The Chukchi Peninsula is replete with bays and bays, but one of them stands alone - Providence Bay. The name fully corresponds to the bay because of the constant fogs that cover it almost all year round and the local waters of the bay are covered with a dense veil through which it is difficult to see anything. Local residents have long been accustomed to this, but a visiting guest will find it a great wonder. However, it was named not because of the fogs, but more on that later.
Such an amazing phenomenon is formed due to the elongated shape of the bay. It is 34 kilometers long and only 4 kilometers wide, while the Providence Bay is surrounded by steep and steep shores reaching a height of 800 meters. The result is a kind of natural pipe, due to which constant fogs are formed here. But despite this, this place is very important on the northern sea route due to the fact that here the sea is free of ice for longer than in other places, from May to October.
Discovery history
The first who visited these places was Kurbat Ivanov, who was considered the successor of Semyon Dezhnev in the development of these places. Ivanov's expedition reached these places in 1660, however, like many of Dezhnev's discoveries, this event was not given due importance, although the bay was an ideal place for the construction of a northern port and a reference point on the northern trade route. The bay got its name only two centuries later in 1848. In that year, a ship cruised in this area in search of the Franklin expedition, and in October it was decided to winter in these places, the deep bay was an ideal place for wintering and later the British called it the bay of Holy Providence. For the next hundred years, a hidden trade war was waged in the region. Russia fought for its monopolies in the trade of local goods and, as best it could, protected it from visiting American guest performers who exchanged furs and walrus bone for whiskey. Light clippers periodically entered the bay and arrested American traders, but this stopped few people, because the trade expeditions were super-profitable.
The bay really began to be explored only at the end of the 30s. In 1933, a commission came here and developed a project for the construction of a port. Construction proceeded at an accelerated pace and after the Second World War there was already a small town of two thousand inhabitants, and the population of all the settlements of the bay reached 5 thousand people. Currently, these places are empty and only the local population remained here for the most part.
Providence village
The Chukchi have long chosen these places, however, they thought about a full-fledged city on the shores of the Bay of Providence only in the 30s. A very small stronghold appeared in 1928, and it was only a warehouse with coal for passing ships. Starting in 1933, houses and a port were gradually built, and four years later, in 1937, massive construction began here. The settlement began to function fully after the war, and its population reached 2 thousand people.
The village experienced another leap in the 50s and 60s, when the confrontation with America gained maximum turnover. Military units were relocated to these places, which led to a sharp jump in the population and there was even a plan to build a city for 12 thousand people, but it never came true. But even despite this, the population exceeded 5 thousand people, and the village of Providing became one of the largest in Chukotka.
With the collapse of the union, the collapse of the village also occurred. The military left, most of them were local. From 1994 to 2002, no construction was carried out at all, and the local population gradually left for the "mainland" and it seemed that the village would soon disappear from the map of Russia, but this was not destined to happen and for the last ten years the village has been gradually being restored, complete overhaul was carried out everywhere. , new buildings are being erected. But the village of Ghosts is unlikely to ever become as big as before, but will only remain an important supporting port on the northern sea route and a place of fishing.
Tourism
As a military point on the map of Russia, the village is unlikely to recover, but as an exotic tourist point it may well be. In recent years, tourists are increasingly attracted to the most unusual places on the planet, for example, an excursion to the North Pole costs a lot of money, while you need to stand in a long queue to get the coveted ticket for the flight. Providence Bay is also the end of the earth with untouched northern nature, a real natural museum, almost like another planet. The village itself is not yet suitable for tourism, it has a small museum of the history of the region and that's all, but it can be developed as an unusual tourist destination in the world.
Source: rus-globus.ru
Across the mountains to the sea with a light backpack. Route 30 passes through the famous Fisht - this is one of the most grandiose and significant natural monuments in Russia, the highest mountains closest to Moscow. Tourists travel lightly through all the landscape and climatic zones of the country, from the foothills to the subtropics, and spend the night in shelters.
Sometimes I do not have enough communication, I just want to talk to someone. There are very few people in Chukotka. You can ride a motorcycle all day and not meet anyone. In principle, it suits me, I'm used to traveling alone. Sometimes during a few days of the trip you don’t say a word, and I don’t like to talk to myself.
I have been living in Chukotka since I was two years old, one might say, all my life, but I was born in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, on the Taimyr Peninsula. This is also the Far North. In general, I have lived in the Arctic all my life. Perhaps that is why my place of residence seems ideal to me. For example, when I am on vacation, in big cities I feel uncomfortable with all this fuss around. I would like to quickly return home to Chukotka.
At home, you can hardly meet non-local people. There are tourists, of course, but mostly foreigners come on cruise ships: they wander in crowds around the village for several hours and then sail further. For an ordinary tourist, I think it is very problematic to get to the territory of Chukotka. Firstly, it is a border zone, and secondly, it is very expensive. The plane is not the cheapest form of transport. They fly here from Anadyr: once a month in winter and once a week in summer.
My main hobby is motorcycle rides. I love climbing mountains, walking alone on the tundra and visiting abandoned, dead towns, which we have had enough since the days of the Iron Curtain. On our side of the bay is the settlement of Providence, and on the opposite side is Ureliki, a dead and abandoned military town. I go there often, just wander through the empty streets, looking at the gaping, broken windows of buildings.
This fall I examined the local school, the building is in a completely depressing state, even though you can shoot a horror movie: broken glass is everywhere, water is dripping from the ceiling, the wind is walking along the corridors. I know some of the graduates of this school, they are already adults, sometimes they come to their school, but they cannot even get together in their own class. They sit in the courtyard, grill barbecue and complain that the meeting of graduates now has to be held on the street, since only the walls remain of their native school.
Previously, I was not afraid to wander through abandoned buildings, but now I feel fear. It seems as if there is something alive in these houses, so I completely stopped going into dark rooms: basements, long corridors and rooms without windows. But I am attracted to these houses, I like to wander around places that have no future: to visit old hunting and fishing houses.
I am always interested in traveling to suddenly find an old house of geologists in the tundra. I love to read the graffiti on the walls. For example: “Andrey Smirnov. Chukotka. Summer 1973 ". The questions immediately arise in my head: "Who was this Andrei? What did he do in Chukotka in 1973? How was his future fate, where is he now?" Etc. This all excites and interests me insanely.
“Active construction of the village began in 1937. A convoy of ships from the Providenstroy enterprise has arrived here. First of all, it was necessary to build a port. At the end of 1945, the Kamchatka Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted a resolution on the creation of a working settlement of Providence in the Chukotka region. The village continued to develop rapidly, military units were relocated here. The first public building, the canteen, was not completed until 1947.
From the memoirs of Lyudmila Adiatullina, Perm:
- My father, Borodin Vasily Andreevich, reached Prague during the war. Then part of it was loaded into echelons and across all of Russia was sent to the Far East to the Bay of Providence, where he served for another five years.
It was very difficult, for two years they lived in six-winged tents, among rocky stone hills. The bunks were made of stones, and reindeer moss was placed on top. Four were asleep, and the fifth was burning a stove. In the morning, sometimes my hair froze to the tent. Snow covered this tent city, people dug out each other, made food blocks, officers' houses, defensive structures and even roads from logs.
In the second year, they brought in little fuel, and in order not to freeze, the military looked for dwarf birches, tore them up by the roots; chopped bricks and soaked stones in barrels of kerosene. This has already been used to heat the stoves. It is good that the Chukchi suggested that there were coal mines developed by the Americans not far from the location of the unit. When asked to leave in 1925, they blew everything up and covered it with earth. The soldiers re-developed these mines in a primitive way, carried coal 30 km away in backpacks, on skis. And yet they survived.
Then we went on dogs and deer, rented them from the Chukchi. They sawed the snow with saws, carried it in a sleigh and made water out of it. Only in the third year began to build soldiers' barracks from wooden blocks. The barracks were large, for a division. There were no builders among the soldiers, but life taught everything. In September 1950, everyone was demobilized. For seven years they were not at home: two years in the war and five years in Chukotka. "
The village of Providence itself is an ordinary northern port town with monuments to the devastation of the nineties, bad roads and kind, sympathetic people. Some people come here just to earn a "northern" pension and leave. They do not understand the beauty of the North, this is for visitors - cold, snow and stones. Some, on the contrary, are crazy about mountains, northern lights, whales, and other romance. I am just such people.
All the most interesting is located outside our village: the base of sea hunters, the whale cemetery, the remains of military facilities, the ancient sites of the Eskimos, hot underground springs. In the summer, I travel to the ocean on a motorcycle all the time, I like to walk everywhere, climb hills, wander around unknown places.
And what animals can you stumble upon! I saw: whales, seals, wolves, brown and polar bears, fox, arctic fox, wolverine, hare, euraska, ermine, lemming and a bunch of different birds. Only bears and wolves are dangerous to humans. A gun, I think, of course, is not a superfluous thing in the tundra, and just in the wild, but it so happened that I did without it all my life. Maybe I was lucky, just if I came across bears, I was always on transport, on a snowmobile or a motorcycle. But if you are traveling on foot, then it is better to take a gun or at least a rocket launcher: some kind of firecrackers to scare away predators.
Once I came across the wreckage of an airplane. Once I was driving along the shore of the lake and saw something on the slope of the hill. Climbed in - it turned out that it was a "LI-2" aircraft. It crashed here in the seventies. Below I saw a plaque and a sign. Many more aircraft wreckage can be found on the territory of military facilities. All this remains from the times of the Soviet army.
The mobile phone catches here. The Internet, however, is expensive and very slow. Therefore, everyone here is sitting in Whatsapp chats. A megabyte of mobile traffic costs nine rubles.
There is also some work. Power plant, boiler room, border guards, police, seaport and airport.
There are about fifteen shops here. Everything in them is very expensive, because the goods are brought in by ships. What was thrown by plane is even more expensive. Fruits and vegetables can cost 800-1000 rubles per kilogram, and those that are unloaded from ships are two times cheaper. The things are mostly Chinese trash from Vladivostok. I don't buy them here at all, I order everything through online stores or buy on the mainland. So many do.
For children there is a kindergarten, a school, a ski section, and a sports complex. In general, you can live. Fans of the north of Providence will like it.
Provideniya Bay is a bay in the Anadyr Bay of the Bering Sea, off the southeastern coast of the Chukotka Peninsula. The entrance to Provideniya Bay is limited by Lysaya Golova Cape in the east and Lesovskiy Cape in the west. The width of Provideniya Bay is about 8 km at the beginning. Length 34 km (measured along the centerline).
The width of the bay below Emma Harbor is about 4 km, and above Emma Harbor is about 2.5 km. The steep banks and hills of the bay have an average height of about 600-800 meters. From May to October, completely or partially free of ice. At the entrance to the bay, the depth is about 35 m. The maximum depth is about 150 meters. Inside Provideniya Bay there are several smaller bays: Komsomolskaya Bay (Emma Harbor), Slavyanka Bay, Head Bay, Horseman and Cash Bays. An ancient legend says: in August 1660, the boyar son Kurbat Ivanov, the successor of Semyon Dezhnev, undertook a fishing expedition to the north and reached the modern Cape of Chukotka. This is evidenced by the unsubscribe from the sailor to the Yakut voivode Ladynezhsky. The legend says that it was Kurbat Ivanov and his comrades who were one of the newcomers who visited Provideniya Bay. The deep-water bay, which occupies a convenient geographical position, has attracted sailors for a long time. But for almost 200 years it was unnamed. The bay got its romantic name from the sailors of the English sailing ship Plover, commanded by Thomas Moore. In 1848-1849, during the harsh winter, Plover's team suffered a disaster and was forced to winter here. In commemoration of the successful wintering, Captain Moore named the happy place the Bay of Saint Providence. Later, the bay was visited by American, Norwegian, Japanese whalers, Russian and American merchants, Russian military hydrographic vessels and fishing expeditions. The bay becomes a convenient base in the extreme northeast for refueling ships with fuel and water. The history of the Chelyuskin epic and the development of the northern sea route showed the need to build a seaport in the bay. In February 1937, the head of the main northern sea route, Otto Yulievich Schmitt, approved the project for the construction of the port. And in the summer of 1940, the ships were already unloading at the wall of the first berth. With the creation of a seaport in Provideniya, the settlements of Ureliki (Plover) are intensively developed. By 1941, Provideniya had construction offices "Providenstroy", the "Polar Star" industrial martel, post office, bank, hydrography, airport, Ploverskaya machine-fishing station. There was also a radio station, a hospital, and an elementary school. The number of inhabitants by that time had reached seven hundred people. The working settlement of Providence was formed in the Chukotka region in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR dated May 10, 1946. As time went on, the number of enterprises in the settlement increased, the number of its inhabitants grew. On April 25, 1957, the Providensky District was formed. It included the villages of Enmelen, Nunlingran, Sireniki, Chaplino, Yanrakinot. Providence Bay is one of the most beautiful places in Chukotka. For the last three to four years, tourists and fans of rare sports are increasingly attracted here. Every year, the inhabitants of the village become witnesses and even participants in the winter dog sled races. In the summer, the seers invite boaters from all over the world to make an exciting kayaking trip along the ancient trails of the pioneers.
Used photographs from the sites: www.esosedi.ru; pckd.ru; ic.pics.livejournal.com; cont.ws; mediasubs.ru
In the southeast of Chukotka, in the waters of the Anadyr Bay, there is a beautiful corner of the peninsula, bounded by the rocky capes named after Lesovsky and Lysaya Gora, the sea port bay of Provideniya. The harsh, but infinitely beautiful Bay of Providence has its own unique northern beauty. A magnificent corner under a bright northern sky and a wonderful Providensky Museum of Local Lore is a worthy occasion to visit these fabulous places, to touch the ancient riddles and secrets that attract like a magnet.
The toponym of the Bay "Providence", which appeared in 1848 with the light hand of the English captain Thomas Moore, in memory of the "happy providence" that allowed his ship to spend the winter in a secluded natural bay, excites the imagination of connoisseurs of history. It was here that sea merchant and whaling ships more than once got up for the winter, fearing raging storms.
The ships received reliable protection in the calm harbor, thanks to the favorable geographical location of Providence Bay. At the very beginning, the width of the bay is up to 8 km, with a bay length of 34 km, the further inland, the narrower it becomes. Down from Emma's harbor, the width of the bay is 4 km, and above it is 2.5 km. On any map, the bay looks like a giant plant curving to the north and northeast with separate bays-branches.
Steep rocky shores, high hills up to 800 meters close it from cold stormy winds. In summer, the bay is free of ice cover, at the same time daily tides are observed here. Depths range from 35 meters at the entrance to the bay to 150 meters. Along the shores of the bay there are shallow bays and quiet harbors: Komsomolskaya Bay, Slavyanka, Head, Emma Harbor, Horseman, Vladimir, Cash Bay.
On the eastern coast of the Komsomolskaya Bay there are large settlements of the urban settlement of Provideniya and the ethnic village "Ureliki", the airport of the same name "Provideniya Bay", which receives international flights and charters. In Slavyanka Bay, behind the natural breakwater of the Plover spit and Cape Gaidamak, there is an anchorage known to sailors.
For the first time on the shores of the bay in 1660, sailors from a ship under the command of Kurbat Ivanov appeared, but they did not name it or put it on a map, and for another two hundred years it remained unnamed for geographers and researchers until the wintering of Thomas Moore's ship. In the summer of 1876, the clipper "Horseman" arrived here under the command of Captain Novoselsky, who made a hydrographic survey for the first time in Provideniya Bay.
After the Chelyuskin events in 1937, O. Yu. Schmidt, the head of the Northern Sea Route, approved the construction of the Provedensky port in the Bering Sea, its appearance gave a powerful impetus to the development of the territory. For many centuries, there was an Eskimo village on the Plover spit; it, like many small villages of the Chukchi and Evenks, was evacuated to accommodate coastal defense batteries in 1941.
Today, tourists, travelers and lovers of rare and exotic northern sports come to the shores of Provideniya Bay. Every year, winter snowmobile and dog sled races are held here; in summer, water tourists come here with pleasure to make an exciting boat trip on kayaks and other watercraft along the routes of seafarers.
Providence Bay in the photo
The address: Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Bering Sea, Anadyr Bay
GPS coordinates: 64.404094, -173.319303
Providence Bay on the map
Providence Bay on video
The night was warm enough, a slight wind was blowing. From Cape Chaplino we walked along the lighthouse lights, of which there are many - excellent navigation!
Early in the morning we passed the Plover spit, which blocks the entrance to Providence Bay for almost half, we got in touch with the border guards and the port by radio. At the port they were waiting for us and in a very kind and sympathetic way they told us in detail about the entrance and the place of anchorage.
At seven in the morning we docked at the spa, whose crew was also very pleasant and welcoming. There were already young border guard officers. After border formalities, they talked about our journey. It was still early, and it was Sunday. We announced our call the day before, but the scheduled arrival time indicated 12-14 hours. In order not to wake anyone up and not put on their ears, we decided to wait at least nine - the beginning of the tenth.
Someone dozed off, someone talked, someone was engaged in minor everyday issues. The weather is cloudy in the morning, so perhaps the most beautiful bay in Chukotka also looks gloomy.
The very village of Providence, which has grown into the foundations of houses into a hill with rather steep slopes, causes ambiguous impressions. A kind of mixture of cheerful and cheerful Pevek mixed with sad Tiksi. Some of the houses are bright and colorful (it turned out later that they were not even painted, but faced with a multi-colored polymer material, which is much more durable than paint).
Some are gray, boarded up tightly. Here and there gray spots of dilapidated old industrial buildings can be seen. And at the same time, on a high spur at the edge of the village, there is an amazingly beautiful two-story building in the style of northern Scandinavia (it turned out - a set for the film "Territory", which was filmed here not so long ago).
The connection was mobile, but the Internet did not want to work in any. By the way, the Internet megaphone did not work that day, and therefore our plans to send materials were crying - we are taking it on, now, probably, to Egvekinot.
At the beginning of the tenth we call the head of the Providensky district, Sergei Shestopalov. He is already on his feet, aware that we have arrived and promises to be very soon. Literally ten minutes later, on the spa deck, we meet the head - a good-natured, pleasant and cheerful man. We quickly discuss our plans, and in order not to stand in the wind, we are offered to continue communication in the cabin of the hospitable crew of the SPA. From there, Sergei makes a series of short calls, at the same time Voloboy communicates with the spa captain on weather forecasts. The captain has a very good and detailed wind forecast map, which is very important for us.
In about ten or fifteen minutes the "loaf" arrives and the crew of "Andrey" is taken to the hotel on the first flight. Ten minutes later and we are already in the car going there. A very cozy hotel with a fairly fresh renovation and all the benefits of civilization - such a hostel of the European level. Here the hostess is already meeting us and bustling about. All are settled, and our program for today is scheduled every minute:
11.30 - Bath
14.00 - Museum
15.30 - Departure to the national Eskimo village of New Chaplino, meeting at the school, concert, communication.
If we manage to do all this and stay alive - a meeting in the Providence club with local residents. If tomorrow morning we do not leave further, then at 10 am a meeting at the Administration, and then we'll see.
The plan suits us absolutely, but right away we honestly say that in the morning we will leave unconditionally, since the forecast is still good, but then it gets worse by the second half of the week. Then we proceed according to the plan. We understand that over time it gets tense - before the sauna we run to the store to buy something for lunch and buy some fresh food on the kochi.
At 11.30 we are already in the bathhouse. Public bath. But what a! Clean, comfortable, spacious, excellent steam room, relaxation room with tables - in general, it would seem, well, a bathhouse and a bathhouse .... No, nothing like that! BATH !!! Probably, on the mainland it is impossible to understand this. Since not so many people go to the bathhouse and not so often. Those who go to Moscow and truly appreciate the bathhouse - go to Sanduny. Well, one way or another, there are different baths and saunas, of which there are a great many with an incomprehensible format (either a bath, or "at the same time and wash"). But, here is a public bath in such an excellent condition and a wonderful bath culture (regulars, communication, traditions), which is increasingly being lost, is not often found! And, what a bathhouse is for us, who have been traveling on water for fifty days, and in general it is not necessary to say! There was a very good bathhouse in Pevek. But, it was not a "public bath" format.
In general, our admiration knew no bounds, and for two hours we were immensely and infinitely happy! Along the way, we told the local bathers about our expedition - why waste time in vain - here they are excellent informal meetings!
Having weighed a million bows to the hostess, we are in a hurry to have a quick bite to eat and go to the museum.
MUSEUM! Shock again! We're knocked out! Two floors of real local history! An excellently constructed exposition in the halls, a very rich collection of exhibits - in everything you can see the skill and professionalism multiplied by the soul of the museum staff!
Our guide and senior researcher Igor Aleksandrovich, whom we simply inundate with questions, answers everything, having time to tell a lot about everything between them.
The archaeological collection of the museum is especially impressive!
We are completely out of the schedule, since we cannot stop asking questions. The conversation continues here, but already in the administrative office at a tea party with a lot of all sorts of goodies! But, we understand that the next school is in Novy Chaplino and they are waiting for us there! Igor Alexandrovich willingly volunteers to go with us and continue communication on the road!
