Dimitrova Bay

Dimitrova Bay is the largest bay on the Pacific coast of Shikotan Island, the southernmost of the Kuril Islands, in Sakhalin Oblast. It lies in the Yuzhno-Kurilsky municipal district, on the island's southeastern shore, about 2.5 nautical miles southwest of Mayachnaya Bay.

What it is

The bay has the shape of an almost perfect horseshoe, which shelters its water well from wind and waves. The entrance capes and shores are high, rocky and cut by cliffs and stone fields. In the middle of the bay lies the islet Sredny, 42 meters high, which divides the water area into an outer and an inner part. Near the southern entrance cape rises another islet, Dalny, 62 meters high. In the outer part of the bay the depth is 13-15 meters, while in the inner part it drops sharply to 2-3 meters; the bottom is sandy. The bay is well sheltered from northern and western winds, but southern and eastern winds can pack it with drifting ice, even though the water itself does not freeze in winter.

History

In the last century a pier stood in the bay, used by fishing boats and small trading vessels. When Shikotan belonged to Japan, the bay was called Inemoshiri: a small settlement stood here, home to three Japanese fishing families. The bay received its current name during the Soviet period. Local residents also call it Dimitrovka.

Nature

The shores of the bay are covered with bamboo-grass meadow vegetation. Seabirds — gulls and cormorants — nest on the rocks and islets. Thanks to its sheltered horseshoe shape, the bay serves as a natural quiet harbor and can be used as an anchorage for small vessels.

Getting there

Shikotan Island can be reached from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk by ferry or boat, for example the vessel Igor Farkhutdinov, which runs via Kunashir Island. On Shikotan itself, the road to Dimitrova Bay starts at the turn off the Malokurilskoye-Krabozavodskoye highway near Otradnaya Bay, continuing as an unpaved road. About 7.6 km along the way stands an old Japanese cemetery. A drive of about thirty minutes leads to a viewpoint above the bay near the Aerodromnaya River. Footpaths lead from the parking area to neighboring bays and capes.