Sep/24

The Pristine Nature of the Commander Islands of Russia

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Nature, Regions, Travel

The Commander (Komandorskiye) Islands are an archipelago of two large and two small islands located in the southwestern Bering Sea of the Pacific Ocean, part of Kamchatka Krai of Russia. The archipelago is named after the navigator Commander Vitus Bering, who discovered these islands in 1741.

Bering Island is the largest island of the Commander Islands. It is about 90 km long and 24 km wide. The grave of Vitus Bering and several of his comrades are located here. There is only one settlement here – the village of Nikolskoye with a population of about 600 people. Bering Island, like all the Commander Islands, is located on an underwater ridge that extends from Alaska. The Aleutian Islands of the US state of Alaska are also located on this ridge. Photos by Andrey Grachev.

The Commander Islands National Park is the largest national park in Russia. Its protected water area is more than 36,000 square kilometers. The reserve is located on the Commander Islands and adjacent waters, in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, between Eurasia and North America.

In total, the Commander Islands are home to more than 300,000 animals belonging to 40 species (fur seals, spotted seals, Steller sea lions, sea otters – such a diversity of marine mammals is not found anywhere else in Russia), and 50,000 birds, including gyrfalcons, peregrine falcons and glaucous-winged gulls.

Bering Island is not a border zone and Russian citizens do not need permission to visit it. However, if you are planning a sea excursion, you must obtain permission in advance from the border department in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Foreigners must obtain permission from the FSB of Russia and the border department to visit Bering Island.

The second largest island of the Commander Islands is Medny (“Copper”) Island. Its length is about 56 km, width – up to 8 km.

The climate on the Commander Islands is severe: low temperatures are combined with high humidity and strong winds. The Commander Islands are also known for their fog (the foggiest month is July). The most favorable time to visit the Commander Islands is June-September, when you can observe wildlife in all its diversity: thousands of rookeries of marine mammals, bird colonies, whale migrations.

You can get to the Commander Islands by air and sea. The fastest option is to fly from Elizovo Airport (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky). From there, a plane flies to the village of Nikolskoye (Bering Island) several times in the summer and 1-2 times in other seasons.