MARITIME PROVINCE (Russ. Primor Skfly(1 Oblast). An eastern province of Siberia. It eXt4.1141a from the Arctic mcean, where it reaches as far west as l'cliaun Itay, to the northern holm dary of Korea. its western boundary runs the Stanovoi loiintains to about longitude 130' E., then southeast and south to the Amur (which traVer'eS, the provinee in a northeasterly (II Tee t i(a) . then along the Usiiri, which forma part of the boundary of .1;ilichuria, and finally south west to the Korean border. along the eastern frontier of Mandl)) to Korea ( Map : A?ja, Its area. including I?anitchatka (q.v.) and the island of Saghalien (q.v.). is over 71f,000 square mile-. The northern portion, forming the northeastern extremity of Asia, is a mountainous peninsula, exceeding 8000 feet in elevation in the northern part and watered by the Anadyr and many other rivers. Its coasts are deeply in dented and present a number of promontories toward Bering Strait and Bering Sea—promon tories that range from 1000 to 2000 feet in height. The central part of the province is a narrow strip of land along the Sea of Okhotsk, occupied by the Stanovoi :Nlountains and inter sected by numerous short streams.
The southern part is somewhat lower west of the Amur, while the portion east of that river is occupied to some extent by the mountainous dis trict of Sikhota Alin, rising abore 5000 feet in its highest peaks. The flora of the northern part is extremely poor, consisting only of some lichens, mosses, and dwarf trees. The lower mountain slopes of the central portion of the ln•ovince and the deep river valleys are thickly wooded. The same is true of the mountains in the southern part, where the lowlands are cov ered with thick grass, and some plants peculiar to warmer regions, such as the wild vine, are found. Northern Siberia has long been famous for its rich fauna, but many species, such as the blue fox, the black sable, the sea-otter, the sea-lion, the sea-cow, and the whale, have either entirely disappeared or are rapidly approaching extinction. The fauna of the southern region is
remarkable for its variety, including such differ ent species as the tiger and the bear. The rivers in this part of the country are exceedingly rich in fish, and it is along their banks that the population of the province is concentrated. The northern part of the province is inhabited chief ly by the Telinktehes, who are engaged in fish ing on the coast, and in reindeer breeding and hunting in the interior. Besides the Tetuktehes there are found some Koryaks on the coast. The central part of the province is inhabited only by a few Tunguses.
The climate necessarily presents great. variety, owing to the large extent of the region, hut even in the southern part it is very severe. The tem perature at Vladivostok, at the southern end of the province, averages only 39.5° F., while at Nikolayevsk, at the mouth of the Amur, it is below the freezing point. The summers in the southern part are extremely wet, and inundations are not infrequent.
Agriculture is confined by natural conditions to the southern portion of the province and is progressing very slowly. Hunting and fishing are still the chief occupations. Some gold is pro duced along the Amur. Immigration has made some progress of late, owing no doubt to the Trans-Siberian Railway. Many Little Russian peasants and Cossacks from the Don territory and Orenburg have been transported to the prov ince IT the Government. Roads are very scarce, but a branch of the Trans-Siberian line traverses the province front Khabarovsk to Vladivostok for a distance of 469 miles. Nikolskoye, 69 miles north of Vladivostok. is the eastern terminal of the Manehurian branch of the Trans-Siberian line. The population in 1897 was 248,823, including about 45,000 natives, more than 23.000 Korea us, and over 29,000 Chinese. The Russians constitute over one-half of the entire population. The orig inal Russian population is organized on a mili tary basis, and the inhabitants are known as Co-s sacks. The capital of the province is Vladivostok.