Iony Island
Coordinates: 56°24′35″N 143°22′53″E / 56.4097°N 143.3815°E
| Iony Island Остров Ионы | |
|---|---|
| Island | |
 Location of Ioni Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. | |
| Country | Russian Federation |
| Federal subject | Khabarovsk Krai |
| Elevation | 300 m (1,000 ft) |
Iony Island (Russian: Остров Ионы), or Jonas' Island, formerly Ostrov Svyatogo Iony (Saint Jonas' Island),[1] is a small island in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Geography
Iony Island is the only island in the Sea of Okhotsk that is located in the open sea. All other islands in the Okhotsk Sea are either coastal islands or they belong to the Kuril island chain.[2][3] It is 1.6 km (1 mi) in length and 850 m (0.5 mi) wide and its 300 m high jagged cliffs give it a roughly conical shape.
Administratively Iony belongs to the Khabarovsk Krai of the Russian Federation.[4]
History
As early as 1849 whaleships had reached Jonas Island.[5] Between 1852 and 1866 the island's waters were a common hunting ground for ships cruising for bowhead whales — Captain Moses Snell, of the ship Pacific, of Fairhaven, reported seeing as many as forty-five other ships from his masthead just to the south of the island early in June 1855.[6] The fleet would usually reach the area by late May or early June,[7] spending a few weeks cruising for whales before sailing to the south and west, following the retreating ice. Some would go ashore to take advantage of the bounty of seabirds and pinnipeds residing on the island's rocky shores.[8][9] In the first week of June 1855 the ship Edgar, of Cold Spring, was wrecked on the island. All hands were saved.[10] Ships sent boats ashore to salvage what they could of the reported 1,600-bbls of oil that had been aboard the ship, while others picked up whatever they found drifting offshore.[11]
Schooners hunted fur seals on the island between 1889 and 1896. At least 2,250 were caught, with a peak of 879 by four schooners in 1890.[12][13]
Ecology
Remote and isolated Iony Island is a breeding ground for the Steller sea lion.[14][15]
See also
References
- ↑ Okhotskoe more - Former name
- ↑ Geographic Location
- ↑ Geographical data
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ Henry Kneeland, of New Bedford, July 27, 1849, Old Dartmouth Historical Society (ODHS); Shepherdess, of Mystic, August 8, 1849, Nicholson Whaling Collection (NWC).
- ↑ Charles Phelps, of Stonington, June 8-21, 1852, NWC; Pacific, of Fairhaven, June 3, 1855, NWC; Cicero, of New Bedford, June 18, 1861, Kendall Whaling Museum (KWM); Josephine, of New Bedford, May 3–7, 1864, May 18–23, 1865, May 18–20, 1866, KWM.
- ↑ Daniel Wood, of New Bedford, May 19, 1855, May 30, 1854; Covington, of Warren, May 29, 1855, June 6, 1854; Charles Phelps, of Stonington, June 8, 1852, NWC.
- ↑ William Wirt, of New Bedford, June 10, 1854; Louisa, of New Bedford, May 26, 1858, NWC; Cicero, of New Bedford, June 19, 1861, KWM.
- ↑ Storfursten Constantin, of Helsinki, June 1860. In Lindholm, O. V., Haes, T. A., & Tyrtoff, D. N. (2008). Beyond the frontiers of imperial Russia: From the memoirs of Otto W. Lindholm. Javea, Spain: A. de Haes OWL Publishing.
- ↑ Lexington, of Nantucket, June 7, 1855, G. W. Blunt White Library; Mary, of Edgartown, June 14, 1855, NWC.
- ↑ Daniel Wood, June 11, 1855; Mary, June 14, 1855; Pacific, June 14, 1855; William Wirt, June 18, 1855, NWC.
- ↑ Stejneger, Leonard (1896). The Russian fur-seal islands. Washington, Govt. Print. Off.
- ↑ Jordan, David Starr (1898). The fur seals and fur-seal islands of the North Pacific Ocean. Washington, Govt. Print. Off.
- ↑ Sea lions
- ↑ Northern Sea Lion Distribution and Abundance: 1956-80
