Iony island (Saint Iony) - a desert cliff with a height of about 300m in the Okhotsk sea.

 

From a close distance the island seems to be very dark and gloomy. Many researchers hoping to study the nature of the island came home high and dry.

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The island is constantly steeped by cold mist and washed by strong currents. Boats try to pass far from this place and fish never caught there because of underwater rocks and protruding from the water stone peaks. 

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The island is unapproachable, you can't get on it with no special equipment, it is impossible to get there except through a gorge that is difficult to approach to. There's no fresh water and the weather changes several times a day. Dense fog and drizzle in the morning and sometimes a strong wind blows fierce billows through the sea. Even in the hottest summer days the water temperature does not rise above +2,5°C.

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The main wealth of Iony is the animal world. In the summer there are more than 3 million birds. There are also sea lion rookeries. Their number on the island reaches 5 thousand heads.

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Close to the island on a raised portion of the bottom there are small banks that are rich in crabs and fish.

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Getting around the island is dangerous due to the incredibly steep and slippery bird droppings slopes. Because of the hordes of ticks parasitizing on the local inhabitants and the smell which in calm weather eats away eyes the life on the island is unbearable.

 

Source:

Dzhugdzhursky State Nature Reserve

Wikipedia

National Geographic Russia