Saghalin

or Saghalien, sa-ga-len, an Asiatic island lying off the coast of Russian Manchuria. It is about 670 miles long, and from 20 to 150 broad. The area is about 24,500 square miles, equal to that of West Virginia. Geologically, this island is the most northerly in the arc of continental islands that inclose the Sea of Japan. Mountain ridges rise to a height of 5,000 feet. The intervening plains reach an altitude of 600 feet above the sea. One river is navigable by rafts and light boats for 250 miles. The soil consists of sands, marls, and clays. The island is clothed with forests, mostly coniferous. The range of altitude and latitude is such that the fir, the larch, the bamboo, elder, poplar, elm, wild cherry, willow, maple, ash, and oak are found in varying proportions. Fur-bearing animals, particularly the bear, the fox, and the sable are numerous. The reindeer ranges in the north. Tigers are met occasionally in the southern end of the island. The coast fisheries are valuable. The island is divided by an east and west boundary between Russia and Japan. This island has been inhabited evidently from the earliest times. Flint implements and primitive pottery are found, as well as remains of the bronze age. The Ainos are the aborigines of the island. They are enslaved practically by the Japanese, who require them to fish and collect seaweed for exportation. Petroleum and naphtha exist. Coal is mined in the north by Russian convicts.