The 10th of July the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society «The Cold Pole connects the oceans» successfully started from Okhotsk of Khabarovsk region. Several dozens of people gathered on the seafront of the city, including the representatives of the administration of Okhotsk region, which provided assistance to travelers at all stages of the campaign.
Okhotsk, founded in 1639, - is one of the oldest settlements in the Russian Far East. It is from here during the XVII-XVIII centuries were sent expeditions for the study of Kamchatka and other eastern coasts of Russia, the oldest Russian shipyard on the Pacific coast. Exactly that is why the city is considered to be the birthplace of the Russian Pacific Fleet.
According to the reports of the members of the expedition, they managed to pass 95 kilometers up the river Okhota. This corresponds to the plan of a campaign. The boats stopped several times to take samples of water for phytoplankton and hydrochemistry. At the end of the expedition these samples will be submitted for analysis to specialized research institutes.
Besides, the expedition recorded 3 nests of Steller's sea eagle – these predator birds are being endemics for the coastal areas of North-East Asia. The coordinates of these locations were recorded with the help of GPS-receivers.
«The Cold Pole connects the oceans» expedition aims to pass the internal river routes from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean. The route runs along the rivers Okhota and Indigirka through the point of bifurcation - rare natural phenomenon, when two sleeves of one aqueous stream are going down on the opposite sides of the watershed. The expedition will take place from Okhotsk to the village Russkoye Ustye – one more ancient Russian village at the mouth of the Indigirka near the Yakut village Oymyakon, where the Northern Hemisphere cold pole is located. The estimated duration of the trip makes 30 days.