72 SIIIEICIA. 



winter ami .spriiii^. On tlic; cfjiilraiy, on tin; wliol<^ iiurlhuru littoral of tijo Sea of Okhotsk, 

 from Okhotsk to Ti^jiiiil.sk, in the northern j)ait of Kamchatka and in Chukot laud, there i.s a 

 very small rainfall^ reachin^'ln Oklliotsk in the course of tho year (jnly IIX) millimetres, and the 

 \viiil(!rs are almost ah.solnli-ly snowless, uilli liiil !t inillinielres. The climate of the Sea of Okhotsk 

 i> liii ilni characli'rized hy monsoons, that is, winds hlowing in summer fiom the sea and in winter 

 inmi 111!' hunl. In winUu' tin; aerial cuirent of llie monsoons pours across the crest of the 

 Stanovoi lan^e' with such I'orci; that men and pack animals cannot go a^'ainst it. In the lali; 

 autumn ships avail themselves id' these winds on the voya^'e from Okhotsk to Kamchatka. In 

 siiiMiiiri-, (in till' contrary, strong winds blow from the sea into the Okhotsk shore; they bring 

 Willi iliciii cold, impenetrable fog and <;bus/>, a fine cold misty rain. These monsoons are 

 explained by the strong heating of the land compariMl with llie sea in summer and its cortling 

 iu winter. 



The llora of the whole u[ the Okhotsk-Kamchatka country is poor in the number of 

 species and exhibits but small variety, but ilie vegetable growth over the whole of its damp 

 part upon the western littoral of the Sea of Okhotsk and iu southern Kamchatka is luxuriaui. 

 The forests of southern Kamchatka consist only of the two coniferous species, the Siberian 

 fir (abics sibirica Led.) and of the Siberian cedar (piuus cembra L.), and of a few deciduous 

 trees, a birch (betula pubescens Khr.), an alder (alnus incaua W.), a poplar (populus suave- 

 olens Kisch.), a rowan (pyrus sambucifolia Ch.), a willow (salix peutandra L.), to which must 

 be added further a few shrubs belonging to the genera of clematis (atragene ocholensis Pall.j, 

 dog-rose (two Siberian species) honeysuckle (loniccra nigra L.), birch (betula Ermanni Ch.) and 

 willow, several species, not counting the smallest bushes of the family of heathers (ericace*). 



The herbaceous plants, while very poor in the number of species, grow' luxuriantly, 

 far exceeding a man's height. Ljifortunately among such is a species of nettle with divided 

 leaves (urtica cannabina L.), which has latterly increased here to such an extent that it 

 literally, over large areas, completely crowds out all other vegetation and will be fatal to 

 Kamchatka until its fibre finds some practical application. 



The western coast of the Sea of Okhotsk presents a great resemblance in its vegetation 

 with Kamchatka. Some plants however cross over into its southern portion from the Cssuri- 

 Littoral region, as for example is the case with the tree, picea ajanensis. As for the northern 

 coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, and the perfectly treeless tableland, occupying northern Kamchatka, 

 and Chukot land, their flora bears a greater resemblance to that existing under similar cli- 

 matic conditions in the polar tundra zone of the Yakutsk region. 



The laud fauna of the Ochotsk-Kamchatka country differs little from the Siberian. 

 Its marine fauna has an incomparably greater importance for the district, for the simple 

 reason that uow^here does ".the marine fauna of the polar seas come so far south as in Beh- 

 ring Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk whither, together with marine currents and icebergs, the 

 mammals and fish of the Arctic Ocean penetrate in large numbers. 



The Sea of Okhotsk, occupying an extensive area between the coast of the Asiatic 

 continent and the peninsula of Kamchatka, and shut in on the south-east by the Kuril ridge, 

 which leaves as many as 20 convenient entrances into it from the Pacific Ocean and the Sea 

 of Japan, is placed in quite exceptional climatic conditions. Notwithstanding its geographical 



