Anadyr (Russia)

Anadyr is a port city in north-eastern Russia. It is located on the southern shore of Anadyr River's estuary, which empties into the Bering Sea. The city is Chukotka's biggest, covering a total area of approx 20 km2 (8 mi2), with a population of around 15,000.

Anadyr is a major port on the Northern Sea Route, located on the Gulf of Anadyr of Bering Sea and is linked to almost all important Russian Far Eastern seaports. 

Although the town has only been in existence for over a century, the origins of its name are much older. The name "Anadyr" initially derives from Yukaghir word "any-an", which means "river".

The town of Anadyr lies at the tip of a big cape, to the north of which is situated the mouth of Anadyr River. To the east the estuarine part of the river, Anadyrsky Liman, emptying into the Gulf of Anadyr. The town itself is located on a gentle slope that rises up from the sea, and on the other side of Anadyr River are mountains. However, to the west, beyond the city are the vast expanses of flat tundra.

Anadyr is very much a Soviet city with cement block apartment complexes lining the streets like barricades and the symbols of the Soviet era still found here and there. It has a meteorologic station and fishery factory.

An interesting fact is that in 2011, the American theoretical physicist and cosmologist Paul Steinhardt (born December 25, 1952) led an international group of scientists who landed in Anadyr en route to an expedition into the Koryak Mountains in order to look for naturally occurring quasicrystals. To date, a total of three quasicrystals have been found from the material gathered on the expedition, including decagonite, icosahedrite, a yet unnamed 3rd natural quasicrystal, which is unlike anything previously synthesized in a laboratory. The team of Steinhbardt has established that natural quasicrystals were embedded in a meteorite that had hit the Earth around 15,000 years ago.