22 to 3000 m. The seabed has many underwater valleys. Some of them are submarine canyons and have steep, sharp slopes. In the southwestern and central parts of the Bering Sea there is a deep-water zone. It occupies a significant part of the total water space (about 40% of the total area). The bottom here is almost monotonous. and ridges located in the deep-sea zone are insignificant. The most deep places seas are located near the Aleutian Islands.

The Bering Sea lies in three. Its main part is characterized by a subarctic climate. The extreme northern zone of the sea has, and the southern one belongs to the zone. The northern part of the sea is characterized by some continental features. In sea areas far from the coast, this continentality is weakly expressed. IN southern parts sea sea, therefore quite soft. Here minor changes are observed both during the day and throughout the year. In this zone, a large number predominates and is observed. The western part of the sea is practically not affected, but here the influence of the mainland is felt. The mainland of Asia, adjacent to the Bering Sea, is much colder than the continental part of America, so the western zone of the Bering Sea has lower temperatures compared to the eastern.

In cold seasons, the features are determined by the Aleutian minimum, Polar maximum and Siberian. At this time, all directions are observed here. But the most frequent are northern, northeastern and northwestern winds. Only in the southeast of the sea do southern and southwestern winds occur. In areas of the sea located close to the coast, the average wind speed is about 6 – 8 m/s. In the areas open sea their speed increases to 6 – 12 m/s.

Northern winds blow from and bring with them sea air. From the Asian mainland, westerly winds carry cold, dry continental winds. Continental Arctic winds blow from the east from the American continent. Continental Arctic and marine polar air masses interact over the sea. Upon their contact, it is formed. Over the Bering Sea constantly appear, which increase in strength northern winds on the western part and reduce them on the eastern part.

Powerful storm winds are observed in the western zone of the sea. During a storm, the wind speed increases to 30 - 40 m/s. As a rule, such weather lasts for a day. In some cases, the wind weakens a little, but continues to blow for 7 to 9 days. During the cold period, there can be 5–10 stormy days per month, sometimes up to 15–20 days.

In winter, the temperature drops from south to north. During the coldest time average temperature is +1 – 4°С in the southern parts of the sea. In the north and northeast, temperatures on average drop to – 15 – 20°C. In the open sea the air is warmer than in coastal areas. Off the coast of Alaska, temperatures can drop to -48°C. In the open sea, the minimum temperature is never lower than – 24°C.

By spring, the effects of the Aleutian Low, Polar High and Siberian Anticyclone decrease or completely disappear. As a result of these changes, winds from the southwest, west and southeast dominate in the spring. Their speed is 4 – 5 m/s in the western part of the sea, and 4 – 7 m/s in the east. Near the coast, the wind speed becomes lower. The number of storms in summer is much less than in winter. The southern part of the sea is sometimes hit by a cyclone (), which contributes to the emergence of powerful storms and. The typhoon rages for several days. Most often they occur from June to October.

In summer, the average temperature of the warmest months ranges from + 4 to + 13°C. The air near the coast warms up more than on the open sea. Winter in the southern parts of the sea is mostly mild, in the north it is cold. In summer, cool, cloudy weather prevails everywhere.

The mainland in the Bering Sea is small and amounts to about 400 km 3 in one year. The most that carry their waters to the sea are the Yukon (provides 173 km 3 of fresh water), Kuskokwim (50 km 3 per year) and Anadyr (41 km 3 per year). Largest part river water enters the sea during the summer. During this period, the influence of river waters in the coastal zone is felt.

The Bering Sea is an important route. In this sea the Northern Sea Route and the Far Eastern Sea Route connect. Various goods are transported through the waters of the Bering Sea for the eastern part of the continent. This sea has a well-developed marine environment. In the sea waters they catch salmon, cod, pollock, herring, and flounder. They hunt whales and sea animals (though extremely rarely).

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