Khabarovsk Krai (original) (raw)

Khabarovsk Krai (1995 pop. 1,588,100 est.) in Russia's Far East lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but the krai also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Geography

Khabarovsk Krai shares its borders with Chukotka Autonomous National Area on the north, with Sakha Republic and Amur Oblast on the west, with the People's Republic of China and Primorye Krai on the south, while being limited by the Sea of Okhotsk on the east.

Taiga and tundra in the north, swampy forest in the central depression, and deciduous forest in the south are the natural vegetation in the area.

Economy

Major industries include timberworking and fishing, along with metallurgy in the main cities, although the krai's own mineral resources are poorly developed. Komsomolsk-na-Amure is the iron and steel center of the Far East; a pipeline from northern Sakhalin supplies the petroleum-refining industry in the city of Khabarovsk. In the Amur basin, there is also some cultivation of wheat and soybeans. The capital city, Khabarovsk, is at the junction of the Amur River and the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

Demographics

There are some aboriginal peoples of the Manchu-Tungus language family: Evenk and Even to the north and some Manchu peoples to the south of the Amur river. Some Nivkh (Gilyak), an indigenous fishing people with an isolated language, still live around the Amur delta.