Transport Network of Yakutia: Multi-time Analysis by Cartographic Sources

Filippova Viktoriia Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0002-3900-918X PhD in History Senior Scientific Associate, Department of History and Artcic Studies, Institute of Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Institute of Natural Sciences, Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 677027, Russia, Yakutsk, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, of. 403 filippovav@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Arkhipova Irina Mikhailovna ORCID: 0000-0003-1828-8607 Cartographer, North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk 677007, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) region, Yakutsk, Kulakovsky str., 48, office 746 irina_arhipova13@mail.ru

IntroductionThe natural and climatic conditions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are an obstacle to the development of the transport system on its vast territory.

One of the important components of the economy of any region that ensures the movement and supply of vital goods is transport, which is no exception for the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

It is well known that transport maps occupy one of the most important places in socio-economic cartography. Transport and economic maps are very important. The transport network is a set of communication routes and transport hubs that provide a stable interconnection of the largest settlements and economic centers. On the maps of transport networks, the communication paths are displayed. The main task of transport mapping is to show the transport-geographical system, which includes a network of nodes, points and centers, transport flows and transport-geographical relations (transport development of the territory, accessibility, distance from roads and proximity to them), in addition, complementarity is inherent in it – mutual correspondence and complementarity of all elements in the system. The main aspects of transport mapping consist in mapping the transport infrastructure (network and nodes, means of communication and enterprises serving them), as well as in the work performed by transport for the transportation of goods and passengers ^[1].

Transport maps of Yakutia began to appear simultaneously with the development of its transport network. Natural and climatic conditions and landscape determined the dispersed nature and wide geography of the settlement of peoples on the territory of the republic. With a low population density and a nomadic lifestyle of some indigenous peoples, there was no need to lay roads, and all movements and transportation of goods were carried out by pack-riding. The accession of Yakutia to Russia necessitated the creation of a communication system in the region, primarily for closer communication with the center. Already in the XVII century, the Cossacks laid water and land routes between the prisons and winter quarters. In 1743, the Irkutsk –Yakut Tract was founded, which became a continuation of the main Siberian state highway, the starting point of which was the capital of the empire – St. Petersburg ^[2].

In this article, based on the analysis of multi-time maps, the history of the development of the transport network of Yakutia is traced: disappeared, preserved and newly appeared roads have been identified.

Structure and content of mapsTo compile multi-time maps of the dynamics of the transport network of Yakutia, examples of similar maps to the territory of other regions were studied.

For example, in the works of Dashpilov Ts. B. ^[3], the historical analysis of the formation and development of the transport network of Eastern Siberia was displayed using animated mapping. The cartographic Web resource "Trans-Siberian Railway": sources and development technology" describes the process of creating a web GIS on the NextGIS Web platform. The GIS project is represented by a set of vector and raster data transformed to work in a modern coordinate system based on a datum (ellipsoid) WGS-84. These include, first of all, historical maps and diagrams, satellite images in the form of mosaics and fragments of images obtained through available geoservices (Google, Yandex, Bing), as well as digital layers generated and edited based on digitization of historical and modern maps of different scales ^[4].

After studying the experience of mapping transport maps, various cartographic sources were selected that display the transport network of Yakutia. Next, the binding of multi-time maps was carried out (Fig. 1). In the process of binding, significant inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the spatial data of old cartographic sources were revealed. The main approach in the process of binding rasters is the location of points on the image from which their coordinates can be accurately removed, and when binding maps on which there is no coordinate grid, or it is not accurate, the control points are natural geographical objects, such as the mouth of rivers, cape, locality, etc. The basis for binding was the Open map Street Map (OSM), the coordinate system was chosen by EPSG: 3857 (Web Mercator).

Fig.1. The process of linking and digitizing transport network maps

[compiled by the authors]

Digitization of information from old cartographic sources made it possible to form a group of thematic GIS layers (Table 1).  

Table 1

Structure and content of maps of the transport network of Yakutia

(compiled by the authors)

The overlay of the created GIS layers on top of each other made it possible to create thematic maps showing changes in the transport network of Yakutia. Maps of disappeared, preserved and newly appeared roads have been compiled. Where the layers of previous years overlap with the layers of subsequent years, a new spatial object appears (preserved roads). Accordingly, the layers that are not overlapped by new layers are the disappeared roads. Examples of disappeared and preserved roads can be traced on the maps "Okhotsk and Ayansky Tracts" (Fig. 2). The tracts were created for the purpose of delivering goods and mail to Yakutsk from other regions of Russia and China. In Fig. 2b it can be seen that the Okhotsk tract has been preserved from the village of Nizhny Bestyakh to the village of Churapcha. The rest can be considered as disappeared roads, perhaps only hunting trails remain.  The Ayan tract has been preserved from the Lower Bestyakh through the village of Amga to the mouth of the Maya River (Fig.

Fig. 2. Maps of a) Okhotsk and Ayan tracts b) overlay of layers of the Okhotsk and Ayan layers with roads of the XX and XXI centuries

[compiled by the authors]

The newly appeared roads can be viewed on the example of the map of the technological road of the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (Fig. 3). The figure shows that the road that existed on the map of 1935 disappeared from the mid-1950s, but reappeared on the Kirensk – Olekminsk oil pipeline section on modern maps. Also, it can be noted as a disappeared highway that ran from the city of Aldan to the village of Saniyakhtakh, located on the left bank of the Lena River. The autozymic was associated with the history of gold mining in the Aldan River basin, but it is no longer displayed on maps of the second half of the XX century.

Fig. 3. An example of laying a technological ESPO road along the old directions of roads [compiled by the authors]

Conclusion. Visual analysis of the history of the development of the transport network with the use of GIS technologies allowed us to establish patterns of placement of the transport network of different years, to identify their features, to detect spatial relationships, to determine the next stages of the development of the transport network of Yakutia.

The first stage (XVI – I - the end of the XIX centuries) shows the paths laid by the pioneers in order to transport goods and create postal messages.

The second stage (the first half of the twentieth century) is associated with the beginning of the construction of highways in connection with the discovery, research and development of the richest mineral deposits.

The third stage (mid–twentieth century - 1990s) of the development of transport networks shows the process of expanding and deepening the economic development of the territory, changing the structure of the transport network in connection with the centralization of settlements. On the maps, many small roads and trails disappear. The construction of railways has begun.

The fourth stage (post–Soviet period - to the present). Along with the political and economic movements in the country, then declines, then jumps, there is the development of road construction. The most significant event of this period was the construction of the ESPO technological road, which crosses the previously existing old highway (XVIII – early XX centuries). Also, the completion of the construction of the Berkakit – Nizhny Bestyakh railway was a big step in economic and spatial terms in the life of the Republic.

ThanksThe research was carried out at the expense of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation No. 21-17-00250.