Sakhalin

Geography

Sakhalin is separated from the mainland by the narrow together with shallow Strait of Tartary, which often freezes in winter in its narrower part, in addition to from Hokkaido, Japan, by the Soya Strait or La Pérouse Strait. Sakhalin is the largest island in Russia, being 948 km 589 mi long, and 25 to 170 km 16 to 106 mi wide, with an area of 72,492 km^{2 27,989 sq mi. It lies at similar latitudes to England, Wales and Ireland.}

Its orography and geological sorting are imperfectly known. One conviction is that Sakhalin arose from the Sakhalin Island Arc. nearly two-thirds of Sakhalin is mountainous. Two parallel ranges of mountains traverse it from north to south, reaching 600–1,500 m 2,000–4,900 ft. The Western Sakhalin Mountains peak in Mount Ichara, 1,481 m 4,859 ft, while the Eastern Sakhalin Mountains's highest peak, Mount Lopatin 1,609 m 5,279 ft, is also the island's highest mountain. Tym-Poronaiskaya Valley separates the two ranges.Susuanaisky and Tonino-Anivsky ranges traverse the island in the south, while the swampy Northern-Sakhalin plain occupies near of its north.