Taui Bay

Taui Bay (Russian: Тауйская губа; Tauyskaya Guba) is a body of water in the Sea of Okhotsk off the coast of the Magadan Oblast in Russia. The bay opens to the south.

Taui Bay Тауйская губа
Bay
Taui Bay
Coordinates: 59°18′N 150°24′E
Country	Russian Federation
Federal subject	Far Eastern Federal District
Oblast	Magadan Oblast

Geography

It is some 130 km (80 mi) wide and 75 km (46 mi) deep, and is enclosed by the Koni Peninsula with Odyan Bay and Zavyalov Island on its eastern side and by Spafaryev Island on its southwestern end. Ice occurs in the bay from the middle of October to the middle of June. Tides are semidiurnal. Springs rise about 4.5 m (14.75 ft), while neaps rise 1.8 to 2.1 m (5.9 to 6.9 ft).[1]

The enclosed area is ca. 10 000 km², and the average depth 50–60 m (165-196 ft). The Arman, Ola, Yana and Taui rivers drain into the bay. The city of Magadan is situated the centrally at the end of the bay, on the shore of the smaller Nagayeva Bay.

History

Taui Bay was frequented by American, French, and Russian whaleships hunting bowhead and gray whales between 1849 and 1885.[2] The bark Isabella, of New Bedford, reported as many as thirty ships in the bay, all whaling.[3] These ships usually sought shelter to obtain wood and water, flense whales, or boil oil in Fabius Harbor, between the mainland and Fabius Island (Ostrov Nedorazumeniya),[4] or Jeannette Harbor (Nagayeva Bay), under Jeannette Point (Mys Chirikova).[5] Some traded calico for fresh salmon from the natives.[6]

On 12 August 1852, the whaleship Liancourt, of Havre, was wrecked in the bay during a squall. Her crew were rescued by nearby vessels.[7] A ship found casks with provisions and pieces of the wreck to the west of the bay about ten days later.[8]

Fauna

There are a number of large colonies of common murre in the bay.[9] Beluga whales are also occasionally sighted in the bay – they were formerly seen here regularly.[10]

References

1. Prostar Sailing Directions 2004 East Coast of Russia Enroute. ProStar Publications. 1 January 2004. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-57785-560-6. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
2. Good Return, of New Bedford, July 28-Aug. 3, 1849, Old Dartmouth Historical Society (ODHS); Florida, of New Bedford, June 15-Sep. 27, 1852, ODHS; Daniel Wood, of New Bedford, Aug. 17-Oct. 8, 1853, Aug. 17-Oct. 9, 1854, June 20-Oct. 6, 1855, Nicholson Whaling Collection (NWC); Cincinnati, of Stonington, May 27-June 18, 1858, May 24-June 7, 1859, NWC; Sea Breeze, of New Bedford, Oct. 5-7, 1866, Sep. 20-26, 1868, ODHS; Northern Light, of New Bedford, Aug. 21-23, 1874, ODHS; Mary and Helen II, of San Francisco, June 4-7, Sep. 18-20, 1885, Kendall Whaling Museum.
3. Isabella, of New Bedford, Aug. 20, 1853, NWC.
4. Daniel Wood, of New Bedford, Sep. 5, 1853, Aug. 19, 1854, NWC; Pacific, of Fairhaven, Aug. 13, 1855, NWC; Onward, of New Bedford, June 9, 1856, NWC.
5. Betsey Williams, of Stonington, Aug. 4, 1853, KWM; Daniel Wood, Sep. 9–10, 1853, NWC; Cincinnati, June 7, 1859, NWC.
6. Betsey Williams, July 9, July 14, Aug. 23, 1853, KWM.
7. Whalemen's Shipping List, New Bedford, January 18, 1853, Vol. XI, No. 46, p. 335.
8. Three Brothers, of Nantucket, August 23, 1852, Nantucket Historical Association.
9. Kondratyev, A. Y., Litvinenko, N. M., Shibaev, Y. V., Vyatkin, P. S., & Kondratyeva, L. F. (2000). "The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East". Seabirds of the Russian Far East, 37-81.
10. Solovyev, B. A., Shpak, O. V., Glazov, D. M., Rozhnov, V. V., & D. M. Kuznetsova. (2015). "Summer distribution of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Sea of Okhotsk". Russian J. Theriol. 14 (2): 201-215.