Lighthouses of Russia: Eastern Chukotka

The Chokotka Autonomous Okrug (autonomous district) is the unit of the Russian Federation that occupies the easternmost extension of Siberia, reaching toward Alaska. It is a peninsula, with coastlines facing north on the East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea and south on the Bering Sea. This page has lighthouses of the Bering Strait and Bering Sea; there is a separate page for lighthouses of the Arctic coast.

Although Russian explorers reached this remote area in the 17th century and mapped it in the 18th century, full control by the Russian Empire did not occur before late in the 19th century.

The capital of Chukotka, Anadyr, is the easternmost municipality in Russia; it has a population of about 10,000 and the total population of the district is only about 50,000.

The Bering Strait coast of Russia is a closed military zone, open to foreign visitors only in organized groups. Adventure cruise ships and ecotours sometimes visit specific locations on the coast, but unauthorized vessels are subject to arrest. As a result, no photos are available for many of the lighthouses. If you have or can locate additional photos, please let me know.

Special thanks to Michel Forand for his careful research on lighthouses of the Russian Arctic.

Russian lighthouses are owned and operated by the Russian Navy, although some of them have civilian keepers. The Russian word for a lighthouse is mayak (маяк); mys is a cape, ostrov is an island, and buhkta or zaliv is a bay.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volumes L and M of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals, and U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publications 112 and 115.

General Sources
World of Lighthouses - Arctic Coast of Russia: Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Chukotskiy Poluostrov and Mys Navarin: Topographic maps of Chukotka published by the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency.

Cape Dezhneva Light, Bering Strait, August 2001
Panoramio photo copyright Fazotron; permission requested

Chukotsky District (Bering Strait) Lighthouses

Chukchi Sea Lighthouses
Cape Dezhnev and Lavrentia Area Lighthouses
Mys Dezhneva (Cape Dezhnev, East Cape, Pamyatnik Dezhneva): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 80 m (262 ft); one long white flash every 6 s. 10 m (33 ft) square pyramidal solid concrete monument (pamyatnik) with a small lantern and gallery. The tower is unpainted; lantern painted red. A keeper's house and other buildings are abandoned. A photo is at the top of this page, Lightphotos.net has Harry Shave's view from below the lighthouse, and a 2011 photo and a more distant view are available, but Google has only a distant satellite view of the cape. Mys Dezhneva is the easternmost cape of Siberia, facing Alaska across the Bering Strait. The bust mounted on the lighthouse is that of Semyon Dezhnyov (or Dezhnev), who sailed around the cape from the mouth of the Kolyma River in the Arctic Ocean to the Anadyr River in 1648, eighty years before the strait was rediscovered by Vitus Bering. The monument apparently dates from about 1910, but the light was only added much later, probably in the 1950s. The lighthouse is on the southeastern side of the rounded cape, where it guides vessels bound for Dezhnevo, the easternmost village of Russia. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ASR-053; Admiralty M8232; NGA 112-15260.
Mys Nunyamo: Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 18 m (59 ft); white light, 2 s on, 8 s off. 8 m (26 ft) square pyramidal tower. No photo available, but Google has a distant satellite view of the location. Located on a cape on the north side of the entrance to Lavrentiya. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8220; NGA 112-15272.
Lavrentiya: Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 35 m (115 ft); red flash every 1.5 s. 7 m (23 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower. Marina Lystseva has a distant view, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. The light does not appear active in the photo. Lavrentiya (population about 1300) is the district center for Chukotsky District and is the easternmost town in Russia. Located on a hillside just north of the village. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty M8217; NGA 112-15281.1.
Kriguygun (Mys Krigygun): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 4 s. 9 m (30 ft) square pyramidal tower, painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available, and Google has only a very distant satellite view of the cape. Located on a prominent cape south of the entrance to Lavrentia Bay. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8214; NGA 112-15280.
Lorino (?): Date unknown. Inactive. NGA provides no description for this lighthouse, but Google's satellite view reveals a tall tower. No photo available. The Admiralty now lists a smaller tower nearby, called Sklon, under the same number. Located on a bluff about 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Lorino, a Chukchi village about 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Lavrentiya. Site status unknown. ex-Admiralty M8212; NGA 112-15282.

Providensky District Lighthouses

Cape Chaplina Area Lighthouses
Mys Nygchigen: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 48 m (157 ft); white flash every 2.5 s. 11 m (30 ft) square pyramidal tower, painted white with a black horizontal band. No photo available, and Google has only a very distant satellite view of the cape. NGA misspells the name as Mys Nygligan. Located on a prominent cape about 120 m (75 mi) southwest of the entrance to Lavrentia Bay. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8208; NGA 112-15284.
Ostrov Kynkay: Date unknown. Inactive but listed with focal plane 120 m (394 ft); white flash every 2.5 s. 6 m (20 ft) square wood skeletal tower carrying a slatted daymark. Google has only a distant satellite view of the island. Located on a small island in the Senyavina Strait, which separates the large island of Arakamchechen from the mainland. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8194.2; NGA 112-15289.3.
Mys Chaplina (Chaplino, Mys Chaplino): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); one long white flash every 6 s. 18 m (59 ft) square pyramidal tower, probably skeletal, with a "platform on top," according to NGA. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the cape. This is one of many Russian Arctic light stations powered during the late Soviet era by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). According to a Russian Wikipedia article, in 2003 the RTG was found to be emitting 25 times the acceotable level of radiation, but it was not removed until 2012. Cape Chaplina is a sharp point at the convergence of two long gravel spits. The cape is only 58 km (36 mi) northwest of the village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ASR-020; Admiralty M8196; NGA 112-15300.
Ploskiy (Mys Ploskiy): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 55 m (180 ft); one long (2 s) white flash every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) white pyramidal tower. No photo available; Google has a distant satellite view of the cape. Located on a cape about 80 km (50 mi) southwest of Cape Chaplino. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8192; NGA 112-15304.
Provideniya Bay Lighthouses
Note: Buhkta Provideniya (Provideniya Bay or Providence Bay) is a protected fjord on the south side of the Chukotskiy Peninsula, on the north side of the Bering Sea. The town of Provideniya, a former Soviet military base, is the closest Russian town of any size to Alaska. The population was 1970 at the time of the 2010 census.
Mys Gaydamak: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12.5 m (41 ft); red flash every 5 s. 8 m (26 ft) square brick tower. The tower was covered with a white concrete coat, but large sections of this covering have fallen away. Lightphotos.net also has Evgeny Basov's distant view, and Google has a satellite view. Located on Reyd Plover (Plover Spit), a gravel spit on the east side of the entrance to Provideniya Bay. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8186; NGA 112-15316.

Anadyrsky District Lighthouses

Kresta Bay Lighthouses
Note: The Anadyr Gulf is an arm of the Bering Sea on the south side of the Chukotskiy (Chukchi) Peninsula. Kresta Bay is a large bay at the northern end of the Gulf. The bay is 100 km (60 mi) long north to south and 45 km (28 mi) wide. At the head of the bay is the former gulag settlement of Egvekinot (population 2800), which has an airport and has become a destination for ecotourism.
Mys Meechkyn (Meyechkyn): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); white flash every 6 s. 18 m (59 ft) square cylindrical steel skeletal tower. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view. Located at the end of a long spit on the east side of the entrance to Kresta Bay. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8171.75.
Mys Olovyannyy: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white flash every 4 s. 16 m (59 ft) square cylindrical steel skeletal tower. The light is seen in a distant view of the cape (2/3 the way down the page), but Google has only a fuzzy satellite view. The name means "Cape Dangerous." Located at the end of a spit on the east side of the entrance to the harbor of Egvekinot. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8169.7.
Mys Kruzenshterna: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); white flash every 3 s. 12 m (39 ft) square cylindrical steel skeletal tower. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view. Located at the end of a spit on the west side of the entrance to the harbor of Egvekinot. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8169.9.
Anadyr Estuary Lighthouses
Salamatova Range Front: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); white light, 1 s on, 1 s off. 9 m (30 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower carrying a white daymark with a red vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. This is a westbound range for vessels entering the estuary. Located on the Salamatova spit about 10 km (6 mi) west of Mys Nikolaya. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8164.5.
Salamatova Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); continuous white light. 21 m (69 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower carrying a white daymark with a red vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located 611 m (2000 ft) northwest of the front light. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8164.6.
Mys Salamatova: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); flash every 6 s, red or white depending on direction. 16 m (52 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower painted with red and white horizontal bands. Alexandr Alifanov has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located on the tip of the Salamatova spit. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8165.
Mys Konstantina: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); one long white flash every 5 s. 10 m (33 ft) round tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands, atop a square skeletal base. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on a bluff about 5 km (3 mi) northwest of Mys Salamatova. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8166.5.
Bukhta Melkaya Range Front (twin towers): Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 57 m (187 ft); two very quick-flashing red lights. Two 25 m (82 ft) square cylindrical skeletal towers carrying a white daymark with a black vertical stripe. Google has a satellite view. Located on the northeast side of Shakhtyorsky, a town on the east side of the estuary north of Mys Observatsii. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8169; NGA 15345.
Bukhta Melkaya Range Rear: Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 102 m (335 ft); red light, 1.5 s on, 1.5 s off. 25 m (82 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower carrying a white daymark with a black vertical stripe. Google has a satellite view. Located 732 m (0.45 mi) east northeast of the front lights. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8169.1; NGA 15345.1.
* [Anadyr Stele]: Date unknown. Not recognized as a lighted aid to navigation, although a streetlight-style lamp illuminates the stele at night. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) stele on a pyramidal base. Marisa Lystseva has a photo, and Bing has a satellite view. The stele (monument) carries the arms of the city at the top. Located on a point of land on the waterfront of Anadyr. Site open, tower closed.
Mys Geka: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 20 m (66 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted red. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on the spit at the west side of the entrance to the estuary. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8160.
Southern Anadyr Gulf Lighthouses
Barykova (Mys Barykova): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 103 m (338 ft); white flash every 4 s. 8 m (26 ft) octagonal concrete tower, painted red. No photo available; an indistinct Google satellite view may show the tower. Located on a mountainous cape marking the eastern end of the Koryak Range and the southern entrance to the Anadyr Gulf. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty M8159; NGA 112-15356.
Beringovskiy Range Front: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); red light occulting once every 4 s. 13 m (43 ft) square white concrete tower; the front side is painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Beringovskiy is a small coal mining port near the southern end of the Anadyr Gulf. Located on the waterfront in Beringovskiy. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty M8157; NGA 112-15353.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Northern Chukotka | East: Alaska | South: Kamchatka and Magadan

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